Fall District Family Campout 2024

By Edward Francis | October 4, 2024

A Fun Time for the Whole Family

It was a great turnout for Pack 337 at the Northstar District Family Campout. We had probably a third of all the kids at the campout. I was glad to see our little tent city on top of the hill.

Friday night was a good start with campfire skits and a cracker barrel.

What is a Cracker Barrel?

A cracker barrel is held in the evening, usually at camp, Camporees or other functions for Scouting America. Simply put, it is an evening snack and time for fellowship with other scouts. The term “cracker barrel” is most thought to come from the time when people would shop at their local General Store and gather around the cracker barrel to sit and visit with others in the community, much like the modern day “water cooler”. The food is kept simple, chips and cookies. It might get a little fancier with roasted marshmallows or smore’s. The truth is, cracker barrel is more about visiting with other scouts and leaders, telling stories and tales of adventures had since the last time they met. The cracker barrel may have an odd name but is imbedded in tradition and part of the camp culture that scouts still use today.

Campfire

For some of the scouts, this was probably their first time at a scout skit campfire. And when Scout (our District Executive) came running in yelling, “It’s all around me! It’s all around me!” I’m sure they were confused. Probably still when he dropped the punchline, “My Belt!”, when asked “What was around him?” This is another scouting tradition to enjoy cheesy one liners and skits that are just silly. I was proud of our Pack and how quickly they volunteered and organized their skits. It was a great showing by our scouts.

Saturday Activities

After a night where some slept like hibernating bears and others listen to the sounds of nature and cars driving up and down the road, we had a breakfast (that I’m sure the scouts loved) and our opening flag ceremony. Following the flag ceremony, we broke up into groups to do leatherwork, STEM, and shooting sports activities. The mechanical hand and paper rockets were definitely a hit. Even the leather stamping and branding were a surprise favorite of some. But the things everyone was excited about was the slingshots, BB guns, and archery down on the range. The Scouts learned about range safety and proper technique when shooting.

I enjoyed the campout and I hope everyone who came out had a blast too!

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