About Troop 82

Boy Scout Troop 82 belongs to the Hiawatha district of the Gamehaven council of the Boy Scouts of America. The troop is charted by Zumbro Lutheran Church at 624 3rd Ave SW in Rochester MN. Zumbro Lutheran is a member congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Troop 82 has a long history at Zumbro.

The troop is open to any boy who is willing to abide by the Scout Oath and the Scout Law. Like all Boy Scout troops, Troop 82 is lead by the boys, supervised by the Scoutmaster and assistant Scoutmasters and given oversight by a Troop Committee. The Troop Committee consists of parents, members of the church and the church pastoral staff.

The basic unit of Boy Scouts is the patrol. A patrol consists of a group of scouts (ideally around 8) of various ages and abilities. The patrol is lead by the Patrol Leader who is elected by the boys in the patrol. in Troop 82, elections are traditionally held every 6 months.

Our Program

The purpose of Boy Scouts is to give young men the opportunity to build character by having the opportunity to experience leadership. This is a big change from Cub Scouting. In Cub Scouts, the program is defined by the adult Cubmaster and Den Leaders. In Boy Scouts, the boys provide the leadership. The roll of our Our adult leaders is to provide a safe environment and to mentor the boys who currently are in a leadership position. To that end, the scouting program in Troop 82 is defined by the boys. If they choose to camp every month, then that is what we do.

Scouting is an outdoor program and Troop 82 takes this seriously. It is our tradition to meet at Zumbro Lutheran Church every Monday night during the school year; to camp once a month and to attend a Boy Scout summer camp each summer. In addition we try to attend one of the three Boy Scout High Adventure programs once every three years with "mini-high adventure" trips aimed at older scouts planned in the intervening years.

Although the national BSA program year runs from February to February. We traditionally plan our program from September to August. In February we hold a day-long retreat where the scout junior leaders (Senior Patrol Leader, Ast. Senior patrol Leader, Troop Guide, Patrol Leaders and Scribe) plan the upcoming year. This includes deciding the themes for each month, when we will camp that month and where we will camp. the scout motto is "be prepared" so we decide a "plan A" and a "plan B" camp for each month. We also plan any "high-adventure" activities for the summer.

In August we again meet and fine tune the upcoming program and to plan specific activities based on the themes we chose in February. This includes defining a budget and estimating the cost of each months activities. After the boys have determined the program they present it to the Troop Committee for approval.

Monthly Camps

The highlight of each month is our monthly camp. There are many places to camp within driving distance of Rochester, including State Parks, Boy and Girl Scout camps, DNR recreational areas, State Forests and private lands. Usually we camp from 5:30pm Friday to 11:30 am Sunday. Exactly what we do at camp is determined by the plan prepared by the scout junior leaders.

We camp using the "patrol method". This means that each patrol camps as an independent unit. They have their own cooking and camping equipment. They plan, purchase and cook their own food, and they participate in activities as a group. The junior leaders: Senior Patrol Leader, Ast. Senior Patrol Leader and Troop Guide(s) also form a patrol. The adult leaders come to camp as the guests of the patrols. They camp separate from each patrol and attend meals with the patrols based on a schedule prepared by the Senior Patrol Leader.

Each month one of the members of a patrol is assigned to buy food for that months campout. This is a great opportunity for the scouts to learn how to make wise purchases. If your son is asked to be the food buyer, take him to the grocery store but let him do the buying. Purchase the food and then be prepared to collect from each scout, plus one or two adult leaders. (The menu plan will list how many are eating with the patrol.)

Besides the outdoor activities such as hiking or canoeing or playing football that we have planned for the weekend, we normally have a campfire program on Saturday night. Again, the campfire is planned by the PLC. It might consist of skits from each patrol or involve cooking a desert in a Dutch oven. The campfire always includes a worship service. The service is lead by the troop Chaplain's Aide, a position appointed by the Scoutmaster.

Traveling to and from camp is also lead by the boys. Loading and unloading the troop trailer is supervised by the Troop Quartermaster and patrol supplies and equipment are organized by each patrol Quartermaster. If you have the opportunity to help drive us to camp, be prepared to spend a little time. it takes longer to load and unload then it might is the adult leaders supervised, but given the opportunity, it's amazing how they learn.

We usually time our return from camp so that we arrive at the church around 11:15 am. This is after the second service has started and gives us 45 minutes to unload before church is out. To unload we set aside each scouts personal gear, take the tents down to the scout room and hand them up to dry, assign equipment that needs to go home with individual scouts for cleaning and split up any unused food.

Summer Camp

Summer camp is a week of camping at a Boy Scouts of America owned Scout Reservation, during which scouts participate in all kinds of outdoor and scouting activities, such as swimming, canoeing, rowing, fishing, sailing, hiking, archery, wood carving, leatherwork, and so on. Each year the boys of Troop 82 choose a camp to attend from the facilities run by BSA councils in the upper Midwest. (Gamehaven Council discontinued it's own camp in 1997 so the camp we attend is necessarily run by another council.)

For Troop 82, summer camp is an extension of our regular monthly outdoor program. We use our own tents and equipment and are organized into patrols.

A major feature of summer camp is the opportunity to work on scout advancement requirements, including merit badges. In just a week at summer camp a scout can complete more advancement requirements than in a year at home, in addition to having lots of fun with traditional summer camp activities.

Values of Scout Camp

While participating in outdoor activities, Scouts do much more than just camp.

Socially: Camp is a time when boys are together in a variety of small groups for extended periods of time. Social learning takes place as they develop friendships, work and play together, make group decisions, and live with the consequences - all critical developmental skills that are age and gender specific.

Mentally: At camp, Scouts can choose from a variety of activities to meet their personal needs for learning. The hands-on learning that occurs lasts beyond a week at camp -- because each boy comes away having learned more about himself.

Emotionally: Scouts gain a heightened sense of autonomy and self-esteem, as well as an increased understanding of other Scouts and their feelings, when they are camping. These aspects all combine to benefit a boy's emotional development and maturity.

Spiritually: Camp allows Scouts an opportunity to step out of their routine and appreciate a world (the outdoors) that was not created by man. Young people can focus on things that are not manmade or material, but natural, taking the time to reflect on themselves and the greater world around them, gaining a new sense of perspective.

Physically: Activities ranging from mountain biking, swimming, hiking and fishing to canoeing teach young people how to enjoy staying fit for a lifetime. Scouts experience many new outdoor activities which are designed to help them develop critical, lifelong health and exercise habits.