Scout Troop 4178 Wraps Up Summer of Service and Skill-Building

Scout Troop 4178 of St. Joseph’s on-the-Mountain Episcopal Church was pretty busy this summer. The troop attended summer camp at Camp Comer in June. At Camp Comer, scouts participated in rifle, gardening, sculpture, cooking, animation, shotgun, and swimming. The troop’s Senior Patrol Leader Hunter Battles, Valley Head High School sophomore, worked his first year as a staff counselor.

After camp, the pack and troop started a chess club for the church and scouts to play while they weren’t active in scouting activities. On July 16, scouts replaced two flags in the community. The first flag replaced was at The Church of God of Prophecy. Pastor Whit Smith, Scout Leader Casey Battles, and Sequoyah District Executive Nathan Austin attended the ceremony with WoodmenLife Representative Cody Hubbard, who presented and donated the flags. The second flag replacement took place at the old Alpine Scout Cabin site. This privately owned location is a landmark campsite that’s been around for many years. It’s a special place for scouts to have campouts, meetings, or flag retirement.

Living the scout life requires doing your best to live up to the scout oath and law. Values such as loyalty, respect, and integrity are central to scouting and patriotic behavior. The overall aim is to instill in young people principles of good conduct, ethical behavior, and citizenship. Troop 4178 is taught to respect the U.S. Flag and understand what it stands for. The flag is a symbol of the nation, its ideals, and its people. Scouts are taught the flag’s history, proper display, and how to conduct a ceremony early in Cub Scouts.

With Summer coming to a close, Pack and Troop 4178 are gearing up to start a new year of fun, fellowship, and good times. If anyone is interested in joining scouting, contact Scoutmaster Jessica Barkley Battles at jessie.barkley4353@gmail.com or beascout.scouting.org.