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What is Peterloon?
Peterloon is the Dan Beard Council
Boy Scout Encampment held in the fall every other year. It began in
1927 and took its name from the
Emery family farm where it was held annually every year until 1956 when it
became a bi-annual event and moved to Camp Lower Craig, now called Cub
Scout Adventure World. This is the longest continuously running
council sponsored camporee in the world, so it operates on a strong base
of traditions and quality experiences.
Fort Hamilton was well represented at Peterloon 2002 on the
weekend of October 11-13. Over 300 youths from 25 units
participated from our district. This year’s theme was
“Homecoming” as it commemorated the 75th anniversary of the original
encampment and marked the re-opening of Camp Friedlander. Now troops
may "come home" to a summer camp experience in their own
council. Approximately 200 troops from five states (Ohio, Kentucky,
Indiana, Michigan, and Missouri) attended this year's event. There
were also several Venturing Crews (both young men and young women) and
many adult leaders and volunteers. Overall participation exceeded
4,000 people. Our own Mitch Rhodus was on the Peterloon Executive
Committee coordinating the Physical Arrangements for the entire
event, and Jerry Oberlag managed all of Ft. Hamilton's participation.
Congratulations, Mitch and Jerry, for an excellent event -- well organized
and lots of fun for all.
There were more activities than any youth could accomplish in one
weekend. Some patrols competed in the Peterloon Patrol Challenge, a
series of competitive events.
Competitive Events
Ft.
Hamilton, under the able leadership of Ken O'Connor, conducted a timed
teamwork exercise for all Peterloon contestants using an apparatus where
four youths, each at the end of one of four ropes, had to hook up and
maneuver an object to specific points while only one of the group could
provide spoken directions. It was harder than it looked, and
everyone participating spoke to the lessons in team work they learned from
the event. Here's part of our district team on the right setting up
the event.
Fun Events
Other events focused on the individual and were not competitive.
Among some of these interesting things available to enjoy and participate
in were Native American Dancing by the Order of the Arrow. 
It seems
every time they started dancing it clouded over, and every time they took
a break the sun came out again. Our council lodge must have
access to some pretty authentic Native American Dancing music and dance
patterns. We were grateful they took as many breaks as they did so
we could finish out the event schedule in dry weather.
Other events included Tomahawk throwing, rappelling, canoeing,
blindfolded tent pitching, and a host of other fun things to do and learn
from. No matter what our young men and women did, the goal of having
a great weekend and having fun was accomplished.
Setting Up Camp
Of course, part of the experience of every encampment is the fun of
working together with the rest  of
the guys in the troop in putting your tents and campsite together.
There is so much creativity that goes into the design and layout of a good
campsite, and the camaraderie of working together with your buddies
establishes friends and memories that last into the years. The
picture at the right shows members of our Troop 914 in their colorful
maroon class B's as they are erecting part of their campsite gateway.
Gateway Competition
The Scouts of our own Troop 935 are to be congratulated.  They
won the First Place Award for the Campsite Entrance Gateway Competition
not only for the district but also for the overall competition among all
the troops at Peterloon. They created a gateway of wood poles lashed
together to form a replica of the remnants of the World Trade Center
tragedy just after 9-11. As you can see in the picture at the left, the image formed is of the
ruins of two walls of one tower still standing while the other tower has
"collapsed" at the left. On a plaque on the tower next to
the American flag were emblazoned the words "In Memory of 9-11; Pass
Through to Build the Future." Passers-by inevitably got a
sudden lump in their throats and a boost in their hearts when reading it
and realizing the significance of the gateway design.
Troop 935 earned additional kudus by placing 3rd overall in the Skit
Contest among all the troops at Peterloon. Super Job, Troop 935!
Troop 923 earned 2nd Place in the District Gateway Competition  with
an impressively engineered design of lashings that raised the American
flag well above all other flags in the area. They had to lash two
poles together for each leg of the tripod to make a long enough span to
obtain the height they needed, light enough to be able to stand, and yet
strong enough to hold up to the winds and rain that graced us for one
evening (see picture at right). Congratulations, Troop 923,
for an excellent job well done.
Campsite Competition
The winners of the District Campsite Competition were:
1st place - Troop 941
2nd place - Troop 923
3rd place - Troop 956
4th place - Troop 960
Competition among these four troops was tight. They all tied with
the same total raw score, showing well constructed and appealing
campsites. Final placement by the judges was based on overall
appearance and esthetics. All four troops should feel justly proud
of their accomplishments, but special congratulations go to Troop 941.
Other troops scored well also, but still some other units were not
aware of the criteria or even that there would be judging. A score
sheet (~14k PDF) showing the campsite judging criteria and how each unit scored
is available for you to view. Besides rewarding the top units for
their effort and creativity, one of the reasons we are posting this score
sheet(~14k PDF) is to make all units aware of the criteria used by Peterloon to
assess quality campsites. Be advised, however, that campsite judging
criteria may change from one type of encampment to the next based on
different encampment criteria. Unit leaders should always check with
encampment organizers in advance to determine the criteria.
Grand Assembly
Saturday evening was perhaps the best part of the weekend when all
4,000 Scouts and Leaders present gathered for a massive evening ceremony.
It is a real treat to see 4,000 Scouters sitting together, having fun,
learning from each other's differences, and yet showing their oneness in a
unified commitment to the principles of Scouting. It's a treat
everyone should experience at least once in their lifetime.
The
evening assembly was opened by an awesome night time jump of three
parachutists leaving a dripping trail of glowing sparks from ankle flares
across the
black sky as they descended carrying American flags and landing
in front of everyone to the tune of patriotic music.  The
Order of the Arrow conducted a Brotherhood ceremony in an impressive and
solemn torch-lit scene. The finals of the skit contest were held
with judging done by the principal of the Cincinnati School of Creative
and Performing Arts (who also publicly acknowledged his experiences and
character development as a Boy Scout in Cincinnati when he was growing
up).
Awards were presented for the various competitions across
Peterloon (the Gateways, Campsites, Competitive Events, etc.), and then
all the Scouts were treated to an exciting rock concert by the band "Souled
Out." Many of the Scouts present got to be seen on the jumbo-tron
video screens next to the stage as they rocked to the music of the band.
The finale of the evening was a super fireworks display by the world
famous Rozzi
Family.
Volunteer Support
The
presence of many volunteer leaders from the district helped make the event
educational and enjoyable for all. On the left you can see Donna and
Bob preparing breakfast early Saturday morning, and below is a picture of
the Ft. Hamilton memorabilia museum that Larry had set up and was running
for all to come in and learn of Ft. Hamilton's history and heritage.
Our thanks to the Hospitality Committee of Donna and Rebecca for taking
such good care of the district staff. You should have seen the
candelabra steak dinner.
Altogether, it was an exciting, educational, and fun filled event.
If you haven't been to a Peterloon before, you should start making your
plans now to attend the next one, which will be held in the fall of 2004.
Return to the Activities
& Civic Service Committee Page
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| "The uniform makes for brotherhood, since
when universally adopted it covers up all differences of class
and country" |
-- Sir Robert Baden-Powell
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