The LaSalle Ledger

Edition 1 | Issue 1 | March 2020

The LaSalle Ledger

An Update on Scouting in LaSalle Council for our supporters and leaders.

Centennial Year Celebrations Bring Council Together

The 100 ^th anniversary of LaSalle Council served as a momentous reminder that local Scouting in northern Indiana and southwestern Michigan is as strong as ever.

September’s Centennial Gala reminded us how the council’s heritage began as the South Bend Council in 1919. The year 2019 featured multiple brand-new successes, including special events and a rise in donations from generous supporters within the movement and community.

Culver Military Academy’s scout troop also turned 100 in 2019. Dozens of volunteers formed the hallowed numeral during a highly attended Iron Horse Festival at Potato Creek State Park in October. And a sporting clays event and VIP reception at Notre Dame University created more lasting connections between LaSalle Council and supporters of the Scouting movement.

Paul Myers led the charge to give local scouters a Centennial Gala to remember. Assistant Chief Scout Executive Patrick Sterrett served as a tremendous keynote speaker and reminded all who attended about the humble obligations of being leaders and role models in the BSA program.

Donors also supported LaSalle Council by showing up to Friends of Scouting gatherings in late spring. Both St. Joseph and Berrien counties hosted energized presentations that cemented many people’s commitments to Scouting.

Last year was also the first for many young women to get the full enjoyment out of the Scouting mission. Seven female Scouts BSA troops in LaSalle Council have given girls the chance to earn rank advancement and learn the patrol method.

A total of 80 LaSalle scouts earned the rank of Eagle in 2019. Overall camp attendance rose, and more scouts than ever became interested in skilled trades and STEM programs .

Rice Woods Grows Thanks to Generous Support

Of the LaSalle Council’s three scout camps, Rice Woods in Walkerton, Indiana is the most primitive for good reason. Thanks to volunteers like Don Gunther and Clarence Shively, the camp that tests scouts’ survival know-how the most is undergoing some important changes.

During a two-week camping retreat, Don lived and breathed Rice Woods. Last year, he used Friends of Scouting donations to clear campsites, fix latrines and create new campsite signs with reflectors and solar lights. He also ran electricity into the main cabin for leaders to install needed sleep apnea machines and generators.

Using his seamstress skills he refined in the U.S. Army, Don is hand-making curtains for the cabin windows. He painted picnic tables too and further preserved the wood pavilion he had built previously by laying concrete under it to help keep wood dry.

Noah Haas Honored with Eagle, Heroism Award

Originally, Noah hadn’t thought of reporting his heroic deed, but when a friend told him about Scouts in Action and the Heroism Award, the Algonquian District scout shared the news of his lifesaving efforts.

“Somebody did the same thing as me,” Noah explained, noting how water rescues are often illustrated in the Scouts in Action series of comics. “Crazy thing is it took a year to get the award and a whole other year for it to end up in the magazine. I didn’t think I would ever end up in the magazine.”

Noah passed his Eagle Scout board of review on January 22 — around the same time his installment of Scouts in Action was published in Boys’ Life .

“I’m hoping to rack up some more merit badges,” Noah said of his future Scouting goals.

He currently has 36 merit badges and aims to get at least 50 by the time he turns 18.

Especially interested in reptile and amphibian studies, Noah shared that he wants to become an aquatic biologist and study the ecosystems of rivers and lakes.

Noah is a Brotherhood member of Sakima Loge, Order of the Arrow. He has explored the Summit Bechtel Reserve with other local scouts, and his favorite memory is the Troop 122 trip to Maine for whitewater canoeing.

“It was really fun to go through the whitewater with a bunch of friends,” Noah said.

Culver Home of Newest Algonquian Cub Scout Pack

Pack 290 Cubmaster Candace Cable is proud to have expanded Cub Scouts in Culver, Indiana.

On December 19, 2019, Candace’s unit became the newest Cub Scout Pack in the Algonquian District of LaSalle Council. With eight youth enjoying what the pack has to offer, Candace shares her eye for active learning.

“They all really enjoyed going over pocketknife safety,” Candace said of the first den meetings.

Webelos Scouts are already trained to properly use pocketknives at Scouting events. Overall, Candace has three Lions, one Tiger, two Bears and two Webelos Scouts in her family pack that is open to both boys and girls in the Marshall County area.

One of Candace’s Webelos Scouts attended the Algonquian District Klondike Derby and earned a lot of points with his pack during the competition. In about a month, a Lion Cub plans on racing a Barbie-themed car in the Marshall County Pinewood Derby in conjunction with two other packs in the area.

All eight of Candace’s Cub Scouts have already earned their Bobcat badge, the initial Cub Scout rank that boys and girls can earn when they join. Tiger and Bear Cub Scouts are working on their next award, which is focused on cyber safety and general internet knowledge.

Pack 290 hosts den meetings on the first and third Tuesday of every month and pack meetings on the second Tuesday of each month at the Culver Veterans of Foreign Wars post at 6:30 p.m.

Candace enjoys decorating and hosting themed pack meetings. January’s meeting was themed for racecars to celebrate Gurley Leep’s donation of the pack’s Pinewood Derby cars.

The new Culver Cubs are quickly learning the Scout Oath and Law as well. By reordering flash cards and popping balloons with Bobcat requirements inside, Candace and her Cub Scouts have discovered entertaining ways to learn Scouting’s core principles.

Candace’s mother, Lisa Smith, has helped her daughter with food donations, fundraising and certified photography of pack activities. Candace has prior experience taking professional photos and fundraising for a high school friend who became ill when she was younger.

“

It’s a great start,” Candace said. “(My mom) is so amazing getting people to volunteer. I definitely want to get some more help and involvement.”

During the spring recruitment season, Candace will be searching for new youth and adults to join Pack 290. Anyone interested in joining the unit can email eric.zavinski@scouting.org .

Message from Scout Executive John Cary

100 years! The LaSalle Council celebrated its formation in 1919 as the South Bend Scout Council, which was chartered by National Boy Scouts of America to provide character development and leadership skills to local youth so they could grow as adults and serve the next generation.

Over the last century of local Scouting, more than 400,000 youth members have experienced the Scouting program, with almost 9,000 LaSalle Council scouts earning the rank of Eagle Scout.

Naturally, none of this would have been possible without the commitment and dedication of people who volunteered their time, treasure and talents for our youth. These volunteers are the reason why we have a Scouting program, and for this, we say: “Thank you.” Here’s to another 100 years of serving our community!