BSA Troop 451, Lewisville, TX

In addition to striking camp and loading our gear onto the truck, the best part of Saturday may be that we learn who has been inducted into Mic-O-Say. The new tribesmen for this session were part of the absolutely largest class of new inductees in the history of the tribe! This year, Troop 451 had a record-setting number of new braves inducted: Jacob Belknap, Alex Brock, Jonathan Byers, Austin Curtis, Tommy D’Arcy, Roshan Dave, Ian Hollenshead, Andrew Jansen, Stephen Lampe, Jay Rawson, Caleb Thakur, Jack Tyson, Bryan Wawczak, and Jace Westfall. We also had six adults inducted as Honorary Warriors:   Michael Curtis, David Jansen, Amin Rahman, Darryl Sorensen, Kenneth Thakur, and Michael Wawczak. Congratulations to all the new tribesmen! The last ceremony of the session is Closing. This is where the week’s achievements are recognized. Here too, Troop 451 was very well represented. Both Misters Rebodos received multiple recognitions for their accomplishments in the Geiger 60 game...

Friday at Camp Geiger is bitter sweet. It is the time when the week’s effort wraps up and Scouts look forward to the recognition they have earned. It also means one last night before returning to the luxury of hot showers and clean sheets, all enjoyed in air-conditioned, insect-free comfort. It is also the time when Foxmen endure their ordeal and work their way towards becoming braves in the Tribe of Mic-O-Say. But, it is the last whole day of summer camp and very nearly the end of an exciting, productive week. As the audience learns on Thursday night, the Foxmen are charged with silence. They are expected not to speak for 24 hours (unless safety demands it). One sees them running around camp (Foxmen run everywhere) and working on a service project to improve the camp. This year, they extended the steps that run down the slope behind camp headquarters. Dinner Friday is served al fresco below Tapping Valley. Sandwiches of pulled pork were accompanied by potato chips, pickl...

Thursday was a fantastic day for the Tribe of Mic-O-Say and for Troop 451 For many at Camp Geiger, the high point of the week comes Thursday evening with the Tapping Fire. This ceremony is where candidates for membership in the Tribe are publicly announced. The Tribe is the honor camping society of Camp Geiger. Its origins go back to the 1920s, a time when many honor camping societies stressing Native American themes came into being. Most of these were later subsumed within the Order of the Arrow, Scouting’s national honor camping society but the tribe continued its independent existence, as did some half-dozen others around the country. All of these have the mission to work within the BSA to improve Scouts and Scouting. After nearly 90 years of experience, the Tribe knows how to put on a show. Thursday can seem to drag by as everyone waits for the ceremony to begin. Our day started with a breakfast of scrambled eggs and apple juice, after which all of our boys headed to their sp...

Wednesday, our flag continued to grace the dining hall owing to our earning “Sharpest Unit” honors on Tuesday. After breaking our fast with pancakes and bacon, everyone headed to their various activities: the First Year Scouts headed off to Trail to First Class, older boys attended various merit badge classes, and the adults tended to their respective responsibilities. One new responsibility for which we volunteered this session is helping out in the dining hall. For various reasons, the dishwashing chores require more man hours and the camp is relying on volunteers. A Scout is HELPFUL, after all. With so many adults to pitch-in, this task goes fairly quickly but cleaning dishes for 520 people does take a bit of time. At lunch, we were delighted to learn we had again garnered the top score for campsite inspection. Thus, our flag continued to grace the flag plaza. We are doing our level best to uphold our troop’s proud tradition of excellence. Wednesday is ‘family night...

After lunch today, it was announced that once again, Troop 451 was the top scoring unit for the campsite inspection. Once again, our flag will adorn the flag plaza on Wednesday. Dinner was followed by another top-ranking in the evening’s “Sharpest Unit” honors. We may have a substantial advantage since, in order to be considered, the unit must be in proper Scout uniform. It is a shame that not every Scout can easily bear the expense of a full, official BSA uniform. Yet one suspects there are others who simply do not feel the need. We are fortunate that our boys show up properly-uniformed. We know we are fortunate as well as hard-working; all the same, it sure is pleasant to win! A part of the Camp Geiger experience is indulging in some uninhibited silliness. Thus, one highlight of any session is the “King PeeWee” contest. This event has long been an annual tradition. It involves identifying the smallest Scout at camp during the session and then elevating him to the coveted...