Boys’ Life magazine features Lewiston Scout Troop 007’s unofficial tournament at Belfast Curling Center

LEWISTON – Winning his Scout troop’s unofficial curling tournament at the Belfast Curling Center last February – that was the best thing for Life Scout Mike Paradis.

“I got bragging rights, that’s for sure,” said Paradis, 17, a Lewiston High School junior.

But having that victory preserved in the center pages of the December edition of Boys’ Life magazine – that’s even better.

The magazine began arriving in mailboxes last week, with a cover promising stories about winter sports. Tucked inside is a four-page article and photographs about Lewiston Scout Troop 007’s curling trip.

On Monday, most of the Scouts in the troop hadn’t received their copies of the national magazine, but they were excited. It’s given them some bragging rights of their own.

“We’re a new troop and when we first started, we made this one of our goals,” said Bob Reed, scoutmaster for Troop 007. “The first was to have fun, but the second was to make Boys’ Life.”

Boys’ Life is the official magazine of Boy Scouts of America, with articles geared toward Cub Scouts, Webelos and Boy Scouts. Among the first aid tips and Tom Swift jokes are true-life stories about boys from across the country and their adventures.

Just about any American male who has spent time at a Scout meeting has picked up the magazine at least once.

Reed was no different. He read the magazine as a boy and wanted to see his troop on its pages. But the troop was new, having started in September 2007. Besides, the magazine hadn’t featured a Maine troop in decades.

“Nobody thought we had much of a shot,” Reed said.

But they had a secret weapon, the arcane sport of curling – sliding a 42-pound weight along the ice toward a target. It requires strength, strategy and the ability to slide on the ice without falling, or at least not minding when you do fall.

“Most winter activity features in Boys’ Life are about the same things – building a Quonset hut or snow shoeing,” Reed said. “I knew that they’d like an article about something different.”

And they did, sending a photographer and videographer along to capture the Scout’s trip in pictures. Reed said a writer from the magazine called him a week later to get the details of the trip.

The article explains the rules and history of the sport as it documents Paradis and his team’s win over their rivals. A video of the trip is promised and the magazine offers a link to the Boys’ Life Web site, www.boyslife.org. As of Monday night, the video was not up on the Web site.

The Scouts raised the money for the trip themselves. Costs included ice rental, lessons and an after-game pizza party. In all, it cost them about $450 and a day trip. They had fun, but making the magazine made it even more special.

“I just wanted to prove to them that they could do it, that they could achieve more than they expected,” Reed said.

He said he had already heard from some of the other area Scout leaders about the article. Troop 414 from Bedford, N.H., called this past weekend and plans to join Troop 007 on its next trip to Belfast. The troop is planning a second curling trip next month.