Troop 281 Cincinnati, OH

An Unusual (But Fun) Way to Give Gifts      This week we had our Christmas party, consisting mainly of our white elephant gift exchange. Everyone who attended this week’s meeting brought some type of gift. (The recommended cost was $5-$10.) All of the gifts were put on a table in the middle of the room. Then we all made a circle-ish shape around the table. Jackson T. explained the rules: we would go around the circle, one person at a time. Each person would choose either to pick a gift from the table, or to steal a previous person’s item. One item could only be stolen up to three times, and someone could not steal something that they’d already had.      It was a great time. There were some cool gifts, and lots of laughing over the events unfolding. Sometimes, just as someone got exactly what they wanted, it was stolen from them. Some items of interest that were stolen three times were a Gerber knife, a waterproof stuff-sack, a lantern...

Feast Fest     This month, we had one of our traditional troop camping trips… Feast Fest! Feast Fest is a campout dedicated to having fun and good food. Traditionally, the troop holds this event at Boy Scout Camp Oyo, near Portsmouth, Ohio.      It all started with the long drive (2 to 3 hours) to Camp Oyo. The large procession of vehicles left the lockup in the dark. Before we knew it, we were out of Cincinnati and on our way down State Route 52. We passed quite a few power plants situated cozily along the Ohio River, while seeing rolling farmland and old barns on the other side of the road. We went through several towns with beautiful Christmas decorations and long strings of colored lights along the road. About halfway through our drive, we stopped at our usual Marathon station to get snacks, drinks, etc. and to go to the bathroom. With all of our Scouts and leaders lined up all the way across the convenience store, it was probably one ...

Preparing for Feast Fest       This week, our meeting involved preparations for the Feast Fest campout. One of the first things we did after the opening flag ceremony was patrol leader nominations. Yes, that time of year had come again. The patrols went to their corners to nominate their new patrol leaders, who would be sworn in at the January Court of Honor. Then there was trailer loading, accompanied by a nice long game of dodgeball. Later, we had patrol leader elections. After the loading, voting, and dodgeball throwing was finished, we circled up and concluded our meeting. Congrats to all of our new patrol leaders elect!

Dutch Oven Cook-Off      This week the troop had a Dutch oven cooking competition. Once tent inspections were completed, the meeting began. After the Eagles put on the opening flag ceremony, everyone went outside. Large tin trays were set up, filled with glowing coals. Each patrol got its Dutch oven and other equipment and set to work. The patrols competed fiercely, making things like cobbler, dump cake, and all kinds of tasty treats. It wasn’t long before ovens were on their coals and producing delicious smells. When it was time to plan meals for Feast Fest (coming up in a couple of weeks), everybody just did it right there, next to the Dutch ovens. Closer to the end of the meeting, the youth staff called for everyone to come inside for the final fall-in, except for two people from each patrol (to tend to the cooking food). After the troop fell in, everyone came inside to participate in circling up. Several Scouts received their rank patches: Hunter M. and ...