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In December our troop practiced archery and BB gun shooting on a large piece of undeveloped property next to Holy Trinity Parish in El Dorado Hills. In additional, the cadets learned about the Rorate Mass which was celebrated early that morning at St. Stephen’s.

After shooting practice, we drove down the road to Prairie City Landing in Folsom to sing Christmas Carols at a senior center. Lt. Pratt arranged 10 traditional Christmas Carols for the cadets to sing, accompanied by instrumentals that were played in the background on a blue tooth speaker to help keep us in rhythm. Once caroling was finished, we grabbed an early dinner and then took a tour of the Christmas light decorations on Pebble Creek Drive in Rocklin.

Here was the schedule:

1:30PM:  Meet at Holy Trinity Parish (3111 Tierra de Dios Dr, El Dorado Hills, CA 95762).

1:40PM: Opening Prayer; discussion re: the Rorate Mass at St. Stephen’s that morning and its significance.

1:45PM: Archery / BB Guns

3:30PM: Drive to Prarie City Landing Senior Center (645 Willard Dr, Folsom, CA 95630)

4:00PM: Christmas Carols 

5:00PM (Optional): Dinner at Taco Bell (702 E Bidwell St, Folsom, CA 95630); Christmas Light decoration tour of Pebble Creek Drive in Rocklin.

Once again, the troop started their year with their first membership meeting with a hike up Quarry Trail located near the confluence of the Middle and North Forks of the American River.  We hiked this trail last November and the dads taught the cadets a knife safety training class.

This year Lt. McCain gave the boys a small talk about how to use their compasses. In addition,  Lt. Watts gave a talk about radio communication along with a live demonstration using his radio while at Mammoth Bar.  

The itinerary for the event was as follows:

9:00AM – Meet at parking area/trailhead

9:15AM – Opening prayer; Compass review and project.

10:15 AM – Arrive at Mammoth Bar; brief membership meeting.

10:30AM: Radio communication demonstration.

11:00AM: Hike back to parking lot.  Recitation of the rosary on the way.

12 Noon: Estimated arrival at parking lot

The troop hosted their first fundraiser for the 2023-2024 school year at the end of October. We sold pastries and coffee after all the morning masses, and hot dogs, chips, and drinks (the “St. George Combo”) after all the late morning and afternoon masses. The raised funds will go towards future events for the troop (camp outs), as well as supplies (arrows and targets).

The troop hosted an activity tent at our parish’s annual All Hallow’s Eve party where kids could slay a dragon using toy boys and arrows in order to win candy. Fun was had by all.

The October event took place at a very popular hiking spot up neat Auburn named Hidden Falls. It was a 3 – 4 mile hike roundtrip, with a break in the middle to hold a formal membership meeting where officers were be elected for the upcoming troop year.  The following agenda was sent out:

9:00 AM – Meet in parking lot; opening prayer.

9:15 AM – Hike to Hidden Falls & Coon Creek via Poppy View Trail -> Hidden Falls Access Trail -> North Legacy Way (approx. 2 miles)

10:15 AM – Snack break; membership meeting (agenda to follow)

10:30 AM – Knife safety review

11:00 AM – Return hike & Rosary via Creekside Trail -> North Legacy Way -> South Legacy Way (approx. 2 miles) 12:00 PM – Concluding prayer at Hidden Gateway (near parking lot).

This was our first camp out as a troop, and we reached max capacity at our group camp site, having over 12 fathers with their sons attend. It was a cold and rainy weekend, but that didn’t dampen the trip too much or the spirit of our cadets. Friday evening included a quick dinner and a campfire rosary. Saturday morning started off with lauds, the divine office morning prayers, and then breakfast. After breakfast and some archery practice, the cadets then hiked down to the lake, with fishing, kayaking, and canoeing. A majority of the cadets had some luck catching small fish in the lake, and one group even got a catch on their canoe! After lunch, we then hiked to the historic Malakoff Diggins mining town, which included a museum tour and video talking about the history of hydraulic mining, which was the reason for the town’s success (and ultimate demise) in the mid 1800’s. After the museum tour, the group split up with some dads touring the town, and some dads going down to the river to gold pan with their sons. The evening concluded with another campfire rosary, as well as smores. Sunday morning started with lauds once again, and then a generous breakfast, and finally camp break down. This was a great first campout for the troop, which was mostly paid for by the boys fundraising efforts selling pastries, coffee, and hotdogs the prior year.

To conclude the first year of our troop, we celebrated with a family BBQ followed by a badge ceremony. The cadets received their official patches for their next rank, in addition to two other patches: the Troop shield and the American flag, as well as a St. George prayer card. Thanks to our commander, James, for leading a successful year!

Our April meeting focused on a number of grade 2 program activities (basketball, soccer, how to use hand tools), in addition to BB guns and archery.

The schedule was as follows:

8:30 AM              Mass at St. Stephen’s

10:00 AM            Arrival & Orientation

10:15 AM            Opening Prayer; Brief Meeting

10:30 AM            First Activity

12:00 PM            Lunch (hot dogs / chips)

1:00 PM               Second Activity

2:00 PM               Third Activity

3:00 PM               Chaplet of Divine Mercy & Rosary

3:30 PM               Snack

4:00 PM               Fourth Activity

5:00 PM               Fifth Activity

6:15 PM               Dinner (spaghetti & meatballs)

7:15 PM               Campfire & S’mores; St. George Presentation by Grade 5 Boys & Senior Cadets

8:00 PM               Concluding prayer & departure

Each activity was led by one of the fathers who has a son in that grade.