River Edge Cub Scout Pack 229 (Cub Scouts is open to boys from 1st to 5th grade)
Pack 229: Cherry Hill School
Cub Scout Pack 229 Blog This is what 18 months in the life of a Cub Scout pack looks like (and do keep in mind that this does not chronicle scores of den-level events which took place!)
Pack 229 at Cherry Hill School experienced a 344% increase in membership after we implemented a new recruiting strategy on September 16, 2005. Our membership rose from 16 scouts to 71 scouts, in just two years; we now have 11 official parent leaders in Pack 229, and we welcome more parent leaders! Any parent who wants to become a Den Leader in Cub Scout Pack 229 at Cherry Hill School, please send an e-mail to Mary Ellen to let her know you are interested. Click Here for Pack 229 Leader Tribute
Further evidence that a new era in Cherry Hill Scouting has arrived -- for the first time in a generation, Pack 229 held an Arrow-of-Light Ceremony (February 9, 2007) for Senior Webelos Cub Scouts (5th grade boys) who received the Arrow-of-Light Award. The ceremony was excellently choreographed by Ed Y. (former-Pack 229 Trainer and current Troop 2295 Scoutmaster) and was attended by over 100 scouts and their family members. Four of the eight scouts who received the Arrow-of-Light Award (Chris Y., David, Henry and Liam) were Pack 229 scouts every year from 1st grade through 5th grade and attained a level of complete scouting success which had not been achieved within the walls of Cherry Hill School in many years. The Senior Webelos den which attained Arrow-of-Light in 2007 (and which began as Tiger scouts in September 2002), was led as Tigers, Wolves and Bears by Pat O. and as Junior & Senior Webelos by Jack C..
(February 1, 2008 update) Lightning has struck twice at Pack 229! For the second year in a row we have Arrow-of-Light Award recipients at our pack. The six Senior Webelos scouts (Anthony, Bradley, Ryan D., Ryan M., Tyler and Zachary) received the award in a ceremony held at the middle school. All six boys are bridging to Boy Scouts and joining Boy Scout Troop 2295. Following a procession of scouts into the auditorium and the salute to the flag, Jeff (Senior Webelos leader) kicked off the evening relating the tale of how the Arrow-of-Light came into being, this while photos of the boys were projected onto a screen on stage...
Despite the fact that a deluge of rain was falling on River Edge at the time of the event, most of Boy Scout Troop 2295 made it to the ceremony and welcomed the new Boy Scouts as they crossed the new bridge which Jeff constructed for the occasion. Vinny (Pack 229 Cubmaster) was master of ceremony for the night and introduced LJ, Kevin, Amy, Christine, Laurie, Doug, Jeff and Rick C. in the candle-lighting portion of the ceremony. Rick C. filled in for Mary Ellen (Pack 229 Committee Chair) who was sidelined with walking pneumonia. Rick has also volunteered to become a leader in Boy Scout Troop 2295. Of special note, Laurie led this den for three years, through the Tiger, Wolf and Bear levels of Cub Scouts. Following the candle-lighting and bridging ceremonies, refreshments were enjoyed by all in attendance -- thank you to Rita, our Tiger Den leader, for coordinating the refreshments.
Thank you to all of the Pack 229 leaders from 2005 to 2008: Mary Ellen, Ed, Vinny, Jack, Jeff, Laurie, Doug, Pat, Christine, Eileen, Claudia, Amy, Arlene, Avo, LJ and Rita. Also, thank you to Kevin, Mike P. and Paul for their impressive contributions and commitment to guiding our Webelos dens in Klondike training, to Frank, Russell and Rich M. for welcoming the Cherry Hill dens at the Roosevelt dens' training sessions, to Doug, Alice, Bill and Liz for their work on the Pinewood Derby (we're also grateful to Grace Lutheran Church for hosting the event!) and extreme thanks is due to Al for building the Klondike Derby sled for our Senior Webelos to navigate through the course in Mahwah in January 2007 & 2008 (and in future years). Thank you to our sponsor -- Cub Scout Pack 229 and Boy Scout Troop 2295 are sponsored by the Cherry Hill PTO. Finally, in producing the first four Pack 229 year-in-review DVDs I organized and selected from more than 8,000 photos, thus I have become acutely aware that there are many den-level events and activities which are planned and coordinated by parents who are not official leaders in Pack 229. To all of those parents, we also owe thanks and high praise. While it may be magical for a child to set foot on the field at Yankee Stadium, sail a boat in the Rain-Gutter Regatta, climb down into a submarine or up to High Point peak, these events do not happen by magic -- they happen because of the efforts of the parents of Pack 229.
Some Pack 229 Fall 2007 News Updates: 1) Christine (Bear Den leader) organized and managed a successful Popcorn Fundraiser in October. Because of her exceptional effort (and the efforts of all who sold popcorn) Pack 229 sold an impressive $2,747 worth of popcorn. How does that total compare to last year's Popcorn Fundraiser sales total? Well, it's exactly $2,747 more than we sold last year! Congratulations to Amy & Gary's family for selling the most popcorn ($400+). Thank you to all of the following folks: Christine, Rita, LJ and Melissa, for treking to the warehouse to haul the huge bounty of popcorn back to River Edge; to Christine, Eileen, Amy and Arlene for sorting the popcorn; and to Troop 2295 Boy Scouts, David and Harry (assisted by Cub Scouts: Bobby, Jack and Ryan), for running popcorn-distribution operations (PDO) from Jim and Christine's driveway!
2) For the first time in the 6 years that my family has been involved in Cub Scouting at Cherry Hill School, Pack 229 has Den Chiefs! A Den Chief is a Boy Scout who comes to Cub Scout meetings and events to assist Den Leaders and to help train Cub Scouts. B.S.A. Troop 2295 has generously provided Cub Scout Pack 229 with 6 trained Den Chiefs: Chris, David, Eddie, Harry, Min and Stefano. Current Senior Webelos, Ryan M., is a "Denner" (a Den Chief who is not yet a Boy Scout) and will officially become a Den Chief in February, following the Arrow-of-Light Ceremony. (February 1, 2008 update: Ryan M. is now a Den Chief)
3) The 2007 calendar year ended with an impressive turn-out at the annual Holiday Party. By my unofficial count there were 229 people in attendance at this year's party. Advancement Awards were presented, an enormous quantity of toys were donated to the "Toys for Tots" toy-drive and desserts were enjoyed by all in attendance.
Pack 229 Winter 2008 News Update: The Junior and Senior Webelos dens of Cub Scout Pack 229 competed in the Klondike Derby, January 26, 2008. Jeff's sled of Senior Webelos came in tied for 3rd place (I don't know the exact number of sleds in the race, but there are MANY sleds competing). Remarkably, sleds from Pack 229 and Pack 95 tied for 3rd place. Doug's den of Junior Webelos had an impressive day, as well and are well positioned to excel in the 2009 Klondike Derby when they are Senior Webelos. Then... 2004 Pinewood Derby (58 people attended -- 15 scouts raced cars: 5 Tigers, 9 Wolves, 1 Bear, 0 Webelos) and WOW! 2008 Pinewood Derby (178 people attended -- 55 scouts raced cars: 21 Tigers, 14 Wolves, 9 Bears, 11 Webelos) Bill and Liz planned and implemented an outstanding Pinewood Derby event for Pack 229 on March 1, 2008 at Grace Lutheran Church. This year's Pinewood attracted, at least, 178 people -- there were more than 60 heats run and 40 pizzas consumed. Darlene took on the responsibility of managing the desserts committee, for what is a better compliment to 40 large pizzas than a vast array of sweet treats? Many others contributed to make this event a success. What makes the Pinewood Derby unique among all of the Cub Scout Pack 229 events is that this is a well-attended, Pack-wide event in which both the Cub Scout and parent(s) participate. In some cases, relatives and friends also participate in the production of the Pinewood race cars.
Each boy who races a car in the Pinewood Derby is a winner. However, one unintended consequence of having an ever-expanding Pack 229 the past 3 years is that with each subsequent race day the list of boys who do not win a trophy gets longer, as each den awards 3 trophies whether there are only 5 scouts in the den or, as in the case of this year's Tiger Den, 23 scouts in the den! As Mary Ellen (Committee Chair of Pack 229 and a Founding Leader of Troop 2295) mentioned in her speech to the Pack 229 family -- the Cub Scout motto is "Do your best..." So we live by that motto and delight in the reality that we've done our best, even if our best doesn't land us a trophy every year. That said, Kenny seems to win first place every year. This was his third first-place finish in his three years a Cub Scout.
Congratulations to the Jonas Brothers for winning "Funniest Car Design" for the second year in a row! Last year's victory was secured with a clever "Remote Control"-design and this year's story was written with a "Giant Pencil"-design. Finally, congratulations to Matthew S. (our Webelos Den Leader's son) for winning "Most Original Car" for the second year in a row. This year Matthew raced a Star Wars Lego car, last year a Pirate Ship car and the year before a Dinosaur car replete with dinosaur figures & jungle trees atop the car! While these were not the most aerodynamic cars at the past three Pinewood Derbies, they embodied creativity and exemplified the spirit of fun. Navigation: Page Top Boy Scout Troop 2295 Cub Scout Pack 229 ScouTube video-player Troop 2295 Video Menu 2008 Pinewood Photo-video
March 8, 2008: Pack 229 took part in the "Scouting for Food" food-drive project. The food was donated to the Teaneck Armory for distribution to local families of National Guard members stationed overseas. "Scouting for Food" is an annual event and was coordinated by Josephine F. and Maria P. this year (Pack 229's participation in the event was coordinated by Darlene and Arlene). If this description seems eerily similiar to the description in the Troop 2295 section of this web site, well, it should -- it was one big event encompassing all of the Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts in the four Cub Scout and Boy Scout organizations in the Borough of River Edge, New Jersey. The photo to the left is from the 2007 "Scouting for Food" food-drive. The two scouts in the photo are younger brothers of former-Pack 229 scouts and have been participating in Pack 229 events since 2002, when they were two years old. Behind them in the photo (seated in the back seat of the minivan) is a little guy named Tyler. Ty was born one week before the 2002 Open house at which his oldest brother, David, first joined Pack 229. Thus, Tyler has been an Honorary Pack 229 Cub Scout all of his life. I mention this to point out that Pack 229 has been a family-oriented organization for years. This year's Tiger Den includes 6 boys (Jack, Ryan, Daniel, Thomas S., Alex and Nicholas G.) who've had older brothers in Pack 229 and 6 boys in Cub Scout Pack 229 (Thomas Y., Michael B., Dylan J., Kenny M., Christopher G. and Nicholas G.) have older brothers in B.S.A. Troop 2295.
March 28, 2008: The Skit-O-Rama was held in Westwood, NJ. Comedy skits were performed by the Tiger and Webelos Dens of Pack 229. April 18, 2008: Michalene Mason came to the Pack 229 pack meeting to present information about the Scout Summer Camp opportunities and to discuss the "Family Friends of Scouting" fundraising campaign. The Webelos Den performed an encore presentation of the skits they had performed at the Skit-O-Rama in Westwood on March 28. Coincidentally, Michalene was one of the organizers (and M.C.) of this year's Skit-O-Rama.
May 2 - 4, 2008: The Junior Webelos Den of Pack 229 participated in the 2008 Weboree camping weekend at Camp NoBeBoSco. The weekend included archery, campfire cooking, fishing, skit performances and a bonfire.
May 17, 2008: The Wolf Den of Pack 229, led by Amy and Arlene, visited the New Jersey Naval Museum in Hackensack, NJ. The scouts, as well as their siblings and parents, toured the World War II submarine, USS Ling. The USS LING 297 is a BALAO class fleet submarine, 312 feet long, weighing approximately 2500 tons. Also on exhibit on the grounds of the museum are a Patrol Boat and a German Seahund, WWII German 2-man coastal defense submarine.
May 24, 2008: Cub Scout Pack 229 joined with Cub Scout Pack 95, Boy Scout Troop 2295 and River Edge Girl Scouts to tour Navy ships at Stapleton Piers on Staten Island, as part of Fleet Week. The scouts toured the USS Monterey. As fortune would have it, the USS Intrepid was also docked at the pier.
May 26, 2008: Culminating a weekend which began Friday night with a pack meeting, then moved on to the Stapleton Piers early Saturday morning (when 17 scouts representing all of Pack 229's dens were given a VIP tour of the USS Monterey), Cub Scout Pack 229 marched in the May 26, 2008 Memorial Day Parade and participated in the ceremony at Memorial Park.
June 6, 2008: Pack 229's "Blue and Gold" Awards Dinner was very well attended. The scouts received their year-end awards and, along with their families, enjoyed the catered dinner. As with virtually ever Pack 229 event which took place the past year, there were more people in attendance at this year's "Blue and Gold" then at any of the past five "Blue and Gold" dinners my family has attended. While Pack 229 has a long history dating back many decades, when my family arrived here in 2002 the organization was considered a lost cause by some people in River Edge. In the time since, Pack 229 has experienced a renaissance which has lasted six years. This began with a den of nine Tiger scouts led by Pat O. and Ed Y. in September 2002 and continued on until Pack 229 became a large Cub Scout pack which bridges many Cub Scouts to Boy Scout Troop 2295 each year. What has taken place at Pack 229 in the past three years (from 2005 to 2008) would be defined in historical terms as a Golden Age -- a time when the vision of what can be, merges with the reality of what actually transpires. All the scouts, leaders, parents and siblings who have made Pack 229 a big success should be proud of what they have already accomplished. Click here to see a photo-documentary of the Pack 229 leaders who were responsible for bringing success back to Cub Scouting at Cherry Hill School!
June 14, 2008: We can now add the annual Twin Valleys Fishing Derby to the long list of successful Pack 229 events which have taken place during the 2007-2008 school year. More than 40 of our pack's scouts participated in this year's fishing derby! The Pack 229 Bear Den caught the most sunfish -- our pack's very own Bear scouts, Kenny M. and Jake C., tied for first place as they each caught a 4-ounce Sunfish (That's them in the photo to the left!)
June 26-27, 2008: The annual Pack 229 Family BBQ & Camp-out at Memorial Park took place on a clear night. The grillmasters kept the dogs and burgers grilling as beverages, chips, smores, watermelon, condiments (including relish) and whatever else was there to eat was enjoyed by a crowd of approximately 100 River Edgeans. I won't acknowledge by name the people who contributed to the effort of preparing the BBQ portion of the night because if I attempt to mention Rita, LJ, Vinny, Doug, Arlene, Avo, Mary Ellen and others by name, I run the risk of leaving someone off the list. So I won't mention Rita, LJ, Vinny, Doug, Arlene, Avo, and Mary Ellen. High praise must be given to me and ME for bringing the Glow Sticks which enabled us to better track the whereabouts of the firefly scouts in the after-dark hours. This was the 4th annual Pack 229 Family BBQ & Camp-out and the 4th at which Glow Sticks were utilized for their child-tracking value. On July 4, 2008 the pack marched in the parade. Thank you to the Cherry Hill School PTO who sponsored what turned out to be The Year of 100 Scouts at the new MPR (multipurpose room) where 71 Cub Scouts and 29 Boy Scouts came together for the common goal of building a new bridge to the 21st century... Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go So make the best of this test and don't ask why it's not a question but a lesson learned in time... RiverEdgeScouting.org is not simply a lesson learned in time, or a lyric from Green Day's "Good Riddance"... It's something unpredictable, but in the end there's right -- I hope you had the time of your life,
January 4, 2008, the Wolf Den of Cub Scout Pack 229 (and the Wolf Den's two Den Chiefs: David and Min) attended the New Jersey Nets game.
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