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By Larry Grard
EDMUNDS — Five Boy Scout troops, one Girl Scout troop and one Baden Powell Scout Association unit from Canada converged at Cobscook State Park in Edmunds, in Washington County, to take part in the 56th annual Cobscook International Scouting Camporee on Sept. 28-30.
The Cobscook International Camporee started in 1962 and is the oldest running camporee in the Northeast, next to the West Point Invitational Camporee, which started in 196, organizers said.
Scouts attending included those from Winslow Troop 433, Troop 254 of Warren, Troop 401 Sidney, Troop 86 Ellsworth and Troop 215 Thomaston. Girl Scout Troop 1160 of Warren and Troop 1st KVBP St. John, New Brunswick, were also in attendance, with more than 100 Scouts present in total.
The theme for the this year’s Cobscook International Camporee was “Downeast Rendezvous.” Scouts who attended and dressed in colonial or frontier type clothing of the 1800s and/or vintage Scout uniforms got extra points for their patrol competitions. The Scouts participated in competitive events such as cast iron frying pan toss, archery, washer toss, pioneering useful gadget building, and dessert cooking. They also got to visit the “smithy,” and forge a tent steak, or “S” hook.
Tomahawk throwing and splitting a playing card by far was one of the more popular events. In the competitive events, Troop 1160 took the top awards for Theme as they came fully decked out in frontier clothing as well as top award in patrol competition. Runnersup in Theme were Winslow Troop 433 and Troop 215 in Patrol competitions. Frying Pan Toss had Troop 215 in first place with 1st KVBP runnersup. In Archery Troop 1160 in first place, Troop 254 in second place and 1st KVBP in third.
In the Dessert competition 1st KVBP won won with home made apple cobbler in a dutch oven made with apples picked from trees in the park. Second place was Troop 215 with peach cobbler and third place being Troop 86 with apple dumplings.
A Caveman Golf competition was held for the adults. The club and ball have to be natural materials on found in the park, and the course was approximated at a par 200. Jim Rausch of Troop 86 won the competition with a par 120. Flint Swenson on Monroe and Troop 433 Winslow won the Disc Golf competition. Troop 433 won the Flag Identification competition. Many of the youth and leaders departed saying the weekend was too short and they can not wait to return for the 57th Cobscook Camporee.
At the closing ceremony Chris “Montawagon” Bernier, Kennebec Valley District volunteer, and Scott “Moxie” Bernier announced the theme as “Sci-Fi” for next year’s Camporee. With the awards handed out and all ready to depart from the camporee the entire camp formed a broken circle.
Chris Bernier explained, “We form our circle with a whole or opening in it. We leave that space open to welcome new friends into our circle next year and with that may the great scoutmaster of all scouts be with us until we meet again.” The entire group responded “Until we meet again.”
PHOTO: The campfire was the closing ceremony for the Cobscook Camporee at the Cobscook Camporee, held Sept. 28 to 30 at Edmunds Bay in Washington County. (Submitted photo)
