The following, an article from the Bucks County Courier Times on November 15, 1975, was written by George L. Feller. If you look at the larger picture you will see current Unit Commissioner & Bristol Twp. School Director W. Earl Bruck in a checkered flannel shirt. In the smaller picture your's truly is the fella on the right with his arm on his knee.
SCOUTS EXPERIENCE CAMPING OUT
It rained
and it rained and it rained some more. The weatherman said all week
the weekend would be bright, sunny and dry. Despite the bad weather,
Falls Township Boy Scout Troop 53 invited the Webelos of Cub Scout Pack
100 and their fathers to accompany them to Tinicum County Park for a weekend
of camping and the teaching of Scout skills to the younger boys.
Webelos
are the elite corps of the Cub Scouts. Cub Scouts are in the eight
to ten year old range, with the Webelos all being 10. When a Cub
Scout reaches 11, he is then eligible to join a Boy Scout troop.
The camping trip is a way to introduce the Webelos to Boy Scouting.
The caravan
traveling to Tinicum got under way a little before 7 pm. Friday, already
almost an hour behind schedule. There was an advance scouting party
of a pickup and a station wagon followed a few minutes later by two more
pickups, two station wagons,a van and yet another station wagon.
It was the greatest collection of trucks and station wagons seen since
the last trip to a used car lot.
TENT GOES UP
After
the hour long drive, camp was set up in rapid fashion,considering there
must have been 20 tents and dining flies. The adult leader's tent,
a 10x16 monster belonging to George Bruck, Assistant Scoutmaster,was erected.
It is dubbed the "Taj Mahal" by the Scouts and will sleep six without undue
intimacy. A seventh can be crowded in. That night only three were
in it and it was spacious.
Before
retiring for the night, the Scoutmaster ( Bill Delano) and the Committee
Chairman , John Yurgel who teaches Biology at Delhaas High School, called
the boys into ragged formation and read off the agenda for the following
day, beginning with reveille at 7:30. "What's reveille?" piped up
a ten year old. With a note of exasperation in his voice, the Scoutmaster
explained reveille is when you get up. "Oh" came the squeaky reply.
Delano
and Yurgel continued with the list of Saturday's classes taught by
the older boys in such Scouting skills as fire building, campsite construction,
First Aid, and ending with that Scouting tradition to end all Scouting
traditions__ the campfire...Then came taps. The Scoutmaster quickly
added that taps is when you go to bed. "Oh" chorused the Webelos.
Unfortunately, Troop 53's bugeler didn't make the trip so the ten year
olds never actually heard taps and reveille played.
The boys
were pretty wound up about what lay ahead the next day and little sleep
was taken that night The Scoutmaster predicted that because of the
workout planned for Saturday, the boys would be ready to hit their sleeping
bagsat 10 pm.
Lying
awake in your sleeping bag that night, after having consumed far too many
cups of what truckers call 100-mile coffee, youcan identify the ages of
the boys by the octave levels of their voices. They ranged from the
pre-pubescent alto of a Webelo to the husky baritone of 15 year old Tim
Delano, the Scoutmaster's son, Pennsbury High Junior and Troop 53's Senior
Patrol Leader who looks and sounds several years older than his age would
indicate.
The older
Scouts, having been on countless camping trips before and having slept
little during the night, snoozed right through the 7:30 non-playing of
reveille.
I was assigned to eat with the
Senior Patrol, which is made up of the older Scouts, and the meals were
the last served. They set a great example for the Webelos , most
of whom got up a half hour before reveille both mornings.
The worst meal was Saturday
night's, consisting of dehydrated beef stroganoff and vegetables in a cream
sauce. It seems both dishes had aged too long in their respective
bags. They both had the same taste, odor, and texture;wet cardboard.
Fortunately there were also hamburgers and a salad.
It rained off and on all night
Friday and Saturday morning but it failed to put a damper on the day's
activities. The worst casualty of the trip occurred when Cubmaster
Earl Stalker wrenched a knee in the ongoing pickup football game early
Saturday afternoon and was forced to hobble about camp the rest of the
weekend. The cubmaster will be moving to Churchville and is about
to turn the reins over to Assistant Cubmaster Jay McHugh. No doubt
the football injury helped convince him of the wisdom of that decision.
Father and son teams were all
over Tinicum Park on this trip. In addition to the aforementioned
Bill and Tim Delano the list included: Assistant Scoutmaster George
Bruck Sr., also a former Webelos leader. He was accompanied byEarl,
12, and George Jr., 13, both members of Troop 53.Troop Committee Chairman
John Yurgel, Webelo Peter, 10, and Scout Jay, 13. Cubmaster Earl"call
me gimpy"Stalker and his son Earl Jr., 9, a Cub Scout. Assistant
Cubmaster Jay McHugh and his sons John, 8, a Cub Scout, and Mark, 6, the
camp mascot who was nicknamed "Baby Hughie" . All in all there were
eight Webelos fathers 13 Webelos and four other sons( three of them Cub
Scouts) in addittion to the Boy Scouts of Troop 53.
The most touching father and
son team of the trip never actually camped overnight. Chuck Jordan,
a Boy Scout Assistant District Commissioner, didn't camp with his son Chris,
13, because both Chris and his mother were in St.Mary Hospital. Chris
had abdominal pains and Mrs. Jordan was in for tests. Even that sobering
thought didn't stop the elder Jordan from trying to enjoy the weekend.
Friday night he took a load of boys a camping gear to Tinicum and helped
set up camp. He promptly drove back to his Levittown home to be by
the phone in case of emergency. He returned to camp Saturday morning
to help with the day's activities. A little past noon he drove down
to St. Marys to visit his wife and son. Before the campfire Saturday
night he returned once agoen bringing Chris with him, just released from
the hospital.
Saturday night Oct.25 in Falls
Township, 12 youths were arrested for underage drinking. Saturday
night Oct.25in Tinicum Park, over 30 Falls Township youths sat around a
campfire listening to Jordan, in full costume and headress, tell an Indian
story.
I believe this article was from April of 1972:
Fiesta Is Theme
"Fiesta" was the theme at a recent meetingof Cub Pack 107 sponsored by the Abraham Lincoln PTO at the school on Plunbtree Drive, Plunbridge, Levittown.
The highlight of the evening was the breaking of the pinata. Each Cub was blindfolded and had a chance to break it with a bat.
Pat Wersler was introduced by John Goetter, Cubmaster, as the new activities chairman."Project Soar" will take place tomorrow. There will be a flea market Saturday, May 5, a Webelos Weekend Saturday & Sunday, May 19 & 20, and a trip to the Shrine Circus Friday, June 8.
Awards for the evening were as follows: Bobcat, Louis Batchelder and Robert Huber; Wolf Badge. Todd Lipton, one gold and threesilver under the Wolf.
 Silver arrows under the Wolf,Mike Kern, Andy Blakely, Bill Everett, and Kurt Boehringer with three.
Bear Badge, Ronnie VanHorn, one gold and two silver under the Bear; Robert Huetworth, Bear, one gold and two silver
Silver arrows under the Bear, Jeff Goetter, Ken Kern, Earl Collins, Mike Semler(two),and Bill Nissley.
Webelos Awards were presented by Webelos leader Jim Master, including Frank Bennett,Aquanaut,Artist, Citizen, Craftsman, Engineer, and Sportsman; Doug Konvalinka, Citizen, Engineer, and Sportsman; Ricky Stringer, Aquanaut, Artist, Citizen, Engineer, Outdoorsman, and "Arrow of Light".
Andy Semler, Citizen, Engineer, and Geologist; Ricky Lancaster, Engineer, and Jim McLaughlin, Artist, Citizen, and Engineer.
Steve Englisch recieved his Engineer badge and his "Arrow of Light" for his graduation into Troop 123.
Arrow of Light pins were presented to Lynn Stringer for her help to the Pack, and to Ellie Englisch outgoing activities chairman.