'On My Honor, I Will Do My Best'

Scout uniform? Check. Scout Oath recited verbatim? Check. Tent pegs inserted securely? Check. S'mores over a campfire? Check. Eagerness to get back to nature and learn lifelong skills? Double-check.

With the summer season rapidly approaching in Glasgow, the Scouts of Troop 861 are eager to go camping. This weekend, the Scouts spent the weekend at the Missouri River Recreation Area for Youth near Fort Peck Dam setting up tents, cooking meals, flying Old Glory, shooting shotguns and boating.

"You just get to be away from everything in town," said 12-year-old Jackson Abern, who has been in Troop 861 for the past six months. "You don't have to worry about anything, really."

Excepting, of course, how to pitch a tent properly, he said.

"You need to know how to set that up or you will be out sleeping on the ground."

Abern said his favorite part of being a Scout, so far, is making new friends.

"Right now we are not doing really good with the amount of people we have. I feel it would be better if we had more people. I think more people need to know how to do things like this."

Also enjoyable is completing achievements, especially difficult achievements, Abern said.

"We had one where we had to go out canoing in the river during the winter."

During that trip, the scouts learned how to capsize their canoes safely, Abern said, something made unforgettable by the icy waters.

"That wasn't very fun," he said with a cringe.

Connor Whitmer, 13, 2nd Class Scout, has been in the troop for over 2 years. He said going camping has been a great privilege in 2021, especially since most Scouting events were canceled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I feel it is really great we get to come out here every once in a while. It is a shame we don't get to do it more often. It is nice to be here with the younger scouts, teaching them how to do stuff."

Whitmer has been learning management and human resources skills, he said.

He is learning management and HR skills, he said.

"It is the leadership stuff.

You have to figure out how to do things, how to get people to listen. It is really a challenge, most of the time."

Whitmer said he has learned much during his time with Troop 861.

"I have learned all the standard boy Scout stuff - how to pitch a tent and how to light a fire. But, there are a lot of other skills like cooking you can learn how to do."

Another important skill is how to gauge the weather, Whitmer said. This was especially important this weekend as the Scouts kept a wary eye on the horizon as several severe thunderstorms passed through the region.

"In case of lighting or high winds, we go inside the shed," he said.

LONG STANDING TRADITION

Boys Scouts of America was founded in 1910, with several generations of Scouts coming of age over the past century and more.

"It feels pretty good to be a part of this great history and to make more," Whitmer said.

Watching the lads smile from ear to ear as they participated in long standing Boy Scout activities brought joy to Mike Carney, Troop 861 Scoutmaster.

"We didn't do much last year," Carney said. "It is a whole lot better to do fun things like this and be outdoors together than it is to be indoors at my house."

Carney was also involved with securing the Missouri River Recreation Area for Youth for use by the Boy Scouts and others.

"This park is run by a separate board. We have our own nonprofit organization which used to be called Allies of Scouting. But we are slowly switching over to Missouri River Recreation Area for Youth. We are not affiliated with scouting, so we want to separate that name out."

The nonprofit bought the campsite in the mid-1980s from the Glasgow Evangelical Church for $1.

"That was the best dollar we've ever spent," Carney said. "This used to be called the old Air Force Park. They built these two buildings, and I think there was a third, but it was long gone by the time I got here. The two other buildings came from St. Marie. We are not currently using them, but we are going to."

The park operates entirely on donations. The only fee in place currently is for trailer hookups.

The campsite is replete with Scouting memories, with physical symbols such as broken canoe oars and Troop 861 achievement awards hanging proudly on the interior walls. Carney keeps the history in his head, and there much to remember fondly.

But, there have been controversial drastic changes in BSA at the national level over the past several years. The most notable are the inclusion of girls in Boy Scout ranks and a shift to focus on diversity and inclusion.

These moves have not been popular in some conservative circles. Notably, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints - which once had a huge presence in scouting - cut ties with BSA in December 2019 after a century in partnership. As of 2018, the LDS Church was the biggest participant in BSA, with about 425,000 Mormon youths in Cub and Boy Scouts. At the time, Mormons accounted for about 19% of the BSA's membership, which totaled about 2.3 million.

Conservative members of BSA have been at odds with the organization since at least 2013, when BSA made the first of several decisions regarding homosexuality in scouting.

In 2013, the organization began allowing openly gay boys to participate in the program. Then in 2015, BSA welcomed openly gay scout leaders. Finally, in 2018, BSA began admitting biological girls who identified as boys.

While it may be difficult to identify these changes as a deciding factor, the fact is within Northeastern Montana the numbers of active Scouts has diminished substantially.

"It is definitely a lot different than when I was a kid," said Carney, who was one of ten who founded the Troop 861 on Dec. 1, 1976.

"Membership is not as high as it once was, but hopefully we can change that," Carney continued. "It is still one of the best youth organizations out there teaching values to these kids and outdoor skills. Still, Eagle Scout is considered one of the prized [achievements] in the business world. It did help me get a couple of different jobs in my life. I encourage all these boys to be involved, not only in scouting, but with sports. Get more than just Scouting's ways of doing things. They need coaches and to be in all those things."

Lane Thompson, 16, Life Scout and Senior Patrol Leader, said his time in scouting is helping to prepare him for adulthood.

"It is teaching me how to be a leader, work with people, take initiative. Sometimes, it is doing stuff you don't necessarily want to be doing. Maybe it is cleaning something or community service. It is preparing you for things the real world is throwing at you."

But, Scouting is not only about growth and leadership. It is fun too.

"I get to go places I would not have otherwise," Thompson said, "like the boundary waters in Minnesota. And, all the way to Oregon for summer camp."

As the second eldest scout now in Troop 861 - traditional Scouts is for youths aged 11 to 17 - Thompson took note at the personal growth he has achieved, especially when considering he was once as the younger Scouts are now, unseasoned.

"I have to do mentorship with the younger guys. There is definitely a lot of behind the scenes work you don't realize is going on when you are just a young guy."

Thompson has been in Scouting since he was in a troop in Malta. He moved with his family to the Glasgow area during his 7th grade year, and has been in Troop 861 ever since. He is now just two merit badges away from achieving the rank of Eagle Scout.

After BSA activities were throttled in 2020, Thompson is thrilled to be back in action with his fellow Scouts.

"I am glad to get going again. It is fun to see everybody and teach these other guys how to do different things," he said. "I am glad people are getting out of the house and going to do something. We are doing good and are glad to be around. Thanks to everyone who has supported us in the past."

Thompson encourages area youths to join Troop 861.

"Anybody interested can get a hold of any of us and we can get you going," he said.

The troop generally meets at 6:30 p.m. the first and third Sundays of each month at St. Raphael or the Missouri River Recreation Area for Youth. Call Mike at 406-654-4350 for more.