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North
Georgia scouts attend national jamboree
By
Allan Hytowitz
Boy Scout Troop 555
Sponsored by John Wesley United Methodist Men's Fellowship
Special to GwinnettForum.com
NORCROSS, Aug. 7, 2001 - - Sometime during the 30 hours of torrential
rain that wiped out the Sunday visit of President Bush and Louise
Mandrel to the 2001 Boy Scout Jamboree Arena Show at Camp A.P. Hill,
Va., one of the more experienced adult Scout Leaders commented,
"The reason why they have Jamboree only once every four years
is that it takes three years to forget how bad it can get."
But the rain stopped, the mud almost dried, and even without Louse
Mandrel and with President Bush only on video tape, the fireworks
at the Arena Show was THE most spectacular many had ever seen. A
last minute unique highlight for many of the Scouts was the Scout
Leader who played "God Bless America" on a saw with a
cello bow.
For many of the 35,000 Scouts and 7,000 Scout Leaders, the 10 days
of the 2001 Jamboree was a unique experience that culminated the
bonding, community service, and sense of responsibility inherent
in Scouting. Not only were there numerous opportunities to enhance
"Scout Skills" at over 30 Merit Badge locations, but other
exhibits also emphasized pioneering, exploration, environmental,
and technology aspects of Scouting.
What was vacant fields at Fort A.P. Hill blossomed into tent cities
as the Scouts set up living and dining facilities near field "shower
and restroom facilities" set up by the U.S. Army that maintains
the post. The Scouts cooked their own breakfast and dinners as Patrol
and Troop units with supplies from the Jamboree commissaries. This
year sack lunches were provide at kiosks scattered throughout the
Jamboree, so that the Scout could continue their activities without
having to return to their campsite for lunch or having to carry
their lunch with them.
The Scout Jamboree every four years has become a primary function
of Camp A.P. Hill. The logistics of dealing with this mass of people
has served as a valuable training exercise in logistics for the
Army and Army Reserves, in addition to their other military related
training.
The Jamboree Scouts represented 300 Councils including 120 Scouts
from the Northeast Georgia Council. The Northeast Georgia Scouts
and 90 Adult Staff from were selected from 10,000 Boy Scouts and
Scout Leaders in the Northeast Georgia Council, that stretches from
Gwinnett County to Lake Hartwell and the North and South Carolina
border. (There are also 10,000 younger Cub Scouts in the Council.)
About half of Northeast Georgia Scouts and Adult Staff members with
them at A.P. Hill were from Gwinnett County.
This "once in a lifetime" experience for many of the
youth and adults served as a valuable lesson and exercise in cooperation,
sharing, and community responsibility that is at the core of Scouting.
It was highlighted by the Jamboree theme: "Strong Values -
Strong Leaders," providing lessons for those from Gwinnett
County to bring back to continue to make Gwinnett a better place
to live.
(By the way, the Northeast Georgia Scouts took a side tour of Busch
Gardens near Williamsburg, Va. and Washington D.C. (to see the Tomb
of the Unknown Soldier and some of the Holocaust Museum) on Saturday
and Sunday before they got to
"The Hill" on Monday, July 23, 2001.)
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