Boy Scout Troop #228 attends summer camp

Knot tying, making first aid kits, and enjoying the lush mountains of Arkansas are just some of the things Boy Scout Troop #228 did at their annual summer camp June 17th to the 25th.

This is the first time the troops went outside of Texas to Orr Camp in Arkansas. 12 troops and five adults attended this event. A big reason for the move to Arkansas was combating the excessive heat temperatures in Texas.

“We usually go to Bear Creek, close to Kerrville, but this year we needed to combat this heat,” Assistant Scout Master Jamie Wenske said. “It was between Arkansas and Colorado, but by the time we got to decide, registration for Colorado had closed. The best part was getting out of the heat of Texas, it was about 85 degrees where we were at and 60 degrees at night.”

Boy Scout Troop #228 ranges from kids ages 12 to 17. The younger kids who attended the event worked on getting merit badges, while the older kid’s duties were to assist with the younger kids. The younger scouts worked on merit badges and the older scouts did skill based stuff.

“We had classes that help you with merit badges to get you requirements to rank up to eagle,” new boy scout member Elliott Chancellor said. “We took our swimming tests in one of the rivers there. It was cold! One of my favorite things about camp was getting my totin chip which allows you to carry a pocket knife, saws and axes. They had a trading post there to shop at and I bought a whole bunch of knives!”

Other merit badges the troops did were swimming, fishing, and even astronomy.

“This is the only scout camp in the entire country that is in a national forest,” Wenske said. “At night, there was beautiful skies. We also had a lot of cliffs, so some kids got their merit badges in climbing.”