SCOUTING SMOKE SIGNALS

Anyone that has been following this column might just get the idea that the Boy Scouts Of America are about the only people enjoying our outdoors. Nothing could be further from the truth. In our own immediate area we have great facilities with many programs offered to the public. Fox Island and Lindenwood Environmental Preserve offer both guided and unguided tours that sometimes develop into field trips that investigate other areas of interest throughout the state. Plus there is at least one more youth group that closely resembles the B.S.A. program. That program would be The Girl Scouts of America.

The Girl Scout program is just a few years younger than the Boy Scouts so we have both been around quite awhile. And they both share the same goal of helping our youth grow and mature by participating in a program that teaches many different types of skills; and the attendant discipline, self-confidence, and self-reliance that arrives with the mastering of those skills.

Camp Logan is 220 acres of woods, meadows, ravines, and natural wetland in the Syracuse, Indiana area. The camp is open year round to provide Troops a variety of safe experiences for a day, a night, a weekend, or a week. Primary programs include the Waterfront, Western Horseback Riding, Trail Rides, lessons, and just about all other levels of outdoor education.

Two local Girl Scouts from Troop #850 (they meet at the Scout Cabin at the corner of Ardmore & Lower Huntingon. Contact Mary Shepard – 436-2422 for details) were able to attend Camp Logan for a week and they came home quite enthused!

Julia Shepard and Kasey Shepard renewed old friendships with many of their peers even while they were adding brand new friends to their address books. Trisha Warner from Troop #403, and Elizabeth Brames along with Emily Taylor from Troop #660 were listed as great new friends that broadened Kasey and Julia’s horizons just a bit more.

While the Scouts were at Camp Logan they spent many hours riding, grooming, and “just cleaning up” while caring for their own horses for the entire week. That certainly takes a lot of responsibility. In addition to that full time involvement the Scouts were also able to go swimming, boating, archery, fishing, study survival skills, and refine cooking over an open fire. Julia and Kasey along with all of the other area Girl Scouts would like to express the deepest and most sincere THANKS‑to the many Waynedalers that purchased those delicious Girl Scout cookies that are sold to help underwrite the expenses needed to keep this type of operation going strongly.

Let’s hear some more from the Girl Scout troops in the future.