Chairman - Gordon Elliot
elliotfamily optonline.net
(914) 479-5577 |
Commissioner - Joe
Anderson
jandersonrn.com
(914) 693-6214 |
Executive - Jim Lupfer
jlupfer
(914) 773-1135 ext 235 |
Serving: Ardsley, Dobbs Ferry, Elmsford, Greenburg,
Hartsdale, Hasting, Hawthorne, Irvington, North White Plains,
Pleasantville, Sleepy Hollow, Tarrytown, Thornwood, Valhalla, White Plains
Alaskan Iditarod
134 Scouts attended the Mohican District Alaskan Iditarod on February
2nd at Macey Park in Ardsley
The WINNERS are:
Station Competition:
1st Place - Hawthorne 1 - Mutant Bunnies Patrol
2nd Place - Valhalla 1 - Bull Dog Patrol
Sled Races:
1st Place - Ardsley 3 - Wolf Patrol
2nd Place - Hawthorne 1 - Mutant Bunnies Patrol
Troop 1 Hawthorne Reaches AT Milestone
During July of 2007, Hawthorne Troop #1 completed the Appalachian
Trail (AT) in NY and NJ. While not in one trip, it has been a series of
section hikes beginning in 2001. Over the last 6 years, a yearly
back-packing trip has been organized by Troop Committee member George
Napoleone. Each year the troop has tackled a new section covering 15 to 50
miles depending on the schedule. The NY-NJ section includes 160.6 miles of
trail.
It started in 2001 with an aggressive five day, 50 mile hike from the
Connecticut line to Bear Mt. Bridge. Eight Scouts and 5 leaders started out
and by the end of the day, we all knew this was no stroll through the woods.
The AT is cut through a corridor of wilderness space not too far from our
bustling communities. The path goes through places where often development is
not practical. Steep ascent and descents are a regular occurrence and the
trail is seldom smooth with numerous rocks exposed by the thousands of yearly
hikers. Along the trails are lean-tos and camping sites every 6-10 miles and
effective organizing is key along with being well prepared.
Each following year Hawthorne 1 has completed more AT sections through NY
and into NJ. As we moved further into NJ, the logistics of organizing
transportation to get dropped off and picked up has become more challenging,
but willing parents and leaders were able to assist. Some years, Scouts or
leaders who could not make the regularly scheduled trip, have organized their
own trips to complete sections missed. In total, Hawthorne 1 has completed
over 240 person-days back-packing on the trail since 2001, more than 2/3 are
by Scouts. Combining all the miles traveled by all the hikers, the troop has
logged over 2000 miles, just shy of the 2174 miles the complete AT covers
from Georgia to Maine. The only hiker to complete all 160 miles is former
Scoutmaster Lou Alagno, still active with the troop as an Assistant
Scoutmaster. Of the 12 scouts who have completed 50 miles on the AT trips, 8
have attained the rank of Eagle and the other 4 are still active in Scouting.
Along the trail the hikers have learned many lessons, first aid for minor
injuries, the importance of good hiking boots, appreciation for good water
sources, sharing the load and not bringing extra things. Hundreds of hard
earned facts are passed to new hikers each year. It is hard to determine who
will struggle and who will have no problem at the start, but the trail always
throws new challenges along with the unpredictable weather. Each extra ounce
takes its toll over the course of the hike, which is challenging enough
without carrying the 20-40 lbs of gear which are necessary for each hiker to
mange 2-3 days on the trail. The Scouts have observed lots of wildlife along
the trail including deer, hawks, eagles, snakes, bees, billions of
mosquitoes, and a few bears. Each year they meet through-hikers on the trail
who started earlier in the year in Georgia and are on their way to Maine.
They have lots of stories -- maybe there is a future through-hiker in some of
our Scouts.
While "High Adventure" treks at Camp Read may offer an authentic
wilderness experience for older Scouts, Hawthorne 1's yearly AT hikes have
given even first year Scouts an opportunity to see a glimpse of the
wilderness and learn something about themselves and others on the Appalachian
Trail. Scouts have learned the need to work together as a team combined with
the personal understanding of what it means to dig deep during a hard climb
with a heavy pack. The lessons of the AT are hard, but all those who take the
challenge come away wiser.
District Award of Merit
The District Award of Merit is the highest award that a district in
the Boy Scouts of America presents each year. Its requirements are simple -
outstanding service to youth within or outside of Scouting. Our Mohican
District is allotted two awards to present each year.
Conservation Resource Guide
Conservation is a basic part of the BSA mission. Scouting embraces
Leave No Trace, requires conservation-related activities for rank
advancement, and encourages conservation service projects to the community.
The new Conservation Resource Guide
identifies Westchester-Putnam agencies engaged in nature and conservation
activities. Organized by District, the Guide is intended to enable ‘one-stop’
access for any Westchester-Putnam Scouts and Scouters seeking sites for troop
conservation projects, nature-related advancements, or outdoor activities
(including William Hornaday Award, Leave No Trace Award, Boy Scout Rank
Advancement Nature Requirements, and Eagle Service Projects).
Training
If you are a Den Leader, Cubmaster, Scoutmaster, Committee Member, or
an assistant at any level, if you have not been formally trained, then you
are not doing your best for your son and his fellow Scouts. Here is your
opportunity as a leader to show your boys that you care. Make a commitment
to get trained, and if you are trained, encourage your other leaders to
attend. Our Mohican District will offer Cub Leader Training each month from
September to December.
Good Turn for America
In order to support our nation and our individual communities more, we
have been called on to perform more community service and to begin recording
the service, which we already perform. This is done via a website that
collects the information; please check out the website
www.goodturnforamerican.org for more information. To log onto the website
you will need a password for your unit, which you can get from Jim Lupfer.
For logging your unit's service projects the Council will recognize your
unit with a certificate and streamer for your flag.
Roundtable
Where can you have fun and learn about Scouting at the same time? They are on the first Thursday of every
month at the
Scout Service Center in Hawthorne at 7:30 p.m. Roundtable will include increased fun and fellowship to accompany the
great information!
Email Lists
The Westchester-Putnam Council, BSA uses a web
service located at Doubleknot.com, a company located in California. Our
first step using this service is operating an email list server to improve
communications with our units, districts and the council. We will use
additional features offered by Doubleknot in the future.
The purpose of a list server is to simplify sending email messages to
groups of recipients and to allow people to add themselves to lists to obtain
information regarding a specific type of topic.
You can control the email list(s) to which you are a member of. To do
this, you will need to access your "profile" on Doubleknot which is
password protected. If you were a member of an email list previously you may
already have a profile: use the "Forgot User ID and Password"
option on the Doubleknot screen. Enter the email address that would be
on file and your password will be sent to you. If you believe you
are new to our lists use the "To create a new profile " option.
Once logged onto Doubleknot, you will see all the public email lists and
those of which you are a member. Note that if you deselect any bolded list
you will not be able to rejoin the list without assistance from the council
staff.
This list server is designed to keep all of our Scouting family more
informed about the activities of the Westchester-Putnam Council as together
we serve the youth of our two counties. This server replaces list servers
used by some of the districts.
Please note that those subscribing to a List Server must be at
least 13 years of age. Those under 13 must have a parent or guardian
subscribe for them. This is a requirement of Federal law.
Email
List Profile Management
Council Privacy Statement
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