B. Tamaye strikes a pose while J. Francisco says "cheese". (Photo by N. Tagawa)

On November 27^th, Troop One held a golf tournament at Bay View Golf Course in Kaneohe. It was a cloudy morning. Since it just opened, nobody was there. The driving range was different because it had trampolines as targets. There were thirteen golfers who showed up to the tournament, with six scouts and seven adults including Mr. Pang.

Since it was the first time on the course for most of the scouts, the rule on the par 3 holes was that there were no more than three shots to get to the green and no more than three putts. For the par 4 holes, players had no more than four shots to the green and no more than four putts. It started off by making groups to make sure that a scout was not paired up with his father. Although there were many golf balls lost, it was a fun-filled time together.

After the golf tournament, we gathered at Round Table Pizza to have lunch and announce the awards. There were awards for the highest score, lowest score, sportsmanship, attitude and making a par on a hole.  We thank Mr. Tamaye for organizing the golf tournament and for bringing the prizes.  Everyone went home with multiple items.

Article by J. Tagawa

On October 30, 2011 Troop One went to Aiea bowl we had a BLAST!!! Crash! Crash! Is what repeated over and over again at the alley. We improved our bowling skills and had a great time.

C. Nakashima, N. Politch, J. Pregana, S. Sang, K. Gilbert, B. Tamaye, C. Kaopuiki, C. Murakami, and A. Tagawa are just some of the boys who attended this event.

You could have asked any one of them if the had fun at Aiea Bowl and they would have said YES! If you were there you would have understood why. If you call bowling and eating mini French fries fun this was for you.

So next time this comes up seize the moment and sign up!

Article by C. Kaopuiki

Troop 1 scouts of all sizes were proud to serve as the event's color guard.

On August 25, 2011, the Aloha Council held its Annual Distinguished Citizen’s Dinner at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel. Mr. Chatt Wright, retiring President of Hawaii Pacific University, received this prestigious honor in recognition of his continuous support of scouting in Hawai’i. The Cub Scouts and Boys Scouts formed a line to greet and shake hands with the guests as they walked towards the ballroom. Our Troop 1 scouts proudly served as the official color guard.

Article by G. Pregana

Photo by A. Kaopuiki

A good turn out of Scouts for the Memorial Day good turn!

On Sunday, May 29th we had our annual Good Turn hike up to Punchbowl National Cemetery followed by placing flags on the graves.

Getting ready to leave Punahou for trash pick up duty.

The event started out with all of the scouts and parents meeting at Punahou School. From Punahou we divided into two teams, which would travel separately on each side of the street to Lincoln Elementary School. The reason was that we were going to pick up trash on each side of the road as we walked to Punchbowl. This was an annual tradition we did so that we not only hiked for exercise but also to help clean up the environment.

When everyone was ready, we headed off through the Punahou school campus picking up any rubbish that we found. We continued to do this until we made it to Lincoln School where we broke for lunch. We spent about an hour there until we hiked up to the top of the mountain.

Many flags for many graves.

We were accompanied by at least twenty other Troops and Cub Scout Packs as we walked to the top. It was really quite humid and with the other twenty troops around, it was just a scorcher.

We sat under a couple of trees and listened to the grand ceremony, which commemorated all of the soldiers that gave their lives for our country.

When it was all over we started to place flags above each headstone. Unfortunately, our box had a black ant colony that was ticked when we opened up the box. We were literally covered with them so we ended up having to whack the flags on the ground and try to dust them off.

The troop did a fabulous job placing flags in not only our section but in other sections as well.

When we were finished, we hiked back down for strawberry ice cream and juice, which was the highlight of the event; then hiked back to Punahou School.

Article and Photos by R. Kam

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"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." -- Lao Tzu. Scouts head on down the long road. (Photo by Asst. Scoutmaster Jeff Kam.)

The Boy Scouts of Troop 1, their dads, Scoutmaster and Assistant Scoutmasters went on a two night backpacking trip in April 2011 from Friday to Sunday in the spring. The hike was at PeacockcFlats in Mokuleia.

I had been up there before but it was a much different situation this time. It was a different campground, I had to hike up and carry all my supplies. I liked the Cub Scout camp a bit more because it was more fun.

The camp took place in the high mountains. The hike was steep and hard. It was only flat for the first 200 feet. We went on the hike to learn things about nature, our gear, how we can be self sufficient and to spend time with our friends.

Written by: L. Shideler

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Troop 1 participated in the parade where the troops march with their flags around the park and end up at the center stage where the opening ceremony was being held.

There were many Cub Scout Packs and Boy Scout Troops there to enjoy all the activities. The activities were the rope bridge crossing, zip line, Troop 1′s balance beam jousting, and many more. The military attended this occasion by bringing their heavy equipment, large guns, robots, K9 unit, and even had a demonstration in their scuba training tank.

This was the first year that the Makahiki had Troop competitions, from pancake cooking and flippng, knot tying/sled pulling, and an obstacle course. Scoutmaster Pang was such a good sport. In order to complete the pancake flipping contest, the Scoutmaster must eat the entire pancake after it is flipped. Troop 1′s pancake landed on the ground but Scoutmaster Pang ate it, grass and all.

This year’s Makahiki was truly the most fun and entertaining. We can’t wait until next year’s!

Click Here to see Post #2 in this series.

Click Here to see Post #3 in this series.

Click Here to see Post #4 in this series.

Dear Family,

I’m coming upon the final few days of my backpacking adventure. It’s hard for me to sum up how I feel about returning to school. I am sitting on the open peak of a mountain. The sun is warm and I have just leisurely finished eating an apple. Life is good here and I can honestly say I am grateful for the pure and simple gift of being alive.

Alone atop Moxie Bald Mountain. Socks drying on the back of Richard's pack.

I feel lazy, lazy to the very bone. I am going to finish this letter and then slowly walk down the mountain to the nearby shelter. I am going to pull out my sleeping bag and sleep for a few hours.

I met a man yesterday in Lincoln, a hiker named “Hatchet.” He was on the final few hundred miles of his thru-hike and his professed goals in life were to work as little as possible and enjoy life as much as possible. When he learned I was from Hawaii he asked me if it would be feasible to live a year in Hawaii in a lifestyle most people would describe as “homeless.”

There’s a joke hikers tell. Q: “What’s the difference between a homeless person and an AT hiker?” A: Gortex.

I was standing in a supermarket in Rangely, Maine, watching the grubby, bearded figure of a hiker pulling fruit off a display when I realized just how true this joke was. Hikers are a bunch of broke, dirty figures who live off the good will of other human beings. The membrane that separates us from the homeless is very thin indeed.

And to be honest, this lifestyle isn’t that bad. You can live comfortably for a year here on less than $6,000 and, as experience would seem to indicate, you can do so quite happily. I’m thinking hard about the phrase “money can’t buy happiness.”

With much love,

Richard

Mt. Moosilauke Summit
August 30th, 2009

Heading over to Coconut Island.

We met at Kaneohe Bay on the pier of the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB). There we met our merit badge counselor and tour guide for the island, his name was Mr. Heckman. We split into three groups; each group took turns riding the boat out to the island. As soon as we arrived, we were notified about the history of the island. We then hiked to the camping area reserved for Troop 1 and Gordon (Senior Patrol Leader) decided how we should set up camp.

Making the plankton net.

We set up camp in orderly rows and then walked to the classroom laboratory. In the laboratory, Mr. Heckman had a presentation waiting for us. The presentation was a simple power point and we were instructed to take very careful notes so that we could write our five hundred word essay required to complete the merit badge. The presentation was very long and took several hours to take notes. We finished at 7:00 and we were dismissed to enjoy our dinner.

We went back to the laboratory to make plankton nets. The materials were a simple plastic medicine bottle (we had to bring this with us), a mesh that was very tightly interwoven so that the planktonic life forms do not get through (this was provided to us). Mr. Heckman taught us how small plankton can be so we were sure to duct tape the parts tightly. The end product looked like a cone with a canister on the end.

Catching the plankton.

Again we split into three groups and were sent off with different staff members who escorted us to a spot on the island that was good for catching plankton. My group was taken to the boat docks were we could lie on the plastic docks and move our nets through the water so that we could catch plankton. My group’s staff member explained the plankton catching technique, which requires you to shine a very bright light in the water and wait for plankton to appear. We caught our plankton and headed back to the classroom laboratory.

Examining the plankton through the microscope.

When we got back to the laboratory, we used the microscopes to examine the plankton. The most common plankton that was found was the crab plankton that will grow into a crab. One of the rarest plankton found was an arrowhead (the predatory plankton). There were many, many questions asked about what kind of plankton was found. After the classroom work was over, we had juice and cookies and walked back to our tents to get some rest.

In the morning we packed up camp and went down to the beach house for breakfast. We had muffins (chocolate or blueberry), fruits (bananas and oranges), and donuts. After breakfast we got into our three groups by the dock and waved goodbye to Coconut Island. We took the boat back to the dock were we had originally started where we were picked up by our parents.

Written by Scout R. Winter

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Scouts work on rank advancement tasks.

Troop 1 had several scouts attend the advancement workshop and PLC Training held at the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) facility.

Scouts holding leadership positions (e.g, Instructor, Troop Guide, Historian) met individually with Scoutmaster Pang to discuss their position responsibilities. Assistant Scoutmaster Sandison held a leadership training session in the afternoon to further develop these responsibilities. The instructional method used was EDGE: Explain, Demonstrate, Guide, Enable. In this training, scouts made a small paper game to successfully teach an adult.

By learning how to lash, scouts learned that knot tying has practical applications.

Scouts not participating in the leadership training session worked on their Tenderfoot to First Class requirements. They worked on knot tying, lashing, whipping, and rope fusing. Also studied were Hawaii’s poisonous plants and how to properly light a lightweight stove. Totin’ Chips were presented to scouts after they had completed and understood the proper use, handling, care, and safety rules of using a pocket knife, camp saw, and axe.

The Advancement Workshop and Leadership Training went well. Congratulations to all scouts who participated.

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The session started with learning the fundamentals of CPR using the ABC method: Airway, Breathing, and Chest compressions. Each scout practiced on a CPR dummy to better understand and perform this lifesaving skill.

Water safety was next discussed. The concepts of “Safe Swim” and “Safety Afloat” were learned.

After an hour of this classroom work, it was time to head for the pool. Following Scoutmaster Pang’s instructions, they put on their goggles and jumped into the pool. Next was a non-stop 25-yard swim using the four basic strokes.

This warm-up was followed by learning how to save a victim using a rope and a one-gallon jug, how to use a PFD (Personal Flotation Device), and how to survive in the water. One of these survival skills included learning how to remove a long sleeved shirt and long pants to create a flotation device. Some scouts entered the water so well dressed that we thought that they were planning to go to a concert or dine at a fine restaurant. Finally, they swam with a mask and snorkel for 50 yards.

All the scouts completed their Second and First Class swimming requirements and the Swimming Merit Badge; now they are all eligible to try for the Mile Swim badge.

Congratulations to the Troop 1 Scouts who earned their swimming badge that day. They’re in the swim of things now!

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