For almost half of Troop 8’s storied history, Dick Ligertwood was the guiding force, the conscience, and the standard we tried to live up to. He was Scoutmaster from 1976 – 1981 and stayed active for almost 40 more years as committee member or chair, Chartered Organization Representative, and essentially Godfather to Troop 8 and Pack 8. When Dick led a crew to Philmont, it was a month-long excursion, driving both ways and seeing several historic sites along the way. Young scouts who initially feared his grizzled older visage, soon came to realize that he was a gentle, caring man with a quick wit who wanted them to have fun, and perhaps learn a few things along the way. The twinkle in his eye calmed, inspired, and encouraged scouts for decades.
Dick was a force in scouting on a council, regional, and national level. He was Scoutmaster of several JLT troops, the predecessor to our current NYLT program. He served on many Wood Badge staffs, usually providing considerable humor in the kitchen. Dick was a key leader in the old Morris-Sussex Council, and integral to the formation of our current Patriots’ Path Council. He was one of the founders of the Watchu program, helping train crews so they were prepared for a Philmont trek. He served on several national jamboree staffs and was a constant presence at the national training center at Philmont. As an active Flintlock, he worked to support the facilities of our camps for over 30 years. Dick was the perfect mentor for a score of Scoutmasters who followed him. He stayed in the background, “letting the young guys run things,” but was always available for sound advice and feedback. And on those rare occasions when we had a problem with the Council, an intervention from Dick always seemed to resolve the issue in our favor. When Troop 8 celebrated its 100-year anniversary, Chatham recognized Dick and the troop by honoring him as Grand Marshall of the 4th of July Parade.
The Scouts enjoyed a fantastic weekend at the Franklin Parker Preserve. We learned quite a bit about the snakes of the area and even got to see how they are radio tracked in the wild.
2 Crews, 11 Scouts, and 4 ASMs mushed Dogsleds into the Umbagog, a wilderness area bordering Maine and New Hampshire. This trip was a first for Troop 8, and hopefully not the last. We learned about dogs, sleds, winter, skiing, clothing, the Inuits and more.
Troop 8 always places high in the Klondike and this year was no different with the Troop 8 filling up the podiums at the 2022 Klondike! The two sleds in the senior division took first and second home—with a significant lead on third place—and the sled in the junior division took third! Everyone came home with hardware! This was all despite a frigid start to the day but all the scouts warmed up by running from station to station showing off their skills in shooting, pioneering, orienteering, first-aid, fire-building, cooking, nature, scout lore, and shelter building. And we cannot forget to give a special shout-out to the adults who ran Kodiak!
This last Sunday, the scouts braved the frigid morning air and went out to prepare for an upcoming scouting competition, the Klondike. They practiced shelter-building skills, first aid, cooking, knot tying, fire-building, orienteering, and their nature knowledge. This is an excellent refresher that the scouts go through every year to prepare for the Klondike. Troop 8 has a tradition of dominating the competition for the junior and senior sleds and this year will be no different!
