Troop 127 served the town of Lincoln four ways this Independence Day Weekend. Or should we call it dependence day? The organizing committee and the recreation department depended on us to provide:
-- a sensational float, which, thanks to the organizational efforts of Finbar and Marion, Kathy's banners, the historical spirit of Joe Kerr, and the enthusiasm of a wagon full of scouts, we did.
-- a smooth-running Scout Cafe where hungry and thirsty paraders looking for a cool space to sit down with family and friends could be served perfectly cooked food without delay. Mission accomplished due in large part to the detailed planning and shopping of Ian and Penny, the money handling of Marige and Chris, the food-handling of Jesse and Liz, the expert grilling of Matt, Spike, Will B, Will T, Deron and Doug, and the unflagging food service of Thomas, Alan, Nate, Michael, Harrison, Thom and Ben, as well as the other scouts and scouters who carried burgers from the grills to the tables, kept the lemonade and sodas cold and flowing, cleaned up (notably Mark Elliott on broom), loaded out and carried stuff into the Scout House.
-- a color guard to display Old Glory during the singing of our National Anthem before the fireworks. Unfortunately "we was there but they wasn't" because the public-address system was too weak for the singer's voice to be heard. Nevertheless, eight stalwart scouts held the flag until thanked and dismissed by Recreation Director Dan P.
-- to clean up the litter on the hill left by the folks enjoying their snacks and souvenirs while watching the fireworks. More than a dozen scouts showed up, and it took us only a half hour to pick up the trash and leave a clean field.
Hooray for the heroes of Troop 127!
Pre-loading trailers
These are some of the scouts and scouters who showed up at the Scout House Saturday to pre-load gear and supplies for the Scout Cafe.
Adam slides a table into Jesse's trailer
Brawny arms lash barrels to the roof of Jesse's rig
Ian and David load tables bound for the Scout Cafe
Matt's on fire to grill flesh but needs to wait til Sunday
Aaron cools out
Spike
On the float
Alan waiting for the float to roll
Christopher surrounded by flags, large and small
Walking alongside, handing out candy
Jake and Ben waiting for the return trip
Marion and her flock of floaters
Who's the fellow on the other side of the float, facing away and wearing an original Scout uniform?
It's Eagle Scout Joe Kerr, a big hit with the Troop and the folks watching the parade
A hundred years later, still smiling
Ninety degrees hot and still hasn't unbuttoned his wool shirt
Young Eagle still standing, still waving
That's 92 year old WWII Vet Red Bradley in the front of the American Legion float - Red was interviewed by Aaron for his Eagle Project
Lincoln's Finest
The Scout Cafe
A well set-up kitchen for a smooth operation. . . hi Jack
Pots to boil the dogs
Boca Burgers are pre-cooked here before being browned on the main grills
Spike's no stranger to hot work and long hours
Will's got it down to a science
Will T's been an outstanding camp-cook for a long time
Not as long as this fellow, though
Deron tries his hand at it
Scotty stands beween Spike And Will for some cool, fresh air
Matt and friend at the grill
Customers must put their money down before they get a plate from this guy
A well staffed serving line
Hard to believe that all these dogs and more would all be sold
Harrison displays perfect tong-craft
Thomas, Alan, Nate, Michael, Jesse and Adam at work
Everyone's eyes are closed but Alan's
Nate and Michael lift the covers to . . .
. . . grab burgers for the folks
Adam listens to this loquacious Lincolnite
Will hurls clumps of frozen-together ice cubes at the inside cover of the cooler to smash them apart
Bernard and Kemon at their favorite table at the Scout Cafe - Kemon is our counselor for the Communications Merit Badge, and part of the group that donated The Guido.
John wearing his Wood Badge hat
Not as cool as Thom's, though
Matt slurps sweet goop from the bottom of the lemonade container
Ian couldn't be happier with the operation, or prouder of the scouts who did 97% of the work
Denis contributes muscle to the load-out
and a smile
Scouts and Scouters get it done together
A few hour later. . . . . . . . .
Ben, Christopher, Matt, Jake, Harrison, Michael, Thomas and Adam will be compensated for their dissapointment with T-shirts from the recreation department
The next morning . . .
Alan, Dennis and Christopher police the hill
Coooperation gets things done
Scouts separate trash and recylclables
Christopher finds an unopened bag of chips
Almost done
THE WINNING TEAM