Boy Scout
Troop 653

Use the links below to navigate.

• Paintball Weekend 2008
• Dairy Farm Weekend
• Wright Patterson Air Force Base
• Flag Retirement Ceremony
• Town Hall Meeting with Dan Onorato - April 23
• Richland Shotgun Club - April 18-20
• Camp Seph Mack - March 14-16 2008
• Camp Mountain Run - February 2008
• Camp Merz/Peek'n Peak Resort January 2008
• Custaloga Town
• Algonquin Park 2007
  • Algonquin Pictures
• Our Visit to CBS Radio
• Battleship New Jersey
• Eagle Scout Projects

After an eventful start to our October 2008 camping trip when our bus broke down Friday night, we were able to salvage the remainder of the weekend and enjoy a day at the Dairy Farm of Lou Kopczyk near Indiana PA.


We were greeted by a friendly sign...


...and Skip, our welcoming committee.


The view of the farm coming in the road


Loading bales of straw onto a wagon for a hayride around the farm

The views were breathtaking






Patriarch Lou Kopczyk joined us on the hayride and gave us a detailed history of the
farm which he has owned since before World War II


Corn is one of the many crops that the Kopczyk's grow on the farm to be used for
feeding the cows


A couple of the neighboring farms




Returning to the farm



Two of the four main silos where the grains and hay are stored for feeding


Frank Kopczyk, who now operates the farm was more that happy to tell us all about
the business of dairy farming


We all listened intently as Frank told us one of the many aspects of farming




With over seven decades of dairy farming experience, and 25 years as a Scoutmaster,
Lou was a wealth of knowledge


Always work to do on the farm; even for visitors!


Some of the 60 dairy cows on the Kopczyk farm


Each ear tag indicates the year and order of birth


One of the functions of farm life we got to witness was the artificial insemination of a dairy cow. For cows to give milk consistently, they need to give birth once a year. The young cows are sold off as they grow older or absorbed into the heard as needed. The success rate for artificial insemination on the Kopczyk farm is nearly 100 percent. Artificially conceiving is a much more controlled way of regulating a farmer's herd. Genetic defects can be bred out over time and inbreeding is a non-issue.

Warning: The photos below are not for the squeamish!


A cow awaits her "visitor"


A man from the co-op arrives and prepares for his work.


The icky part - To our surprise, the cow didn't even flinch.


The job's not over until the paperwork is done

Cows weren't the only animal we got to see on the farm. Besides Skip the dog there were a number of cats including one named  Marble who made a few friends during our visit.







Twice a day, the cows are brought to the milking station where they are prepared for milking four at a time. The milking process takes about three hours. Here, the first of the 60 milk cows come into the milking station for evening milking.






After prep and cleaning, the hoses are attached to the udders.


The milk is pumped into the clean room next door where the pumping equipment is
located


The milk is stored in this large tank which is emptied every other day by a tanker truck.
All the milk from Kopczyk Farms currently goes to a cheese factory in New
Wilmington PA and is primarily used for pizza cheese.

A big "Thank You!" to our hosts, Lou, Frank and Ted Kopczyk for an enjoyable day!


Troop 653 with some of the Kopczyk family.
Front Row: Lucas, Mr.Zufall, Lou Kopczyk, Aaron, Blaine
Back Row: Mr. Gapsky, Frank Kopczyk, Ted Kopczyk, Chris, Mr. Bloom,
Mr. Dunbar, Jayme

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On June 14-16 the Troop took a trip west to Dayton Ohio where we visited the Wright Patterson Air Force Base & United States Air Force Museum. We camped right on the Base not far from one of the runways. On Sunday June 15th we spent the day touring the Air Force Museum. There was more than anyone could see in just one day. We learned about the history of the Air Force and the role of military aircraft in our country's history. Here are some pictures of our day in the museum.


  

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"The flag, when it is in such condition that it is no longer a emblem for display, should be destroyed in a digniffitting ied way, preferably by burning."

The United States Flag Code

On Thursday July 3, 2008 Troop 653 conducted a United States Flag Retirement Ceremony. It was  held at Richland Park on the eve of our country's 232nd Birthday. Five American Flags of differing sizes were retired after the Scouts conducted a short ceremony.

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The speaker at the meeting was Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato.
 
Mr Onorato is conducting nine such meetings in the regions of Allegheny County where County Parks are located. The purpose of this meeting was to discuss the future of Deer Lakes Park.
The boys were able to experience a bit of County Government in action as Allegheny County looks for ways to improve the county's nine parks with an ever decreasing amount of revenue to support them. Many residents in the large crowd posed good questions as suggestions.
A few of our own Scouts as well as a couple of the leaders also asked Mr. Onorato questions.
The assembled crowd left the meeting with more of a sense of ownership of this valuable backyard resource that is Deer Lakes Park.
 
Attending a meeting of this sort can serve as one of the many requirements toward earning the "Citizenship in the Community" Merit Badge.

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On the weekend of April 18-20, Ray Russ was again kind enough to allow Troop 653 to spend the weekend at his Richland Shotgun Club in Venango County.

Chris, Chris & Austin


Spectators


Mr. Evans, Mr Willach and Mr. Gapsky look on


Kevin takes aim


Squanto Lives!


Mr. Russ shows us how it's done.

By the end of the day Sunday, we had gone through roughly 3500 rounds of shotgun shells. It was a picture perfect day for trap shooting on Saturday. By Sunday morning, the rain we had overnight had mostly cleared up and allowed us to shoot for a few more hours.

For one or two of the boys this was the first experience they'd ever had with a shotgun.

Aaron takes aim


Mr. Russ guides Austin



Everyone had a great weekend and we want to again thank Mr. Russ for allowing us to spend the weekend!

After originally scheduling the March camping trip for a tenting weekend at Camp Bucoco, it was decided that it would be best during this "endless winter" that we change to a facility that could provide us with cabin camping. So we set off to Camp Seph Mack near Indiana, PA where the primary activity was hiking. Mr. Dunbar and Mr. Zufall set up a hike where two patrols of boys went out equipped with a GPS and a compass.

Blaine, Lucas and Jamie lash a tripod together

Mr. Dunbar gives his approval to Kevin and Nate's lashed tripod

Chris strikes a pose while Lucas and Jamie work on their lashing skills

Is that our dessert in the dutch ovens in the background?

More winter sports were on tap for Troop 653's February 2008 camping trip. With temperatures in the teens and twenties all weekend, it made a great time to take part in some awesome snow tubing!

Aaron & Sam taking a tumble


Austin at the end of a run


Blaine gets a face full!


Nate heading down



Lucas finishes a successful run


Even Mr. Evans eats a little snow


One of the Camp's Klondike Derby sleds is put to good use

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When we look back on our weekend in Western New York, one thought comes to mind: Brrrrrrrrr!

Our trip to Camp Merz complete with a day trip to Peek’n Peak Resort was a weekend none of us will soon forget. We arrive as we usually do to each camp we stay at: in the dark. What made our arrival to Camp Merz a little different was the fact that the roads in the Western New York area were a little tricky. Due to a classic lake effect snow we experienced the first few inches of what would prove to be about a foot and a half of snow by the end of the weekend.

At Peek’n Peak Ski Resort, all of the boys chose to give skiing a try. And while it was the first time for many of them they all fared remarkably well. The most challenging issue of the weekend both at the resort and the camp was the cold temperatures. With temperatures in the low teens during the day and very near zero at night, keeping warm became a full time job. However that didn’t keep the boys from romping around in the snow the entire time. This was a new experience for many of them as a snowfall reaching over 18 inches deep was something most of them had never experienced.

Many thanks as always to Mr. Evans for a safe trip up and back; however for this trip he deserves extra credit. Navigating Interstates 86, 90 and 79 in white-out conditions was a task none of us envied.

We look forward to returning for another skiing trip next year!

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On the weekend October 19-21 we had our first campout of the fall at Custaloga Town Scout Reservation. The area where Custaloga Town sits is rich in Native American history. Custaloga's name first appeared in western Pennsylvania's history in "George Washington's Journal of 1753". When Washington arrived at Fort Machault in the village of Venango, Custaloga was in charge of the wampum of his nation. Custaloga, or Kustaloga, was the chief of the Munsee or Wolf Clan of Delawares. He was living at Venango when Washington stopped there in November of 1753 on his way to Fort LeBouef.

Custaloga Town first opened to Scout camping in the summer of 1967; it replaced the Mercer County Council's Camp Kiondashawa and later became the home for the entire French Creek Council.

The beautiful landscape, rolling hills, wide open spaces, lake and countless other attractions made our weekend there quite enjoyable for the boys and leaders alike.

Originally scheduled as a Webelos Weekend our plans changed due to the fact that no Webelos from Pack 159 could make the trip and there are no second year Webelos in Pack 965.

We were pleased to be asked to take part in the Camp’s annual “Haunted Hayride.” The event was open to all residents in the area as well as the Cub Scout Packs staying for the weekend. Our Scouts were given costumes by Custaloga Town’s event’s coordinator Christie and off they went into the forest to terrify anyone bold enough to take the hayride. Our guys had a blast scaring the wagon loads of kids and adults as they went by!

Some of us had time to do some fishing, while others took a couple of hikes to explore the facility. Our weekend wrapped up on a beautiful Sunday afternoon as we broke camp and headed back to the real world.

Many thanks to Mr. Lyons for driving our bus for us this trip while Mr. Evans was otherwise engaged for the weekend.

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Troop 653 Summer Camp

July 27 - August 4, 2007

Algonquin Provincial Park

Ontario, Canada

Back Row: Mr. Porter, Mr. Gapsky,  Mr. Willach, Mr. Schantz,
Jamie Gorham, Mr. Evans, Mr. Bloom, Mr. Zufall
Front Row: Aaron Zufall, Austin Willach, Nate Holmes, Mark Schantz, Kevin Malley, Lucas Gapsky,
Blaine Dunbar, Mr. Dunbar, Chris Bloom (rear), Chris Porter, Ben Holmes

 This year’s summer camp at Algonquin Provincial Park in the province of Ontario, Canada was an absolute success in every possible way! From the perfect weather, to the opportunities to hike, fish, canoe, swim, stargaze and enjoy all of nature's brilliance, the week we spent there was thoroughly enjoyed by all.

Special thanks go several people for making this event a total success.

First is Mr. Porter for all his work organizing the events on site in Algonquin. The hours spent in canoes on the lake and the river would not have been possible without his management of canoe and equipment rental. His knowledge of Algonquin was priceless.

Mr. Porter

Next is Mr. Bloom for organizing the trip itself in terms of logistics, food, ID for the border crossing and all things involved in being our Scoutmaster.

Mr. Bloom

The dynamic of the week would have been far different without bicycles. We have Mr. Willach to thank for that. His willingness to transport our bikes to Algonquin as well as providing a second chase car made a huge difference in our week there.

As a bonus, when Mr. Willach put on his other hat and became “Chef James”, we were all the better and in many cases, all the fatter for it!

Mr. Willach

Thanks go to all the adult leaders for there willingness to share their knowledge of the outdoors as well as their skills with the boys. Knot tying, fish filleting, canoeing, and fishing were just a few of the skills the boys were able to glean from the adult leaders. Simply having an adult to talk to away from his parents, where a young man can open up with his feelings about his young life made a difference in the week for some of the guys. Thanks to Mr. Schantz, Mr. Dunbar, Mr. Gapsky and Mr. Zufall for all of the support they provided for the trip in so many ways.

Mr. Schantz & Mark

Mr. Rick & Mr. Dunbar

Mr. Willach & Mr. Zufall

Lastly, and most importantly we wouldn’t have been able to make this trip without the tireless efforts of Mr. Evans. His countless hours behind the wheel of our faithful bus give us all a reassurance that our trips will be safe and “mostly” uneventful.

Finally, thanks to the boys. They were as well behaved as could be expected and created little if any problems for the leaders. They each showed a great deal of growth during our week in Algonquin. We should all be proud of them.

Aaron & Mark fishing

Lucas with the biggest fish of the week!

Kevin near a Beaver Meadow

Around the campfire

We will include more about this trip in the coming weeks and provide a photo sharing page so we can all view the many breathtaking photos taken by everyone during the week.

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On Saturday September 1, 2007 we had the opportunity to visit the studios of CBS Radio's Pittsburgh studios. The three stations housed in CBS's Greentree facility are Y-108, Star 100.7 and 93.7 "The Zone" (Now B94). All of the stations are FM sister stations to KDKA Radio in Downtown Pittsburgh.

Some of us got to go into the studio of Star 100.7. All of us got to take part in the "Car Radio" show on FM 93.7 "The Zone"

Visiting a radio or TV studio can be helpful to those working toward the Communication Merit Badge

Many thanks to to CBS Radio, Hersch the host of Car Radio and show contributors Tim Callahan, John Gillespie and Jim Zufall

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