Troop 1917 busy helping, learning, having fun
Troop 1917 at the pass into Elk Lake, Bob Marshall Wilderness service week. From left: Jim Ramlow, Mike Henson, Frank Thompson, Jon Cuthebertson, Riley Stanwood, Jacob Henson, Thomas Henson, Gage Cuthebertson, Jesse Pentelute and Jarrett Thompson.
Boy Scout Troop 1917 of Whitefish had a busy summer.
The Scouts try to do as much community service as possible in addition to learning skills and having fun. They camp out every month of the year and the trip this June was rafting on the North Fork River for a weekend. July found them in the Bob Marshall Wilderness for a week clearing and resurfacing the Elk Lake Trail near Marias Pass.
Later in the month a group spent a week at the Melita Island Camp on Flathead Lake. They earned merit badges and advanced in rank along with Scouts from all over the United States.
August saw a contingent of the Scouts going to Florida and visiting the Kennedy Space Center on their way to the Bahamas for a week of sailing camp. Other Scouts stayed locally spending a week in Glacier National Park at St. Mary’s campground doing service work, which involved painting benches and assisting with species review of fish found in St. Mary’s Lake, along with several hikes to identify and geo-point flora and fauna of the backcountry.
They continued on with a hiking and rock climbing camp out in September and cave exploration in October. Over the course of the summer three of the Scouts achieved the rank of Eagle Scout, the highest position in Scouting, requiring completion of a community project.
Ian Caltabiano created geo-cache sites around Whitefish to aid the Whitefish Chamber of Commerce. Jesse Pentelute put in a watering system at the Whitefish Community Garden for the Methodist Church. Wyatt Scott put in stairs and a dock along the Whitefish River east of the Baker Street bridge for the city of Whitefish.
These three Scouts join 24 others from Troop 1917 as Eagles. The achievement ratio of Troop 1917 is almost 25 percent, compared to a national average of 4 percent.
Any boys age 11 to 18 can join Scouting. They need only come to a meeting at the Whitefish Church of the Nazarene, 1125 East 7th Street, every Tuesday from 7-8:30 p.m.