Glencoe Boy Scout Troop - For Older Scouts

Most summers, the older Scouts in the Troop organize a special adventure trek. The focus of these trips is not on individual rank or merit badge advancement per se, but rather on developing camaraderie and leadership skills in a rugged outdoor setting. In recent years, Troop 28 senior Scouts and adult leaders have canoed in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, and backpacked in the Canadian Rockies, along the Appalachian Trail, and in Glacier National Park.

Order of the Arrow

The Order of the Arrow is an honor camping program whose purpose is:

to recognize those campers who best exemplify the Scout Oath and Law in their daily lives,

to develop and maintain camping traditions and spirit,

to promote year-round and long-term Scout camping, and

to crystallize the Scout habit of helpfulness into a life purpose of leadership in cheerful service to others.

A Scout is elected to be a candidate for Order of the Arrow by his fellow troop members in the spring. An induction ceremony called the "Ordeal" is conducted at summer camp and is the first step toward full membership. During the 24-hour Ordeal, candidates maintain complete silence, eat only a small amount of food, sleep under the stars apart from other campers, and work on camp improvement projects. After ten months of subsequent service and fulfilling certain requirements, a member may take part in the Brotherhood ceremony, which places further emphasis on the ideals of Scouting and the Order. Completion of this ceremony signifies full membership in the Order of the Arrow. Members participate in Lodge camping activities and service projects as well as those of their home troops.

Many Scouts from Troop 28 are currently members of Makajawan Lodge #40, Order of the Arrow.

For more information about the Order of the Arrow, click here, then click through to Order of the Arrow and then to either Makajawan Lodge 40 or National Lodge.

Philmont

Philmont Scout Ranch is a national camping area in New Mexico that is owned and operated by the Boy Scouts of America . Philmont is immense, covering about 215 square miles of rugged mountain wilderness in the Sangre de Cristo range of the Rockies, and contains 32 staffed camps and 50 unstaffed camps. Philmont’s high mountains dominate a rough terrain, with elevations ranging from 6,500 to 12,441 feet.

Philmont provides outstanding high adventure and training programs to older Scouts and adult leaders through the combined efforts of its camping, training and ranching departments. Since Philmont's first camping season in 1939, more than 650,000 Scouts and leaders have participated in the rugged challenge of its backpacking program.

Philmont's camping season is from mid-June to late August. Scouts must be in top physical condition, be at least 14 years of age by January 1 of the year in which they attend (or have completed the eighth grade), and be registered members of the Boy Scouts of America. Organized into crews of 7-12, including at least two adult leaders, participants hike Philmont's mountains for ten full days, spending nights at various backcountry camps. At staffed camps, crews can participate in a variety of programs presented by Philmont backcountry staff. Among these programs are horseback riding, burro packing, gold panning, rock climbing, 30.06 rifle shooting, archaeology, mountain biking and interpretive programs such as homesteading and mountain man rendezvous.

For more information about Philmont, click here.

National Jamborees

The 2005 National Scout Jamboree took place from July 25 to August 3, 2005, at Fort A.P. Hill in Virginia. More than 240 Scouts and leaders from the Northeast Illinois Council attended the 2005 Jamboree, and 23 adults from the area served on the Jamboree staff. The National Jamboree is a gathering of Scouts and adult leaders from across the United States, as well as many other countries. Program activities reflect the skills of Scouting, the nation's heritage, physical fitness, conservation, and the spirit of brotherhood. During a jamboree, you can see everything that Scouts do, and everything that Scouting is, all in one place.

The next National Jamboree will take place in 2010.

For more information about the 2005 National Jamboree, click here, then click through to 2005 National Scout Jamboree, and then to Click here to go to the National Jamboree Website.

World Jamborees

A World Jamboree is a once-in-a-lifetime experience—an opportunity to meet and make friends from around the world, a chance to understand other countries better, and a time to have fun in the best traditions of Scouting.

In 2007, Scouting will celebrate its 100th anniversary with the 21st World Scout Jamboree. The Jamboree will take place in the United Kingdom —where Scouting was founded—at Hylands Park, Chelmsford, Essex (30 miles northeast of London) from July 27 to August 8, 2007. This Jamboree, with the theme "One World, One Promise," will be a gathering of 40,000 Scouts from all over the world and more than 60 countries. The United States will send about 3,200 Scouts and leaders.

For more details or an application form, visit the 2007 World Scout Jamboree Website at www.scouting.org/jamboree/world/index.html.