The contrast between the surrounding darkness and the bright towers of flame, the single voice projecting ‘WE……..’ (like the baton of a symphony conductor focusing us, and the pause for a moment so that we can all respond in unison) ‘……….Are the Scouts of 25 You’ve Heard So Much About……’.

If you have gone through the Troop, this image needs no explanation. From the beginning to the snap off at the end ‘HOORAY,’ and silence to hear the resulting echo across Dodge Pond. Harry gave credit to a previous Scoutmaster for penning it, and distinctly good to know it is ‘our song’ in every sense.

Our campfires are a relatively simple activity in our current times. They are enjoyed for being social rather than individual, for you feel a member of something larger. They can be done in any season, outdoors or in and be a patrol activity or larger troop one. They can include a story, a legend of the Honor Society, a visit from Santa Claus, a reflection of AT or Canoe and expectations for what is coming next.

Musical accompaniment – Harry’s preference was the ukulele, combined with special performances with his accordion. Paul and Mark prefer the guitar. Interspersed within the decades were musically inclined, talented senior scouts and staff that branched us out and enhanced the repertoire. The choice of songs often maximize audience participation, highlight heroes and villains and reflect on history.

Raised to a higher level and this exemplifies the ‘progression’ of the troop experience. Upon joining, you sit cautiously, looking around and finding the older scouts are enthusiastically singing with confidence and seem to know so much of what you know little. There appears no delineation of age, as the adults and scouts equally join in. You pay attention, looking to snatch a piece of the chorus so you can feel a part.

In the next years you move from memorizing chorus, to verses, to judging what are the favorites you look most forward to. Of course, all your friends are now singing with the same surety.

As you near the end of your seven years, should you look to see the new scouts, and remind that you were once in their shoes, there comes the realization that in the progression you have not only learned the songs, enjoyed the campfires, but that you serve as the positive model for the new scouts entering, in their hope that they might get to where you are. The simple analogy of the songs can expand to so many areas of skills and values that one gains and projects to others in our process.

Paul has guided new recruits to sing before officially entering. Mark has given us a troop specific songbook. Should we be able to compare the current line-up side by side with one of decades ago, we would find a high amount of similarity (we do seem to have a penchant for songs of the sea that end tragically). Should you be away from the troop for any length of time, you can easily again step back into the times of your youth through a campfire. It is significant to watch alumni fathers sitting with their troop sons sharing what both have come to know. Of note to me at the current campfires is to realize (with our sustained participation) that I am usually singing with a number of same folks I was twenty-five to fifty years ago. I know of no other organizations that have that active reach.

It is the campfires that connect the current scouts with the great number of troop generations in decades before. ‘The Scouts Of 25 Are On The Way—HOORAY.’