Troop 119 is invited to share this one, by the way.

Three days before the Boston Tea Party ‘way back when, Lexington showed its contempt of the British government by buring tea.  We were the first of many towns to do so, but the cool part is that we did it first.

A filmmaker wishes to recreate the event for a historical film he is doing.  To that end, the Boy Scouts have been invited to do one of the things they do best which is to recreate that bonfire.  It will be built in an approved spot at the Chiesa Farm.  There will be oversight from Conservation and the Police and Fire Departments.  In other words, we are going to start a fire on Town property and the Town wants us to do it.  Wow!  Who would have guessed?

A lot of help is needed.  The event will take place from 3-7 PM on Tuesdsay, April 28th.  The shoot will be around 6 PM so I have allowed enough time to build the bonfire.  Partial hours would be welcomed, of course.  If any adults or Scouts can help, please let me know.

As I mentioned earlier, Troop 119 is invited to share in this event.  It should be a lot of fun and of course all will get service hours.

-Hank Manz

Here is a link to an article in the Minuteman about the Pancake Breakfast.  While I am writing, I want to add my thanks to Franco’s.  I am amazed every year at the work that gets done before, during, and after the breakfast.  As I have said many times, this is only partly about raising money.  It is also about thanking the town which supports us.  We are incredibly lucky to live in a place where Scouting is valued and when 1,700 friends sit down with us each year, it means something.  It is also a way for both Scouts and parents to get to know each other.  I am sure there are easier ways to meet people, but once you have worked a shift at our breakfast, you probably know at least a dozen people really well.

Bryan Mahoney, the editor, pointed out that the three pancake breakfasts in town are also a potent economic and social force because it allows people to stay in the Center after the reenactment because there is a place to eat and rest.

So thank you all for the hard work you put in to make this breakfast a success.
-Hank Manz

Dear Scouts and Scout Parents,

The Pancake Breakfast Event of 2009 was by any measure a huge success.  The annual fundraiser is our only troop-wide activity that we all work together and connect to our fellow Lexingtonians, and friends and visitors from surrounding towns and far-away places.  In that respect, we did remarkably well.
The scouts did a fantastic job today — it was very well organized: the drinks area was kept clean and neat with plenty of OJ and water for the customers, tables were quickly cleared and restocked, the floors were kept dry and the trash was quickly emptied.  They sold all 24 bottles of Maine maple syrup, and the cashiers not only handled the monies expertly but had an accurate count of the number of tickets sold shortly after the event closed.  The cleanup crew was efficient and the whole area was practically spotless by the time we were done.  I must say that our SPL Eliot Wong did a great job in motivating and coordinating the scouts to achieve the good results we saw.  Scouts, thank you for making my job so much easier this year!
The scout parents were the backbone of this event, contributing much time and effort, and often working in more than a shift or two.  Other than those who could not physically be available for today or during setups, the participation was practically near 100%.  Moreover, it was great to see other adults and parents whose sons have moved beyond scouting still came to work their shifts, finding camaraderie among scouters and friends on this special day.  We will always cherish your friendship and participation.  I cannot single out any crew who did particularly well because you all did spectacularly, including the graveyard shifts in making tons of sausages and the early pancakes and drinks, the kitchen crew who made pancakes nonstop for more than 4 hours, the serving crews who had to deal with pancake delays and special requests, the VIP crew who kept the police, the Red Coats, the Militiamen and others well fed, the drinks crew who kept the place always flowing and clean, and finally the cleanup crew who made this year’s cleanup the best I have seen for a while.  There was a little glitch: we constantly had a shortage of pancakes.  I have to blame myself for overlooking the logistics of not having enough storage for the sausages and pancakes — this will be corrected next year.  I did enjoy the friendly competition between the VIP and regular serving crews in their request for pancakes!
Special thanks are in order because the event could not have gone on so smoothly and so successfully without these individuals and companies.  First, I would like to thank Mr. and Mrs. Chuck Shorter who generously donated a brand new grill to the troop to replace our older grill, even though we couldn’t get the circuitry to work in time, but next year!  Generous donations of cash and food items came from, in alphabetical order, Ace Hardware, Lexington, Dunkin Donuts, Lexington (Woburn St.), Rancatore Ice Cream, Lexington, Roche Brothers, Burlington, Stop & Shop, Lexington, and Wilson Farms, Lexington.  Richard Schwartz was my extraordinary assistant manager who worked tirelessly in getting things done and made my job almost like a walk in the park.  Another tireless person is your ScoutMaster who somehow knew exactly where all the things were, and how things should be put together in the kitchen or on the floor, and who, I suspect, did not get a good night sleep on Sunday.  I also got help from my predecessor who volunteered to help out during the whole time, i.e., from 1:30 am onward this morning.  As mentioned earlier, many of you did a fantastic job and offered me extra help and took charge when I probably looked exhausted, many, many thanks from the bottom of my heart — this year is truly fantastic because despite record attendance, my job seemed easier.

I did say record attendance. We had an estimate of about 425 kids and 950 adults as paying customers, at least 200 VIPs, at least 40 Minutemen whom we served very early in the morning, plus ourselves.  So, we served over 1,700 people today.  We knew we had it coming when the pancake making never quite caught up with the line and when we started to run out of syrup (eventually twice).

So, again, many thanks to all!  And it is never too early to sign up for next year — just email me.

Franco Wong
Pancake Breakfast Coordinator