"How do you put Scouting in a box?" mused Nina Evans, assistant Scoutmaster for Boy Scout Troop 64. "We do lots of cool stuff, and we do stuff we don't expect to do."
The troop had planned to host a recruitment event in August but has opted instead to directly invite interested youths to join the troop. The minimum age to join is 11 or entering sixth grade this fall. Scouting memberships conclude at age 18. The maximum age limit is approaching for many of Troop 64's 20 members.
"We're trying to get some new Scouts in our group because the boys are getting older," Nina said.
Nina and her husband, Pat, who serves as the troop's Scoutmaster, are committed to Scouting because of the positive impact it makes on Scouts and those around them. "It allows youths to be outdoors learning survival skills, appreciating and conserving their natural surroundings, and gives them new experiences, leadership skills, and involvement in their community," Nina explained. "We're just trying to help make great community leaders - people who care about the Earth and their communities."
Troop 64 has been developing leaders for almost a half-century. It was chartered in 1971 and will mark its 50th anniversary next year. Through the decades, Troop 64 has developed a robust calendar of activities, which include weekly meetings, monthly campouts, and holiday events. The troop hosts a spaghetti dinner fundraiser in March and Breakfast With Santa in December and participates in several food drives. In May, troop members assist with the Sertoma chicken barbecue event at Long's Park.
"They actually help set the whole thing up, then sleep overnight in the park," Nina said. "They're up at 3 a.m. for the lighting of the (barbecue) pits, and they help put chicken in bags and put the meals in the boxes." Nina noted that this is the first year that Troop 64 has not been involved with the sale because it was canceled.
"Love of country" is an important tenet of Scouting, and Troop 64 practices patriotism by visiting veterans' burial sites and placing flags for Memorial Day and wreaths for Christmas. In May, Troop 64 partners with Troop 16 and Troop 35 to place flags in five cemeteries in Lancaster city, East Lampeter Township, and Columbia.
The tradition of laying wreaths began several years ago with Wreaths Across America at Indiantown Gap National Cemetery (IGNC) and has expanded to include cemeteries in Salunga and Landisville. Troop 64 also participates in the Flags Up ceremony in May and Flags Down ceremony in November at IGNC.
While the patriotic activities are solemn occasions, Troop 64 also makes time for fun and challenges. Troop members typically attend Scout camps every summer and High Adventure camps as far away as New Mexico and Canada on alternating years. The troop's monthly campouts are stepped up to twice a month in August through December. "They like winter camping," Nina commented.
Troop 64 is chartered by Salem United Church of Christ of Rohrerstown, 2312 Marietta Ave., Lancaster, and typically meets there every Tuesday evening. However, the church has been closed since the stay-at-home order was announced in March, so the troop suspended its meetings until it was safe to gather again. With precautions in place, the troop has met outdoors, sometimes at Camp Chiques, an aging Scout camp on Old Harrisburg Pike between Salunga and Mount Joy.
"The boys have been doing improvement projects there," Nina said, noting that the Scouts cleared out downed trees, cleared brush, and even powerwashed the latrines. "They're building a raft right now to go down the creek in."
Building a raft from empty barrels and fallen trees was not on this year's program schedule, but the troop took advantage of the opportunity afforded by meeting outdoors. Every meeting has included cooking on a campfire, and they have been able to practice skills like fishing, boating, fire starting, lashing/tying knots, and wilderness survival.
"They like being outside," Nina said. "They like to be together."
Anyone who would like to join Troop 64 may contact Pat at 717-629-9254 or pevans2163@gmail.com.
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