Month: October 2023

Our March meeting focused on gold panning and California’s historic gold rush. The meeting was held at Marshall Gold Discovery Historic Park in Coloma and included a park tour with a tour guide. It concluded with fathers taking their sons gold panning.

The weather finally agreed with our troop this month and we proceeded to do firemanship training with the cadets. The following agenda was followed:

• 8:30AM – Meet @ a lieutenant’s house
  Opening prayer

• Layout of the fire rings (each father will build his own fire with his sons)
• Where to locate your fire
• Four ways to build a fire
• How NOT to start a fire
• How to start a fire and use fire starters
• Setting up your cookware
• 9:30AM – Fathers build fires with their sons and get cooking.
• 11:00AM – Fires are extinguished. Clean up site.
• 11:45AM – Concluding prayer

Campfire Cooking Suggested Supply List

For Cooking:

• 12-inch cast iron skillet (other sizes can work)

• Cast iron Dutch oven (optional, for making biscuits)
• Coffee pot or percolator (optional, needs to be able to be over fire)
• Small bottle of cooking oil or stick of butter, or both
• Pancake instant mix
• Sausages/bacon/ham/other (your preference)
• Eggs (optional)
• Tube of biscuits (if you bring a Dutch oven)
• Several paper towels (or a roll)
• Spatula (can be metal or heat-resistant plastic)
• Instant/ground coffee or hot chocolate.
• Plates, cups, and utensils (disposable is okay, reusable is better)
• Syrup/butter (optional for pancakes)

For Fire:

• Bundle of hardwood firewood (available at most supermarkets)
• 3 or 6 bricks (clay preferred over concrete due to better heat resistance)
• Small shovel for moving hot coals
• Potholder/oven mitt
• Matches/lighter
• Newspaper/drier lint/jute twine for tinder
• Other fire-starting methods
• Hatchet/small axe (we can share if needed)
  Note: Walmart/Sportsman’s Warehouse has supplies that will work for a lot of the needed equipment at lower prices than REI or BassPro.

Due to another rainy weekend, we postponed firemanship training and planned an event in the classrooms at St. Stephen’s to train the cadets on various skills from their troop manuals.

The first part of the training was how to properly carry and fold the American flag. The cadets were taught that the flag should never touch the ground and that when carrying the flag the stars should always face forward. They also learned how to properly fold the flag into a triangle.

The second part of the cadets training was on fishing. One dad taught the supplies needed, including the proper state license, and places where to go. Another dad taught the kids basics of fly fishing, tying flies, and how to properly cast. Finally, once the rain cleared, the boys were able to go out to the church field and practice how to cast a line using actual fishing poles.

December was scheduled to be our event for firemanship and fire safety, but due to the rain it was rescheduled and we audibled to an indoor event at St. Stephen’s. For each of these discussions, we had a separate father lead the training which included: how to put together a first aid kit, first aid treatment for scrapes and cuts, treating burns and snake bites, and how to identify poison oaks and treat those rashes. After the first aid basics, we had a break, then the fathers worked with their sons on learning how to tie 4 knots: bowline, clove hitch, overhand on a bite, and a square knot.

Here was our agenda:

6:30AM – Rorate Mass

8:30AM – Breakfast

9:00AM – Opening Prayer; Brief Meeting (mainly to discuss the Junior and Senior Cadet program requirements)

9:30AM – First Aid basics

• First Aid Kit Basics
• Wound Dressing (Scrapes and Cuts)
• Burn Treatment
• Snake Bite
• Poison Oak/Allergic Reactions

10:30AM – Break

10:45AM – Knots

• Bowline
• Clove Hitch
• Overhand on a Bight
• Square Knot

11:30AM – Concluding prayer