February 4-10 is Boy Scout Week. This year, the Boy Scouts of America is celebrating their 97th anniversary. During this week , The Daily Herald will be featuring several articles about the Boy Scouting and Cub Scouting programs in the Tyrone area, along with the programs offered in Warriors Mark.
Boy Scouting has had a rich tradition in the Tyrone area for many years. These organizations have always proven themselves as a program that provided young men from area with some of the most memorable experiences during their youth.
There are three Boy Scout Troops located in the Tyrone area. There is also a Troop in Warriors Mark which will be featured later in the week.
Troop 20 is the oldest Troop in town originally chartered in 1931 or 1932. Troop 20 meets on Monday evenings at 7 p.m. They are sponsored by the Church of the Good Shepherd. Troop 20 currently has 13 Scouts. They have a very active program for its members. The Scouts themselves plan their weekly meetings. They invite special speakers periodically and put together special programs for many of their meetings. Troop 20 recently attended the Chief Logan District Klondike Derby on January 27. Their Scouts will visit their sponsor Church for Scout Sunday on February 4, where they will assist with the worship service. Other upcoming events include a winter campout at Seven Mountain Scout Camp, and a trip to Manassas, Virginia to camp out and tour the Civil War battlefields in March. This summer, they are planning on a rafting trip through the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon and glider rides at the Centre County Glider Port before spending a week at summer camp. They will attend camp at Camp Seph Mack in July. All area boys are encouraged to contact a Scout for information about joining Troop 20 or Scoutmaster Cummins McNitt at 684-1400.
Troop 103 has been serving young men in the Tyrone area for generations. Troop 103 meets and is sponsored by the Bald Eagle United Methodist Church. They are a also a very active Troop. They also have had two Scouts recently obtain the rank of Eagle Scout. Johnny Barlett and Zac Yeaton have earned this award, which is the highest award in Boy Scouting. Troop 103 has been very busy also. They recently participated in the 2007 Chief Logan District Klondike Derby, and took a trip to the Washington DC area which they called an “Urban Excursion”. They are planning a snow tubing outing, working on a possible trip to Maine, and will be attending summer camp. They will be participating in Scout Sunday service at the Bald Eagle Untied Methodist Church February 4 and their annual Blue and Gold Banquet with Cub Scout Pack 103 on February 10. Anyone interested in joining Troop 103 or learning more about the Troop can contact Scoutmaster Mike Yeaton at 932-7411.
Troop 300 is the youngest of the these three Boy Scout Troops. This Troop was originally chartered in April 1992 at St. Matthew’s Church, which sponsors Troop 300. Troop 300 has also been a very busy organization. Troop 300 has recently participated in the Chief Logan District Klondike Derby and will participate in their annual Blue and Gold Banquet with Cub Scout Pack 300. They have numerous Scouts who completed their Boy Scout Religious Emblems and many who are completing their Citizenship badges. These Scouts will attend a Tyrone Borough Council meeting later this month to fulfill a requirement for this badge. Troop 300 will attend a campout at Camp Anderson on the weekend of March 3 with the Webelo Scouts from Pack 300 and have boys heading to Pitt-Johnstown to work on their engineering badge later in March. Troop 300 has had Scouts attend Philmont and the Boy Scout Jamboree in past years. They have also had Christopher Kirkpatrick, one of their Scouts, obtain the rank of Eagle Scout just last fall. For the first time, Troop 300 will be attending summer camp at Camp Conestoga, near Somerset. Troop 300 typically attends different camps each summer to give their Scouts a new experience each year. They will also b planning various other summer activities. Anyone interested in joining or learning more information about Troop 300 can contact Scoutmaster Tim Kirkpatrick at 684-0704.
On Monday, The Herald will feature the two Venturing Crews in the Tyrone area. Venturing is the Boy Scouts of America’s youngest program.
