For the first time this year, Goshen had two Family Camps – one during Memorial Day Weekend and one during Labor Day Weekend. The inaugural Memorial Day Family Camp had good turnout for the new event. It was a little stormy, but campers crammed in fun in the sunny mornings at Aquatics and Shooting Sports and then, when the storms came in the afternoon, tried their hand at crafts in Handicraft. The event was popular enough that Goshen is happy to announce it will be offering Memorial Day Family Camp again in 2019!
The traditional Labor Day Family Camp once again had great attendance this year and had the full range of activities. Families could have fun shooting rifles and BB’s, test their skills at archery, go swimming and boating, fly on the giant swing, and more. It was a little rainy on Saturday, but that didn’t stop the hike to the Swimming Hole, where families could hop in and float down the river. The sky was nice and clear the next day for the Viewing Rock Hike, which afforded those who went beautiful views. In addition to swimming and boating, Aquatics also offered tours of the lake on the pontoon boat.
The newest aspect of Family Camp during the Labor Day Weekend was the return of the Saturday evening Square Dance. Way back in the day, the Square Dance was a staple of Family Camp, but it gradually faded away as there was no one who knew how to call. Lucky for Goshen, one of the current summer camp staff members, Lauren Brown, knows how to call from her off-season job at an outdoor school. She led much of the camp in square dancing and line dancing at Forster Hall. Everyone had a fantastic time and we’re looking forward to adding the Square Dance back in as a regular event at Goshen’s Family Camps.
Family Camp closed off, as usual, with the Sunday evening campfire. Families, Troops, Packs, Staff, and Staff Alumni shared their favorite songs and skits before heading back to their campsites for bed.
Miss out on the fun? Want to come back again? Join us for Family Camping fun in 2019. Goshen Family Camps will be offered Memorial Day Weekend (May 24-27, 2019) and Labor Day Weekend (August 30-September 2, 2019). The cost is $20 per person. Bring your own tent, bring your own food, and Goshen supplies the program. All ages are welcome. Registration is already open! Learn more and sign up at www.gotogoshen.org/family-camp.
My name is Laura Kuras and I am the NCAC District Executive for our US Virgin Islands and Director of the local Boy Scout Camp here in St. Croix, Camp Howard M. Wall. I am extremely excited to be here in the USVI because it is such a beautiful location filled with amazing people who are ready and willing to bring Scouting back in to the community.
Upcoming topics and activities on the post’s agenda include: the Five Basic Cooking Techniques, Understanding “Sous Vide” Cooking Methods, Sustainable Seafood and Cooking Techniques, Understanding Nutrition and Healthy Easting, Environmental Impact of Cooking, two community service projects (Scouting for Food and cooking at a charity kitchen), visits to a farm or food vender, and a hotel visit. There will be a cook-off at the end of the year with the members cooking their favorite dish and serving it to the other members of the post.
This summer 16 Scouts and 3 Scouters of Troop 26 (“26 KICKS!!”) experienced the North Carolina mountains in BSA’s Southern Region, Area 5, Daniel Boone Council. We were way back in the holler, about 15 miles from Asheville as the crow flies. The 8-hour drive from Stafford was well worth it for the variety of activities and the opportunity to visit Boonesboro Village for our older Scouts, not to mention the cooler, drier air of the mountains – getting out of the heat and humidity was, well, pretty cool! Not only did Scouts and Scouters alike learn to appreciate the refreshing frigid temperature of spring fed mountains streams, but several older Scouts also participated in the Boonesboro Village living history camp. There they honed skills essential to living in the 1770s such as hatchet throwing, black powder rifle shooting, blacksmithing and making their own clothes. Average temperatures were 20 degrees cooler than those of their lowland Scout brethren which made for very restful evenings – good sleepin’ weather. As an added bonus the Troop camped at the New River Trail State Park and toured the Jackson Ferry Shot Tower that manufactured lead shot (musket bullets) hundreds of years ago. Our Scouts found both locations so outstanding that they are in the rotation to be visited again.
