Troop 132

Dear Scout Families,

​We have been watching the weather very carefully. With discussions with the Troop Committee Chair, Scoutmaster and Honcho, we have decided to cancel the Family Bike Trip this weekend. It’s a hard call to make. We are all disappointed. Here are some of the factors that weighed on the decision:

• This is a family Bike Trip with the objectives of introducing new families and scouts to our troop and biking the rail trail.
• The forecast is indicating temperatures in the 50’s with >90% rain all day Sunday through Monday (actually gale warnings have been posted for the coastal waters) which would risk having our bike trip at all. Wet road surface and brakes are not that efficient.  
• Rain and cold are risks for hypothermia (we all expect to be in shorts in May over memorial day. 50’s in rain and wet gear are not a good combination when you can’t get inside – see COVID below.
• COVID-19 risk factors in place would have made this even more difficult: we can only have one scout to a tent; and with the Camp Greenough building is closed,  there would be no place to congregate, cook or just change into dry clothes.
• If this was a scout only trip (during non-COVID times) we most likely would proceed – but this is our annual family trip.
• Starting off strong as a group but having people leave; I’m confident we could have assembled and set up tomorrow and learned about sharks but some families might make their own decisions to leave due to the heavy rain, wind and cold expected and lack of opportunity to talk to others. It may lead to slow attrition.
• We are working on alternative dates and times with a most likely June trip and will have more information on this shortly.  Thanks for your understanding and sorry to disappoint. But a good lesson in scouting is being prepared but also situationally aware and knowing the risks

Regards,
Mr. Duggan

Greetings Scouts,

Congratulations again to Kevin O’Neil and Nolan Roberts, who received their Eagle badges last Saturday at the Court of Honor. It’s estimated that only 5% of scouts reach Eagle and this is quite an accomplishment. Kevin and Nolan were active scouts all through high school. They contributed back to the Troop through their leadership with younger scouts and through their Eagle projects, where so many got to learn new skills including carpentry, drilling, sawing, working with plexiglass, digging holes and mixing concrete. Again, congratulations to you both and look forward to have you come to any meetings that you can as adults or Assistant Scoutmasters.

Thanks to the many scouts who attended and led the trail to Eagle; it was great to have Nathaniel back to bugle during the opening and closing. If you have not attended an Eagle Court of Honor, you have another opportunity Sunday June 13 from 3:30-5:00pm. You will get to see photos of the scouts’ journey through scouting and it’s a good reminder that they started like all scouts - as Webelos who crossed over, earned scout ranks, attended summer camps, outings, meetings, and service projects. By the time they reach eagle rank, most of our scouts have over 60 camping nights and well over 100 service hours helping the community, but they all started at Scout.

This was our first outdoor Court of Honor and under the leadership of SPL Henry worked very well.  
Many scouts brought their bike to the Tuesday night meeting. Marcus inspected bikes and helmets and we proceeded on a short trip to get ready for next week’s bike trip.

A special thanks to Tommy Dehoney. Tommy brought his bike and was prepared to go for a ride but some of the new scouts did not. So instead of biking with the troop, Tommy worked with the new scouts on rank requirements, learning about the scout oath, law, badges, patrol method. Tommy led by example putting his patrol first. This is what is being a good scout is all about ! Well done.
Tuesday night we will break into patrols to plan meals, gear (tents, stoves, propane, pots, pans), cleaning items, for Camp Greenough on Cape Cod.
Camp Greenough is easy to get to and this year we will be doing a ropes course on Saturday.
This trip will be a lot of fun. Sign up.

Do your good turn daily. This can be as simple as holding the door for someone, picking up trash, helping your parents with groceries. See opportunities and just do a good deed. I’ll be asking you about what you did at the meetings !

YiS,
Mr. Duggan

Greetings Scouts,

The weather forecast is improving for the cross over camping trip. We are looking forward to welcoming the new Webelos and experiencing the rope bridge construction at Camp Acton.
Remember, bring your own tent.

Next week we have an Eagle Court of Honor on Saturday May 15 from 3:30-5:00
Bring your own chairs and water bottles as we are planning to be outside. We can move inside if needed due to weather but this is our current plan.

We will follow school COVID-19 protocols, which include wearing a mask.

Our school year 2021-2022 schedule will be planned soon so start thinking about ideas and trips, camping and scouting events you liked and start discussions with your leaders as to what you want to do next year. Some thoughts that came up include surfing. That would be fun.

Do your good turn …DAILY !

Published in The Concord Weekly March 26, 2021
Reprised in The Spirit of Adventure Council (BSA) Newsletter April 30, 2021

Concord’s Scout Troop 132 worked to complete a year of service despite the COVID-19 shutdown. The troop, under the leadership of Scoutmaster William Duggan and cadre of adult volunteers, responded to the needs they saw in the community. They worked to implement annual activities like the Christmas Tree pickup, as well as new need activities like making masks for health care workers. Most of these projects also supported other local social service organizations.
It began last spring, when Troop 132 partnered with Open Table on a food drive. The scouts, neighbors and friends collected and donated 1,344 pounds of food to Open Table to improve food security in our area.

Next, the troop put together and donated over 1,300 face shields to Shields of Hope for front line workers and worked with Coats for Kids and Anton Cleaners to collect and donate nearly 30 coats. 
Even in this unusual year, the troop managed to lead two annual events in partnership with Holy Family Parish in Concord: The Annual Turkey Truck ahead of Thanksgiving and the Annual Christmas Tree Pickup in January.

At the Annual Turkey Truck, the scouts collected and delivered over 330 turkeys for donation to Crossroads Family Center in Boston and nearly $3,000 in additional financial support was raised and donated to other local food programs. At the Annual Christmas Tree Pickup, Troop 132 Scouts and members of the Parish’s Youth Ministries managed to follow Department of Health protocols and still collect well over 750 trees in one day, making it the most successful Christmas Tree Pickup ever. Working with the town of Concord Compost Center, the trees collected have now been converted to mulch, which will feed gardens around town.
Troop 132 led other service projects this year and also managed to do other scouting activities including hiking, orienteering, cooking but it was these projects that connected the Troop to the greater Concord community.

“Scouts should be friendly, be cheerful, be helpful,” said Duggan. “Remember, there is always an opportunity to do a good turn.”