Troop History: 1940's · 1950's · 1960's · 1970's · 1980's · 1990's · Early 2000's · 2006-2007 · 2007-2008 · 2008-2009
Troop History: 2009 - Present
| We've changed the way we are recording our history, please check it out on this page |
We'll recount all of out adventures there!
|
|---|
Troop History: 2008-2009
| Lots of Events Planned for this Year! |
We'll recount all this year's adventures here!
|
|---|
Troop History: 2007-2008
|
C&O Canal Bike Hike
|
Our troop went to the C&O Canal for a second stab at our bike route. After our trip got cut short last year, we decided to go back to conquer the final 8 miles of our trek. Since our bike trip was cut in third this year, we were given the privilege of sleeping in. This was taken to its fullest advantage and we didn’t leave camp until 11:30. When we arrived at where our stopping point was last year, we unloaded the bikes and awaited the return of our leader from the end point of the ride. He didn’t come for an hour and a half. With all this time, our scoutmaster wasted no time in whipping out rope and demanding knots out of us. After his need for knots had been fulfilled, one of our scouts decided looking at the canal wasn’t enough. He wanted to really get a “feel” for it. He made the decision to bike straight into the river. The “smart one of the bunch” you might say. When our other two leaders returned, it was announced that the destination was not to be found. Our scoutmaster decided to reroute to Antietam Battlefield, but first we had to eat lunch. Thanks to the gracious person that packed lunch, we had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches minus peanut butter and ham and cheese without mayo. Finally we started our trip around the battlefield. We saw historic sites and climbed up in a lookout. When we returned to our camp we started a campfire. Our leaders could only take so many stories from us until we were kicked out of the circle. We scouts played manhunt until we had to make supper. Supper was “hobo meals”. They consist of burgers, vegetables, bacon, etc. cooked in foil right on the fire and yes, there were burned meals. Around ten we ended a long day. The next morning we packed up in a frost covered landscape and ended a fun and interesting weekend. |
|---|---|
| Winter Camping, Valley Forge, PA |
My readers, I have some grave news. I’m sorry to those that would rather I dive right in to the story, but I have something that I believe needs to be said. Winter Camp, for those of you who don’t know, is our troop’s “fun weekend” in which we have no set tasks or activities to complete. We stay in a cabin at Hawk Mt. Scout Reservation and it is our weekend to do as we please. We have a blessed tradition of sitting around and playing video games most of the weekend. It’s my heavy burden to report that no one was able to bring video game consoles. It was a long, boring weekend… Just Kidding! You think we would let that keep us from having a great time. We’re Troop 597! We left on Friday night and began a fun filled weekend, without video games. We arrived at our cabin with the small task of bringing in our gear. Afterwards, we piled inside and the scouts split off into various activities. Although we didn’t have a video game system, one of the scouts did bring a computer which some kids used to watch movies or played PC games. The leaders had a DVD player and continued an annual tradition of “movie fest.” While the leaders and a few scouts watched movies into the night, still others played board games and cards. One that seemed to be especially popular was Risk. We ended the night around 1 or 2 am. The next day many of the activities indoors remained the same, but most of us weren’t willing to stay in the cabin all day. The bright snow beckoned us to venture outward. A number of our scouts brought snowboards and sleds. Many of us found out that the name Hawk MOUNTAIN isn’t just for kicks. I think I can speak for most of us when I say, sledding was a blast. We raced down hundreds of feet of snow and ice. One of the times when we went down, we just couldn’t swerve fast enough to miss one of our newest scouts. Let’s just say, I didn’t know you could actually hit someone hard enough to make them fly 15 feet though the air. After dark we returned to the cabin and enjoyed pizza that we had ordered out. We ended the second night around 11 pm. I guess the day had taken its toll. We returned on Sunday tired and satisfied at the weekend we had taken to its fullest. |
Troop History: 2006-2007
|
Deep Sea Fishing-Belleplain State Park NJ
|
We traveled to Belleplain State Park in Southern New Jersey for a Deep Sea fishing Trip. The weather didn’t cooperate too well-with overcast skies, rough seas, and plenty of chilly wind. We spent four hours catching junk-small sharks, black sea bass and skate, but all in all, everyone had a lot of fun. After supper, we packed up and went to Ocean City, New Jersey so that everyone could enjoy some time on the “boards.” The scouts and adults spent three hours enjoying the food, rides, games and sites. All and all, it was a great weekend for everyone involved.
|
|---|---|
|
Rickett’s Glen State Park
|
The troop traveled to Rickett’s Glen State Park for a weekend of hiking and camping. We arrived late Friday night in very cold temperatures and woke up the next morning with frozen water in our water jugs. After breakfast, we hiked down the one gorge and back up the other side past all of the falls. The scouts took many pictures and two even decided to go for a “swim” after slipping on the rocks along the pathway. Once we arrived back at the campsite, the skies opened up and dusting of snow blanketed the area. Everyone huddled around a warm campfire and talked and joked all night long.
|
|
C&O Canal Bike Hike
|
The Troop traveled to Maryland to bicycle the C&O Canal outside of Harper’s Ferry. We started out on Saturday morning along the river, watching the scenery and learning about the canal and the locks. The weather was perfect, sunny and 60 degrees. We did run into some mechanical issues, with one bicycle breaking down part way through the trip. We ended up having to take a 5-mile detour after lunch that severely slowed us down. The detour took us five miles uphill and extended the distance more than we expected. We didn’t make the original forty-mile goal, but we did make twenty-six miles and learned a whole lot about bike hiking and had a great time in the process.
|
|
Winter Camping, Valley Forge, PA
|
We traveled to the private cabin of a troop in Valley Forge for a fun and festive weekend. The Scouts enjoyed the hospitality of a beautiful cabin, while taking some time to earn a couple of merit badges from the troop leaders that attended the weekend.
|
|
Rock Climbing
|
The troop participated in our annual rock climbing night at Reading Rocks. We invited the 4th and 5th grade Webelos to come and participate with us as a joint activity. In total, we had over 20 scouts and cubs climbing the walls and reaching for the sky on everything from the easy walls to Mt. Everest. In the course of three hours, we wore out a lot of adults and scouts alike, but everyone had a great time. A special thanks to Reading Rocks for opening up on a Monday night for us!!
|
|
Daniel Boone Homestead
|
We decided to camp at Daniel Boone Homestead instead of Levengood’s Grove due to the fact that everything was underwater. We set up camp on the high ground and spend a wet weekend. The scouts enjoyed a weekend of hiking around the homestead and a game of touch football. We also took some time to work on our equipment and organizing out troop trailer. Saturday night, we set up a TV in order to watch the Eagles lose in the NFL Playoffs. We have many die-hard Eagles fans that needed to be able to see their team. Sometimes, you just have to bring a bit of civilization to the woods!
|
|
Winter Camp-Hawk Mountain Scout Reservation
|
We traveled to Hawk Mountain Scout Reservation to Hafer Lodge for our annual movie-fest and electronics weekend extravaganza. The scouts and leaders brought the electronic games and the movies for a blow off steam weekend. The leaders did all of the cooking so that the kids could enjoy themselves. We also tried to make a deep fried turkey for dinner on Saturday night. We learned several lessons from this experience, but the bird was delicious-once it was cooked. We also went tubing and snow boarding on the way home at Bear Creek Ski Lodge. The kids enjoyed a couple hours of boarding and tubing, until they got too cold and the session ended. All and all, another fun filled weekend was enjoyed by the entire troop.
|
Troop History: Early 2000's
The troop has attended the Patriot Days Encampment at Daniel Boone Homestead every year since 1980. Since 1994, the troop has placed first place in the clean campsite award for cleanliness, safety and organization in the campsite all but one year (which first place was awarded afterwards due to an addition error in the points). The troop attends summer camp every year at the end of June at Hawk Mountain Scout Reservation. In 2006, the troop was at camp in canvas tents when we saw the worst flooding in 30 years. More than 20” of rain fell in the first two days of camp, stranding the troop at camp since all roadways between there and home were flooded.
In 2000 the troop was fortunate enough to be able to spend the weekend at Norfolk military base and even got a few “behind the scene” tours. In 2001 we had one scout and one leader from our troop attend the National Jamboree at Fort A.P. Hill in Virginia. In 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006 the troop has camped on the beach at Wildwood, New Jersey. We have survived 2 Nor’easters on the beach at Wildwood in order to participate in the weekend festivities. The troop has also camped at Assateague Island, Virginia for more beach and Boardwalk fun. Some the favorite spots to camp right now are Gettysburg, several state parks including Rickett’s Glen PA, Assateague Island, Wildwood NJ as well as the more local Daniel Boone Homestead and Levengood’s Grove, Amityville.
Winter cabin camping is usually done at Hawk Mountain, and snow tubing on the way home has become a tradition. Some special activities have included roller-skating, rock climbing and bowling. Service activities include serving at church turkey suppers, helping the Daniel Boone Optimist Club hand out luminaries and restoring many community sites through Eagle Scout projects - Amity township parks, Monocacy Hill and Daniel Boone Homestead to name a few. Over the years, every time we went camping, we had to find people with pickup trucks to haul all the camping and cooking gear, personal gear, and food. It was the leaders’ dream to some day to have the troop own a trailer to haul all of these things. In 2004 that became a reality. With donations from people in the community, and a loan from St. Paul’s UCC, the troop purchased a utility trailer. The loan was paid back to the church with a large metal recycling project that took over a year to complete.
Troop History: 1990's
The 1990’s saw camping trips such as the 11-mile historic trail in Gettysburg, and whitewater rafting trips on the Lehigh River. The troop also started to tent camp in the wintertime after a long hiatus. The troop won their first Clean Campsite trophy at Patriot Days Encampment at Daniel Boone Homestead in 1994.
1991 saw two adult leaders and four boys attend Philmont, and in 1995 boys and leaders also attended Philmont in New Mexico. In 1993, one leader and five boys attended the National Jamboree at Fort A.P. Hill. The troop also had members attend in 1997. At the end of 1992, Herbert Pennington became the troop’s fifth recipient of the Silver Beaver Award. In 1995 RICHARD L. HENRY became the Scoutmaster and remains in that position today. That same year the first two troop members to experience international scouting abroad attended the World Scout Jamboree in Holland.
In 1996, the troop went to back to Gettysburg to complete the 9-mile and 3.5 mile historic hikes as well as several museum tours. It was also the first time the troop went whitewater rafting on the Lehigh River. The 1990’s also saw a record for Troop 597. The membership of the Troop swelled to 47 Scouts, 8 Leaders and numerous committee members and parents. The Troop took a total of 48 people to Hawk Mountain to Summer Camp and had to set up their own tents to house all of the scouts and leaders during the week at camp.
Troop History: 1980's
The 1980’s saw the troop have many of its members make multiple trips to Philmont Scout Ranch, in Cimmeron, New Mexico, and to the National Scout Jamborees held at Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia. In 1980 two scouts attended Philmont Scout Ranch, in 1986 one leader and one scout attended, and in 1989 one scout attended. In 1985, five scouts camped at Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia for the National Jamboree, and in 1989 four more scouts and one leader attended the National Jamboree. In 1981, 1985 and 1989, the troop attended the annual encampment held at West Point Military Academy, in West Point, New York which is sponsored by cadets who had earned either the Eagle Scout Award or Girl Scout Gold Award. Summer camp was held at Hawk Mountain Scout Reservation. The troop has attended the first week of summer camp since 1982. Each year, the troop enjoyed camping with the fresh, new staff, breaking them in for the rest of the campers attending in the later weeks of the summer.
Patriot Days encampments were held at Daniel Boone Homestead and the troop has camped there every year since 1980. During these encampments, the troop would try their best to earn the Clean campsite award and win the volleyball tournament. Several scouts participated in other activities including the road races and placing in the top three on numerous occasions.
One of the most common fundraisers during this decade was the monthly paper/magazine drives, where the scouts would go door to door asking for newspapers. Once a month, the scout would collect newspapers and magazines and then, three or four times a year, the scouts would load a large truck with the newspapers collected and send them to be recycled. In addition to the paper drives, the troop would sell home made hoagies to earn money. The scout would sell the sandwiches and then gather on Saturday morning to make the sandwiches. The assembly lines were set up and the scouts loaded on the meat, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes and onions on hundreds of sandwiches.
During the 1980’s, Hawk Mountain Council would hold an exposition at the area shopping mall as a way for local troops to present their skills and knowledge and to promote scouting. At the 1984 Scout Expo at the Fairgrounds Square Mall, the troop earned first place in the Council for their display. At the Frontier District First Aid meet in 1982, two patrols captured first and fifth places. Thomas C. Hendricks and Ronald L. Henry were the first troop members to complete Wood Badge training. They attended the course labeled NE-V-70 in July of 1982. In 1986 Ronald L. Henry became the third adult from Troop 597 to be honored with the Silver Beaver Award, and in 1987, Thomas C. Hendricks became the fourth member from the troop to receive the award.
In 1989, the troop earned the coveted Harvey “Bud” Millard Award of Excellence, the first year it was presented. The award given to troops exhibiting the highest standards of Scouting. Each year, the Frontier District holds a fundraising dinner called the Good Scout Dinner. The District leadership invite an new Eagle Scout to speak, and in 1984, Michael Oxenford was given the honor of being the keynote Scout speaker.
Troop History: 1970's
THOMAS C. HENDRICKS began his first term as Scoutmaster in 1971 and served until 1972. The next few years saw continual change at the Scoutmaster position. PAUL W. STAHRE (1973), EMIL S. WASHKO (1974), and WILLIAM FREESE (1975-1976) all saw duty as leaders of Troop #597. During this time period, the sponsoring organization changed its name to St. Paul’s United Church of Christ and remains so today.
THOMAS C. HENDRICKS began his second term as Scoutmaster in 1977 and he would continue until 1995, holding the title of the scoutmaster with the longest tenure. Since 1995, Tom has remained an integral part of the troop as an assistant scoutmaster. In 1979 one boy attended Philmont Scout Ranch. 1979 was the also the first year that the troop held summer camp at the new Hawk Mountain Scout Reservation in Summit Station PA and the troop still goes there every year.
Troop History: 1960's
In 1960 five boys from the troop traveled by train to the National Scout Jamboree in Colorado Springs, CO. In 1963 RUSSELL R BARTO took over as Scoutmaster. That year is also remembered as the first year that the council honored a member of the Amityville scouting family. Henry A Machamer was the first troop member to be awarded the prestigious Silver Beaver award by the council for outstanding service to the Boy Scout program.
HENRY WEISS became the sixth Scoutmaster in 1964. In 1965, George Thompson Sr. was the second troop member to receive the Silver Beaver award. In 1967 HARVEY WALBERT became scoutmaster. It was during his years as scoutmaster that scouts from Amityville went to Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico for the first time. In 1968 the troop number was again changed to the number it remains today – Troop #597.
Troop History: 1950's
Two scouts from the troop attended the National Scout Jamboree at Valley Forge in 1950. Around 1952 our first Council Camp Shikellamy Scout Reservation was opened and was used annually by the troop. Then in 1954 BRUCE GILBERT took over the leadership of the troop for a year. 1955 brought two changes to the Troop. St. Paul’s Union Church of Amityville became the new sponsoring institution, and HARRY A. MACHAMER became the fourth Scoutmaster of the troop.
At the Penn’s Pioneer District First Aid meet in 1958, patrols from Amityville placed first and fourth. The year 1959 brought yet another change to Troop 1. The name was officially changed to Amityville Troop #197. Also 1959 began a tradition that lasted for five years- holding meetings outdoors during the summer months. A lot of times the meetings were held at Daniel Boone Homestead or Body’s Pond near Yellow House.
Troop History: 1940's
Boy scouting in Amityville dates back to the 1930’s but little is known about the present day troop’s history until it was chartered as Troop #1 in 1942 with ARTHUR HEIST as the leader until 1944.
The troop met at the Amity Consolidated School (currently the Amity Primary Center) at the corner of Rte. 662 and Weavertown Rd. in Amityville (a village in the Douglassville zip code). The Scout supplies were kept in a box outside the principal’s office. During the war years, the scouts collected scrap iron and steel and received a 10-cent war stamp for each 100 pounds collected. They also collected milkweed pods, which were used by the Navy for making life vests.
In 1944 GEORGE THOMPSON SR. took over the troop and would remain the scoutmaster until 1955. During Scout Week in the early 40’s, Troop 1 set up a gateway and campsites in the school gym to promote scouting in the community. Throughout the late 40’s and early 50’s the troop participated regularly in the Memorial Day parades in Amityville, Douglassville and, on occasion, in Birdsboro. Summer camp during these years was held at Hopewell, but the troop also camped in York County at Camp Chickatan and at Camp Delmont near Green Lane.