March is Disabilities Awareness Month
March 14, 2010 - Troop Earns Disabilities Awareness Merit Badge - During the last two (2) troop meetings, Scouts from Troop 362 learned what it meant to be a person living with a disability. Each scout was given a community agency that serves individuals with disabilities to research and report to the rest of the troop. We learned things about autism, rehabilitative services, blindness and many others. The Troop also participated in stations to see how they would cope if they had a disability. Later, the Troop was visited by Scott and Mike from Jacob's Village. Jacob's Village is a community living facility that is, "Dedicated to enriching the lives of adults with developmental disabilities." Scott was wonderful! He represented Jacob's Village in a very positive manner. Later in the meeting, the scouts split up to perform an accessibility survey of our school and church. We ended the meeting by participating in a Wheelchair Basketball game. Boy...was that fun and exhausting. It sure isn't as easy as it looks. We want to extend a HUGE thanks to Susan B. and Karen M. for putting together a wonderful program for the Troop. 

Welcome new Boy Scouts!
February 5, 2010 - Pack 362 Blue and Gold Banquet - Tonight, we welcomed five new Boy Scouts into our Troop. Good Shepherd Catholic Church Pack 362 invited us to attend their Annual Blue and Gold Banquet. This year, as they celebrated Scouting's 100th Birthday, the Scouts were reminded of what a historic moment in their lives this is. Many years from now, these boys will be able to proudly claim that they can claim that they were in Scouts as for the 100th Celebration! Scoutmaster Ken Balczo welcomed the new Boy Scouts and presented them with their first Troop Neckerchief and Boy Scout Slide. We are excited to have these young men join our troop and look forward to sharing the Scout Trail with them. Welcome, Scouts. We've been waiting for you.

The new Boy Scouts will spend the next couple of months learning the basics of Boy Scouting. During this time, they will be placed in a Patrol. This patrol will decide on a Patrol Name, elect a Patrol Leader and Asst. Patrol Leader and design their Patrol Flag. They will learn the basics of Boy Scouting like the Scout Oath, the Scout Law, the Scout Motto, the Scout Slogan and how to tie a Square Knot. In addition to all of this, they will be able to describe the Boy Scout Uniform and describe the Boy Scout Emblem and what all of its parts mean.

These are just some of the things these boys will learn in the beginning. We'll pack all that in and more as we introduce the fun and excitement of what Boy Scouting has to offer. As we celebrate the past 100 years, let's look forward to the next 100 years. Happy Birthday, BSA, Happy Birthday!

Snow Sports Merit Badge
February 23 -24, 2010 - Paoli, Indiana (Paoli Peaks) - Saturday morning, bright and early, we made our 2nd Annual trip to Paoli Peaks. Even though we were experiencing an odd January warm up, several of us trekked on to work on our Snow Sports Merit Badge. Classes were fun and the boys really took to the skills being taught. Our instructor, Roy, was AWESOME! He took the time to get to know us and take an interest in the progress we were making. No matter your skill level, he brought the instruction to a level we could all relate to.

After the basic instruction, the boys hit the slopes and didn't stop. We had our share of spills, but that didn't stop us from getting right back on and try it again.  At the end of the first day, we were very blessed to have the hospitality of Our Lord Jesus Christ the King Catholic Church. Thanks to them, our Troop had a dry and warm place to sleep for the night.

On Sunday, we returned to the slopes. Despite the evening rain and the morning drizzle, the boys were ready to get at it again. We were some of the first to arrive and it appeared that we were going to be the first ones to cut the path for those who would follow us the rest of the day. It was Scout Sunday at Paoli so we were excited to see many of our fellow Scouts from the Evansville, IN area.

Roy, our Ski Instructor from the previous day, met us one last time to give us our last period of instruction. Later in the day, as he posed for pictures with us, he presented our troop with some 25th Anniversary posters of Paoli Peaks. We came home with our share of scrapes and bruises, but overall the weekend, despite the warm weather and the rain, the weekend was a success.  Who knows if we have a future Winter Olympian among us, but we got a good start. As we left, Roy left us with one last bit of advise..."Beware of the Attacking Squirrels." You had to be there!

Garden of the Gods
October 2009 - Garden of the Gods, Shawnee National Forest, Illinois - Garden of the Gods is located in southern Illinois in the Shawnee National Forest. The Wilderness area is over 320 million years old and covers over 3,300 acres of beautiful old growth forest. The sediment rock in this area is over 4 miles deep and the fractured bedrock has created some interesting rock formations that represent various objects.

Garden of the Gods has two main trail systems. The best known trail is the Observation Trail. It follows a .25 mile stone path that leads to some spectacular overlooks of the Garden of the Gods Wilderness area and views of unusual rock formations. This is an interpretive trail that has some interesting history about the geology of this area. There are other trails that lead to places such as Indiana Point, Anvil Rock, Mushroom Rock and Big H. These trails combine for about 5.5 miles and are interconnecting. On this trip, we did both.

This was a wonderful trip for those who could make it. We took note of some perfect campsites for the future and enjoyed hopping from rock to rock. I'm sure we'll go back.

Boy Scout Pancake Breakfast

August 2, 2009 - Good Shepherd Catholic Church, Evansville, IN - We started a new chapter in our Troop's history today. We have talked for years about hosting a monthly pancake breakfast, today we finally did it. We hope that this breakfast will provide a sustaining fund raising option for the Troop.

We are starting by serving all you can eat pancakes served with scrambled eggs, crisp bacon, sausage links, coffee, milk and juice. We will serve our pancake breakfast every first Sunday of the month after the 7:30 a.m. Mass and serve until about 10:00 a.m. The scouts are doing a good job of doing the breakfast prep work, serving, re-filling, dishes and clean-up.

All are welcome and encouraged to share friends, family and fellowship as they enjoy each others company. The cost is $6.00 for adults $3.00 for children 10 and under. There is a special rate of $1.00 for all registered Scouts. This is a great time to show our support, meet the Boy Scouts and see the good that our youth is contributing to our community.  Please consider coming out to support our Troop the first Sunday of every month. We are ready to serve you. Sit down and visit awhile! Pancakes are um, um, good!