Dear Mom and Dad,
Today was awesome! Now that I am a Tenderfoot scout, I know how to deal with problems a lot better. There was a hole in my shoe this morning (I think Rocky the Raccoon had a nibble last night), but I fixed it up just fine.
I really like our t-shirts today, they were light blue with a parts of the South Carolina flag on the back and a backpacking Boy Scout. I think the lighter color helped us to stay cooler today. That was good, because it was HOT at Camp Ho Non Wah! Did you know Troop 1 is 105 years old? Do you think Grandpa could have been a scout when Troop 1 was formed?
You will never, ever guess what we had for breakfast this morning. I’ll give you a hint… we’ve had it at nine meals this week. Pig!!! I think Sarge must have a brother or a son who owns a pig farm nearby. Once I soaked the extra grease off the sausage patties with several napkins, the food was really good. I think this was my favorite meal of the week. I even went back for seconds!
We spent a lot of time in Woodsmen getting ready for lunch today. I helped to cut carrots and potatoes, and then I got to brown the meat in the Dutch oven. We got to cook over a gas flame instead of a fire. We didn’t kill any trees and Logan and Will (our Woodsman instructors) told me that it was much safer this way because we knew the meat would be cooked safely.
All the Woodsmen agreed that the stew was really good! And it was definitely good that we didn’t have to eat what was in the dining hall today. Are you ready for this? Sausage meatball sandwiches!!! That makes ten meals from pork! Some of the older scouts loved it, but after getting sick eating meatball’s at Chip Lake’s party last year, I’m never ever going to eat meatballs again. I would have turned my meatball sub into a peanut butter and jelly sub!
After lunch, Mr. Satterfield made sure that all the first-year scouts had finished our Leatherwork merit badge. He went and talked with the counselor, because apparently Troop 1 scouts have a history of not getting everything done at camp for Leatherwork. We must be better than all the older scouts, because we all earned the badge!
Finn Duggins told me that kangaroo leather would be stronger than what we used, but I think my knife holder is going to work just fine.
And I forgot to tell you that we didn’t see much of Mr. Satterfield or Dr. Dunbar yesterday because they had to sit through over eight hours of classes so that they could be trained as scoutmasters. I bet they can tie every knot ever invented now! Mr. Satterfield sure did seem a lot more confident today.
Lots of us just hung out around camp once all our classes were over. We threw the frisbee a lot, played cards, and just talked about stuff. It was fun.
You know, I don’t really feel like a “new scout” anymore. I feel like a part of the group.
We went to supper a little later tonight, and Mr. Satterfield let us wear our “Class B” uniforms (scout t-shirts). Lots of troops weren’t eating in the dining hall tonight. I think some parents brought food to their kids, and I heard that Troop 2 had a shrimp boil at their campsite.
The rest of us had chicken, rice, beans, and ice cream. I know you are thinking that I’ve been over-reacting about the fact that I am starting to root for mushrooms and oink in my sleep. You are saying, “Silly boy… you had chicken tonight.” WRONG!!! There were huge hunks of ham in the beans! That makes eleven meals from pigs this week. Mom and dad, can we please have hamburgers with NO bacon when I get home? I think I need a detox plan.
They ran out of ice cream before Mr. Satterfield got any. Maybe it would be nice if we could make him a gallon of home-made ice cream when we get home. He sure has been patient with some of the older boys this week!
Mr. Boyce told me that six years ago, Graham Scheel ate five cups of ice cream at camp. He even showed me a picture! That made me wonder what somebody is going to remember about me when I am a senior in high school. Maybe they will remember that I like to count meals made from pigs!
After supper, we changed into our Class A uniforms and went to the Pow Wow outside of the dining hall. All the scoutmasters told us to close our tent flaps and Adirondack curtains before we left, because it looked like we might get some rain.
We saw some neat Native American dances at the Pow Wow, and some of us even danced along! There were lots of Order of the Arrow members in fancy costumes.
We saw lightening before we could take the flags down, so everybody moved into the dining hall. The sky turned black really quickly and there was a LOT of rain, but we all stayed dry.
The only bad thing is that the campfire ceremonies had to be moved indoors… but that was a lot better than being killed by lightening. John Watson Simon and Gates Myers both got tapped out for the Order of the Arrow. Someone dressed like a Native American took them out of the crowd and then the chief up front said their names and that they were from Troop 1.
The Order of the Arrow is an honor society for Boy Scouts. I’m hoping that after I earn First Class, I might get voted in by Troop 1.
That’s about everything that happened today! I can’t believe that tomorrow is the last full day at camp. We have a little bit of work left to earn the Swimming merit badge, but other than that, we can play all day long.
Tomorrow night, there is a big campfire where we give t-shirts to our favorite counselors and the staff give out lots of awards.
I’m going to bed now!
I love you,
Your son