Denise Farwell
/ Pamplin Media Group
East County youth, from left, Sam
W., Eliot A., Preston D. and Bryan D., lead the Macy’s Holiday Parade on Friday,
Nov. 24, in downtown Portland. The four boys, all members of Boy Scout Troop No.
542, stepped in to help at the last minute.
Only two weeks before the big Macy’s Holiday Parade charmed thousands of
Portlanders on Friday, Nov. 24, Gresham resident Margaret Chapman received an
alarming phone call.
The Naval Reserves had
canceled at the last second, Chapman’s friend explained, did Chapman know anyone
who could lead the parade?
She did. But the
veteran Boy Scout organizer would need a small miracle to pull this act off.
“We had to pull this together really
quickly,” Chapman said two days before the big event. “We had our final
rehearsal last night, and it was the first time the boys held the flags. Those
flags were bigger and heavier than they expected!”
Not only that, but there were still pants in need of hemming, and four
sets of Boy Scout nerves in need of calming.
“The boys were very excited,” Chapman says. “I stopped them during their
final practice and told them I knew they would make us proud.”
That they did.
The four Boy
Scouts – all members of Troop No. 542 – led the Macy’s Holiday Parade, flags held high, looking dapper in their
matching red windbreaker jackets and Boy Scout baseball caps.
Included in the group was Eliot A., 17, a junior at
Reynolds High School and son of Asdeir and Linda ; Bryan D., 11, son of Daniel
and Karen. of East County; Preston D., 17, a senior at Reynolds High School and
son of Bob and Linda; and Sam W, 14, a freshman at Centennial High School and
the son of Phyllis and Roger.
“They had to approach
this with as much military precision as possible, to look sharp and keep in
step,” Chapman, committee chairwoman for the troop says. “I’m very honored that
we were called.”
I wanted to tell you about scouting at it its
best. I am a very proud parent of a WEBELO 2 in Pack 281 and
a Life Scout in troop 210. Our Pack (281) was planning a pop
can drive in one of our neighborhoods this November. We
usually use this money to assist Scouts and their families to come to a weekend
camping trip at Camp Marrow in March. During a Pack meeting
it occurred to the parents that we should use some of the money to buy socks and
gloves for homeless people. I approached the boys and simply
asked if they would like to use some of the money collected for just
that. I was surprised by their reaction.
It wasn’t simply a yes but, a resounding yes. So that
is just what we did. In mid November the boys with the help
of their parents scoured our neighborhoods. They were greeted
by people more that willing to get rid of their “trash” and at the same time
help out the boys. The boys ended up collecting about $265.00
in close to three hours time. My husband and I got up early
the day after Thanksgiving and headed to Fred Meyers. He went
to the sock area and I to the gloves. We were able to buy 40
pairs of gloves and 99 pairs of socks. We
decided as a group that we wanted to help the men and women at Dignity
Village. We had 40 bags each containing a pair of gloves and
two pair of socks. The remaining bags had three pairs of
socks. So we went down and handed out the Christmas presents.
The boys were greeted with the nicest smiles and biggest
thank-you’s. One of the women thanked the boys and said it
was the nicest Christmas present that she had received. She
went on to say “there is nothing better that clean, soft, brand new
socks”. Another man had the new gloves on before the boys
could say Merry Christmas. It was one of the proudest days
for me. I saw these boys transform before my eyes, before we
got there they were scared of the people, place, and the unknown.
In the end they said that they were reminded of just how thankful they
are for what they have. I truly appreciate how scouting
teaches them to think of others. This will be the first year
of many that we will do this with the boys. Thank you for all
you do to help mold these boys into young men. I am thankful
that we have scouting in our lives.
Submitted by Ray Brewer and Kate Baker
AND THEN THERE IS THE STORY OF JACOB...
New York, NY - The Boy Scout Law says that a scout must be Trustworthy,
Loyal, Helpful, and more. But one scout, Jacob, 13, goes above and
beyond that. He is industrious, enterprising and entrepreneurial. In
addition to being a 7th grader at Ron Russle Middle School, David Douglas School
District and a member of Cascade Pacific Council, Thunderbird District's Boy
Scout Troop 108, he has been involved in the Bedsidebooks Program. This is
a student run program that collects, sorts and distributes books to local
charities. This is his second year involved in the program and he has been
the top collector both years. He and his troop can earn up to $450 for
their efforts (a side benefit Jacob observed "one good thing I am getting
muscles carrying all these boxes") . In the past year Jacob has collected
over 8000 books, which will find their way into places like the Neighborhood
House Senior Center ( S.W Portland), the Albertina Kerr Centers (a facility that
works with children with emotional/mental health issues), Snow-CAP Community
Charities (a coalition of groups that aid families in need), WTW Christian
Academy and Wattles Boys and Girls Club (an afternoon recreational center
for low income children).
When Jacob was asked how
he had collected so many books he said "when I want something, then I go all out
to get it". Indeed, in addition to contacting family, friends and
neighbors he used the internet to contact people and hit pay dirt with one
organization. When he went to pick up the books he discovered that they
had thousands of books for him. There were enough books for many pickup
trucks. These books came from the Friends of the Camas Public
Library. Jacob owes a sincere debt of gratitude to Jason Masuoka,
President of the Friends organization, who helped make this holiday season
special for so many people in need.
When he started
to bring the books home, he was shocked, and said "Where are we going to put all
of them". Jacob is being helped by the members of Troop 108, Dwight, Jim,
and Jean, 3 long time Family friends, his sister Kasi and of course his mom and
dad who assisted him in finding a place to store the books in their soon to be
finished family room. When they get to use it themselves is anybody's
guess.
Other students interested in participating in
Bedsidebooks can find out more information at
www.bedsidebooks.org .
