By Cristin Ross
cross@jacksonvilleprogress.com
Area Cub Scouts were certainly prepared last week — for a lot of fun in the sun during the annual Three Rivers’ District Cub Scout Day Camp.
More than 80 scouts from troops in Jacksonville, Rusk, Bullard, Henderson, Slocum, Elkhart, Palestine and all areas in between inundated the Lon Morris College gym to earn new badges, learn new things and make new friends.
“What really interested me was the geology,” Jacksonville Scout Hunter Janske, 10, said. “I thought there was only one kind of geology, but there’s actually two — gemology and geology.
Jim Riley-Snider, a 9-year-old Neches resident, disagreed.
“Getting sprayed with the fire hose — that was the best,” he declared. “That and the archery and BB guns!”
The drenching was courtesy of the Jacksonville Fire Department.
Scouts also had fun doing arts-and-crafts projects, swimming in the LMC pool, learning how to properly and safely shoot BB guns and bows and arrows.
“Attendance is up 60 percent this year and our district’s officials are telling me we’re the only district whose camp attendance is up,” event coordinator Heather Huckaby said. “We’re seeing lots of new Scouts this year, which is great. I sent a ton of e-mails to parents reminding them about camp this year.”
Scouts also had the opportunity to earn badges in several areas including Texas history, artistry, safety and the all-important citizenship badge.
“It was tough, but I learned a lot of stuff I didn’t know,” 9-year-old Palestine Scout Andy Chicas said. “It’s important.”
In order to get a Texas badge, Scouts learned about the state of Texas’ history, citizens and laws, memorized the state pledge and song and found out other facts like the state bird, flower and even fruit.
“We’re so proud,” Huckaby said. “Every Scout earned his Texas badge this year, and we want to definitely thank Lon Morris College for allowing us to have camp here. They really made it possible for us to do a lot more than we would’ve, otherwise.”
Camp wrapped up with snow cones from Snow Coney Island in Bullard and, among other events, a special show from Flint resident Bill McFarlin, his Brittany spaniel Star and his other canine friends. McFarlin and Star competed on last summer’s CBS reality show “Greatest American Dog.”
“It’s great to be here,” McFarlin said as he autographed post card-sized photos of himself and Star. “Everyone seems to be pretty excited to see Star.”
The Three Rivers District serves Anderson, Cherokee and Rusk counties. Anyone interested in joining a troop within the Three Rivers District can call the East Texas Area Council, 903-597-7201, or visit www.etexscouts.com.
Local Cub Scout and Boy Scout leaders hold a roundtable meeting at 7 p.m. every first Thursday of the month at First United Methodist Church-Jacksonville, 1031 SE Loop 456, Jacksonville.
Kelsey Palmer contributed to this article.
