Instead of making it to the 2015 Eastern District Camporee this year, I, along with our family, were suffering from the sudden loss of one of our dear cousin's. Such events change personal plans, and rightfully should. We grieve together and support one another. It's also a time to catch up on each other's lives. As families spread out across the country, the death of a loved one seems to bring us back together.

Perry Smith  has the honor of being the "oldest" first cousin to my generation on the "Moore/Smith" side of the family. (Perry's mother was my dad's older sister).  It was Perry's younger brother, Ricke, who sadly departed this life way too soon while enjoying a round of golf. Perry and Ricke's twin brother, Micke, and their wives headed up to Memphis from Dallas, TX for the family gathering and home-going for Ricke.

Perry and I spent some time catching up on "war stories". Not the battlefield type, but health. As it turns out, he and I had the same illness and surgery at the same time last year! Then our conversation shifted and he was telling me about living on Preston in South Memphis back in the late 40 and early 50's. As we discussed Scouts, he mentioned being in a Scout Troop at a church on McLemore, which obviously peeked my interest a bit more. He couldn't remember the Troop # he was in. I mentioned it could have been "48". He didn't know, but said he remembered the "Church" brothers very well and that Lloyd was his Scoutmaster. I asked if he knew some Southside folks like Ed Provine and he said, "Yes, he was the blonde haired kid"! I believe this was an accurate memory!

Well, needless to say, I found out my cousin Perry was a fellow Troop 48 Scout and sure enough, he is on our alumni list, having joined about the same time as Mr. Provine!  Sometime later, he and his family moved to a new neighborhood on Waring Rd (just south of Macon) and he and his brothers all graduated from Treadwell. Unfortunately, Perry's time in the Troop was cut short.

I wonder who else might be on that alumni list that Mike Collins and Ed Provine spend so much time assembling? Who knows, we all might find someone we know or even a family member if we take time to open it up. It's right there on the header of our Troop website "Alumni of the Troop".   

When you look at it, you'll find that well over 1,150 Scouts have made up Troop 48 in its 85 years. All these Scouts have been through the same investiture and have contributed to the legacy that reaches back over 85 years and thankfully, continues to this day! 

I am grateful I was able to make a connection to the Troop by way of my cousin Perry this past weekend even though he was grieving over the loss of his younger brother and me, my cousin. May God bless Ricke, his family and children.

Pictured with me are Perry, center, and my brother, Troop 48 Eagle, Glenn.

Troop 48 Eagle Scout Mike Collins passed away Monday February 16, 2015. Mike's best friend and fellow Scout during the 1950's, Ed Provine, shared the news with me this morning (2/17). Troop 48 always had a close spot in the  heart of Mike, a graduate of Southside High School in South Memphis. He grew up in Troop 48 in South Memphis under the leadership of then Scoutmaster Lloyd E. Church, who we lost last year and a man who earned great respect from those he led. Mike most recently attended the 85th Anniversary celebration of Troop 48 in July 2014. Over the years he would attend camping trips with his son, Nicholas. I remember several backpacking trips Mike attended in the 1980's to Virgin Falls in Middle Tennessee and Flatside Pinnicle in the Ouachita National Forest in Arkansas. When the Troop ran its own Summer Camp at Moore Woods in the mid 1980's, Mike would always come up to spend a few nights and help prepare the Friday night feast. Unfortunately, Mike suffered ill-health in recent years and had not been able to join the Troop in many activities. I will post a couple more pictures of Mike in the archive section that includes the 1980's. Please keep Mike's son's, family and one of his best friends, Edgar, in your prayers. 

Troop 48 had a strong presence during the morning service at Faith Presbyterian Church as we celebrated the anniversary of Scouting on Scout Sunday! Scouts handed out the program and collected the offering. What caught my eye the most was that our Chaplain Aid, Patrick P. was asked to come forward to read the scripture passage on stage on the microphone. This was a first! I like seeing Scouts fulfilling their responsibility in leadership roles! Patrick, you nailed it! Congratulations.

My take away from the sermon delivered by Pastor Darden was this: There has to be time and energy devoted to becoming an Eagle Scout. It takes a focus of faith. Our eternal life is the same. The road is narrow. The gate is small.  You have to focus on the faith! We are like a tree that bears fruit. Some are rotten. Some are good. What kind of fruit are you going to be? If we live according to the values Scouting teaches, the fruit we bear will be good. But we must keep God in the center of everything we do. 

ASM Bo Hormberg found the Bulldog Drive In in Bald Knob, Arkansas while planning for the North Sylamore Backpacking Trip in January 2014. It took less than 45 minutes to feed all 22 Scouts/Leaders, plus the ice cream shakes and cones were soooo good after coming off the trail Sunday morning. Great trip, Bo! And great leadership from our Scouts, PL's, and SPL Tristan, ASPL Hayden and Quartermaster Josh!

I was so impressed by our Life (and Star) Scouts who attended the Mousetail Landing "Backpacking 101" trip (Nov. 8 - 10, 2013) who took their role seriously as leaders, teaching our younger, newer Scouts how to backpack! Guy's, you know who you are. You set the example for others to follow. Your knowledge and willingness to share it with others is what makes for an exemplary Eagle Scout! You are what makes a Troop 48 Scout stand out! Keep up the good work! 

On Friday July 26th the Troop canoed 10 miles on the Harpeth River, passing by the historic "Narrows on the Harpeth", experienced zipping between trees -in the tree tops- on a true aerial adventure through a forest, and a midnight climbing adventure where Scouts climbed on over 12,000 square feet of climbing surface on 40' high walls until they gave out! Some even tried their hands (and strength" with "bouldering". All this -Canoeing, Zip-Lining and Climbing- in one action-packed day. We'd like to thank our Troop 1 hosts at Brentwood United Methodist Church for allowing us to bed down in their youth fellowship hall on Thursday night! Troop 1 is one of the oldest continuously chartered Troops in America, founded in 1910! Thanks to the men and dad's who participated and made this adventure possible.

This picture depicts life in our "city" during summer camp 2013 at Skymont Scout Reservation in Tennessee. I like it because even in the rain, you can see many Scouts and Leaders carrying on their business. 

Look what I found in my photo files! A picture of Brian Issing climbing Pinnacle Mountain 'free-style" in about 1987 or so.

If you haven't figured it out, I'm a fanatic when it comes to old-fashioned dairy bars, which seem to be somewhat of a rarity these days. Any trip I plan, I try to include a stop at one of these institutions. Included below are some some of our stops at some pretty well known dairy bars.

1. Carl's Cream, Shakes, Sundaes (Located in Fredericksburg, VA, this place was highlighted in a 1990's PBS show on the history of ice cream. Visited during Summer Adventure to Washington DC, Nationals Baseball and Boy Scout Jamboree - 2010
2. Ted Drewe's Frozen Concrete (You don't go to St. Louis, MO without a visit to this long time local tradition!) Visited during Summer Adventure to St. Louis, MO (St. Louis Cardinals Baseball and Six-Flags Over Mid-America)
3. Waterwheel Homemade Ice Cream, 1804 South Wilson Dam Road, Muscle Shoals, AL. This was the perfect lunch stop on our way to North Carolina. Ice Cream made the "old-fashioned" way!
4. Sweet Tooth, Cherokee County Murphy, NC. Visited during Summer Adventure to Andrews, NC for Whitewater Rafting/Joyce Kilmer Hiking/Disc Golf/Swimming.
5. Kream Kastle Drive Inn, Located at 15922 Highway 70 in Benton, AR. Visited during August Campout on way to Lake Ouachita.
6. The Dip, aka The Velvet Cream. Located in Hernando, Miss. Visited after the Seige of Currier weekend in December 2012. 
7. Bulldog Drive-In, located in Bald Knob, Arkansas - January 2014. Perfect stop after hiking near Blanchard Springs/Gunner Pool/Barkshed on the N. Sylamore Creek Trail

On Friday afternoon (8/17/2012) while the "advance crew" was on its way to Lake Ouachita, we made an "emergency stop" at what appeared to be an old-fashioned burger/dairy drive-in (see picture). It's a good thing we did as we were hungry after driving 3+ hours. The service was a little slow, and that's a good thing because our burgers were cooked fresh to order with fresh ingredients. No frozen patties here! The owner treated the Scouts to an ice cream dessert on-the-house because he had learned so much from Scouting as a youth. (The advance crew consisted of Justin S., Kyle R., Mitchell M., Mr. Issing and Mr. Moore) I would recommend another stop at the KREAM KASTLE DRIVE INN Located at 15922 Highway 70 in Benton, AR.

(501) 939-2350

Earlier this year, Troop 48 started – for lack of a better name – the "higher adventure" group. It consists of Scouts who are 14 years old and at least First Class rank. The purpose is to give the older Scouts an opportunity to take part in at least 4 quarterly events in which they plan and execute. Activities have included backpacking in the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee/North Carolina and the Sipsey Wilderness in Alabama.

In May 2012, five scouts enjoyed a night out on the town, first going to Laser Quest for some laser tag fun. Josh "The Guy" A. had the right secret for hitting his target and avoiding the rest of us. Also enjoying in the fun were Mitchell M., Noah M., Logan G., and Alex L. The two deep leadership was provided by ASM's Snyder and Moore. I'll say here that we were sorry Kyle R. had to bail out because he got a little sick while at school and his doctor "sentenced" him to bed rest for the night. Oh, Kyle – you did a wonderful job of planning such a great outing. Hated you had to miss!

At about 7:00 PM we made our way to Huling Street and Second where we parked underneath the Lorraine Motel sign. Mr. Snyder lead the Scouts over to the National Civil Rights Museum and showed the guy's where Martin Luther King stood when he was assassinated in 1968. Some of these Scouts had never been to this site before, so it was a real learning experience.

The barbecue was wafting in the air, so we made our way north along the bluff trail to Beale Street to purchase our tickets and enter the famous Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue contest. The Scouts were invited visit the Serial Griller's Barbecue Team booth sponsored by Southern Towing. Our own ASM Richard Ralph is a key player on the team and he knows his barbecue!

The Scouts were given the simple rules: go through the line to be served, eat, come back for more! And that we did! These were absolutely the most tender, moist, fall-off-the-bone ribs I've ever had! We all knew the Serial Griller's were on top of their game! In fact, while we were eating, a team member comes in with the 1st place trophy for Beef category! Boy, were these guy's happy!

On Saturday, the Serial Griller's won 2nd place for ribs! That's big time! We are very thankful for the graciousness shown to our Troop by this team in giving our Scouts the chance to witness some serious barbecuing.

At about 9:00 PM it was time to make our way back up the bluff to our cars. It was a perfect night, one that these guys will remember! Hey, this could be the start of a tradition?!?! We'll see.

Get ready Troop 48. Our next stop is Camp Yocona for some camporee skills practice February 10 - 12. Camp Yocona has a great tradition of camping dating back to its first summer camp program in 1947. It's located about 90 minutes from Memphis, not far from Tupelo, MS. It is always nice to travel to some of our neighboring Scout Camps to see what they're like. A lot of planning is being done in preparation for this trip. JASM Justin Scobey is busy organizing leaders and older Scouts to help teach skills needed to successfully compete in this year's camporee. More information will be coming.

See you Tuesday!