As previously announced, there are two service projects.

1.  Thursday Evening, April 21:  8:00 PM – 8:45 PM.  I need as many Scouts as can show up to help with a steps-and-path lighting exercise.  Show up not later than 8:15.  For those who arrive early, we will meet in the Mud Room which is the room below where we usually meet.  Come in the back entrance where we unload from camping trips.  Please be as quiet as possible.  Wear your Class A shirt and bring a flashlight.

Around 8:20 PM we will go quietly around to the front of the church and wait for the doors to open.  As soon as they do, we will shine our lights on the steps so people can see them and we will also be ready to help anybody having trouble.  We should also help hold the doors open.  We should check to see if there are hooks for them.

One more thing we will do is to light the side road which leads from the front of the church to the parish hall.  Again, we will simply shine our lights on the ground and we will be very vigilant around the speed bumps because they trip people better than they stop cars from speeding.

We will be there until roughly 8:45 PM.  The hardest part, I know, will be maintaining quiet.

This will be very much like the dismissals from the campfires at camp where counselors light the way while we all maintain quiet.

I hope to see several of you there.  And yes, adults may help as well.

2.  Saturday Evening:  7:00 PM – 8:15 PM.  They loved the Easter Vigil Fire last year and have outsourced it to us again this year.  I need a minimum of four Scouts with at least a couple of them older Scouts.  More will work just fine.

We will build a fire in a portable fire pit, then wait until the doors of the church close around 7:30 PM at which point we will light the fire.

Around 7:45 PM, the doors of the church will open and candles will be lit from the fire.  Once the candles have been lit from the fire, the parishoners will go back into the church and we can extinguish the fire and carry off the remains.

For those who are interested, one of the Pastoral Assistants will explain why a fire is needed.  That’s why we want to come a little early.

Service Hours?  You don’t even have to ask.  Of course there will be service hours given.

-Hank Manz

Thank you to the Scouts and parents who turned out to watch the Battle of Tower Park and then to clean up after those messy Regulars, Minutemen, and militiamen who left paper all over the ground.  We also found quite a bit of just plain trash which was also picked up.  Fortunately we did not have to dispose of the “dead” Redcoat we came across.  It turned out that he must have been merely stunned because he soon got up and moved off under his own power.

Fortunately the wind died down a bit after 15 minutes or so which helped us a lot.

Now, rest up and get ready for the parade.  We need at least a few Scouts shortly after 12:45 PM on Monday at the East Lexington Fire Station.  The rest should get there as quickly as possible.  Bring a water bottle.

There are two more sponsor projects I will give you early warning about and then remind you on Tuesday about them.

It is vacation week, but on Thursday night there is a service at 7:30 PM.  After the service ends about 8:30 PM, the parishoners walk from the church to the Parish Hall.  For reasons that I will explain later, the walks are left dark.  This can be a problem for some people and last year at least one person fell.  The church wonders if Scouts could be on hand with flashlights to assist parishoners.  You know–the same way the staff lights our way out of campfires.  We could use quite a few Scouts because there are two ways out of the church and two ways into the Parish Hall.

And then on Saturday comes a new favorite activity.  We get to light a fire in front of the church.  No kidding.  I will need 4-8 Scouts to help build a fire of reasonable size in front of the church.  A person will be there to explain what is going on.  Last year we did a very good job although this year we will probably cut down the size of the fire.  That will be from roughly 7-8 PM on Saturday.

Stay tuned!

-Hank

Hi everyone,
Tomorrow morning I’m planning on leading a group of scouts to Hale Reservation in Westwood MA for a fun filled day of orienteering.
Orienteering is a life skill that is required for scouts to reach first class rank.
Furthermore, this event is an opportunity to meet many of the requirements for earning an orienteering merit badge.
I had reserved 6 spots in February to this event.  It sold out in mid March.
Anyway, one the scouts who signed up is sick, so I have an opening.
Unfortunately, this scout’s parent was supposed to be the second of my 2-deep leadership.
That means that I’m urgently looking for an adult to accompany his/her scout with me tomorrow.
Any takers?

David Jesurum

More on the service projects for the weekend.

-Tower Park cleanup.  The battle starts at 4 PM on Saturday and lasts about half an hour.  It would be interesting to watch the battle, then we can pitch in and help.  I got a very nice note from both of the combatants–they apologized for forgetting about the need for cleanup and they will send people back to help after the battle.  We can probably start shortly after 4 because they start near Seasons Four and then progress to the area across from the Museum.  Yes, I will be very generous with hours on this one.  The British commander was once the SPL of Troop 160, by the way, and he always gives us a generous donation for the breakfast.  So if you are around, join me at Tower Park shortly after 4 PM.  I will bring plastic bags.  Gloves would be a good idea.

- Parade.  Slight change in times.  We need enough Scouts there by 12:45 PM on Monday to help push the pumper to the takeoff spot which will be somewhere fairly close to the East Lexington Fire Station.  We don’t have to have a full crew, but we need at least a reasonable number.  Again, I will be generous with service hours.  Meet at the East Lexington Fire House not later than 1 PM.  If you can make it earlier, fantastic.  If you can’t make it until close to 2 PM, come anyway.  I know we will need the help.

Troop 119 is invited to help with both events.  I know they are looking forward to the parade.

-Hank Manz

Three things all related to Patriots Day.

1. Remember to sign up for a shift for the Pancake Breakfast.  The PB is so much more than just a fundraiser.  Many people expect to see us and while I joke that it is breakfast with 1,700 of our closest friends, that may actually be the truth.  I think we still need some help with cleanup, by the way.

2. We will be joining with Troop 119 to push the pumper in the afternoon parade.  I will have the exact kickof spot later today or early tomorrow.  Stay tuned.  I expect it to be in the vicinity of Wilson Farm.  Wear your Class A’s.  Of course you get service hours!

3. There may have been an assumption by the Minutemen that we knew all about the Battle of Tower Park, but we did not.  For the past three years we have helped clean up after the battle.  This is not arduous work.  I am waiting to hear for sure from the Minutemen, but I expect we will be needed from 5-6 PM on Satruday (that’s tomorrow) at Tower Park near Season’s Four roughly across from the National Heritage Museum.  We will start from the Season’s Four end of Tower Park.  It generally takes about an hour or less.  Bring gloves.  119 is also invited for this event and I am making a command decision to award double service hours for this one.  If we get a bunch of Scouts and maybe a few parents, it will take no time at all.

-Hank Manz