FARMINGTON — In a year when so many other activities are suspended or cancelled, Cub Scout Pack 585 (serving Farmington, Wilton, and surrounding towns) is getting ready to get back on the trail.
The Cub Pack 585, with their parents, will be holding a fundraising yard sale from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 5, at the Trinity United Methodist Church on the Farmington Falls Road in Farmington. Donated items to sell at the yard sale will be greatly appreciated. Drop them off between 1 and 4 p.m. Friday, Sept. 4. For more information about the yard sale, contact Xiaofang Clark at shicious@gmail.com or 207-307-1109.
Declan Clark, a second-grader from Farmington, crosses over from the Tiger rank to become a Wolf Scout. He is attended by his mother, Xiaofang Clark, and his father and den leader, Joe Clark. Submitted photo
Cub Scouting is a family-oriented, year-round program designed to meet the needs of young boys and girls (kindergarten through fifth grade) with fun and challenging activities that promote character development, physical fitness and good citizenship.
“Pack 585 has been in a rebuilding period for the past few years,” says Cubmaster Walt Fails of New Sharon, whose son Cam is in the 4th-grade den that has grown from two Scouts in 2017 to seven Scouts working on the Webelos rank this year. “We’ve recruited new den leaders and are adding more of the outdoor activities to our schedule, like hiking and camping, that have traditionally been the center of the Scouting experience.”
The schedule of pack outings for 2020-2021 is still being developed, but it is hoped to include at least a few more of traditional outings before winter sets in and are considering winter outings, such as ice fishing and snowshoeing.
The Cub Scouts also have plenty of indoor activities to keep kids busy through the winter months. Scouts in each rank work on a variety of skill-development activities, from tying knots to communicating in code; from using a pocketknife to programming a computer. According to Jon Abell, the Committee Chair of Pack 585, “another goal of the pack is to increase community service to reinforce part of the Scout Oath, ‘to help other people at all times.'” Scouts also work on crafts, perform skits and learn about their world from field trips and guest speakers. For some Cub Scouts, the Pinewood Derby, in which they build and race their own model cars, is the highlight of the winter.
Later this month, there will be a “sign-up night” for interested families. This year, Scouts will have the option to participate in meetings virtually or meet in person in locations with ample space to spread out.
For more information, contact the Cubmaster at peacekeper11467@gmail.com, or the committee chair at jabell6841@gmail.com. More information about Scouting is available at https://scouting.org.
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