Author: Michael McCormick

New Committee Chair!

For those who have not heard yet, with Skippy having gone off to college, Ann Gillespie is stepping down as Troop 48’s Committee Chairperson. Ann has spent many, many years in the leadership of Troop 48, including the last seven as our Committee Chair, and has been a huge part of the success of Troop 48 over those years. This doesn’t even take into account her long dedication to Scouting in Berlin through her years of involvement with the since folded Cub Scout Pack 55 in town. While we’ll see her around, this is a very appropriate moment to give a HUGE thank you from everyone at Troop 48 for everything Ann. Thank you!

Stepping up to take over the position will be Aaron Kopania. Aaron is a recent return to the leadership fold in Troop 48, but was with us for seven years as a youth. Aaron served as a Patrol Leader for several years before being elected to the position of Senior Patrol Leader, and earned his Eagle Scout rank in 2011. He went on to attend school at the College of New Jersey, and currently is a teacher in the Blackwood School District. His Scouting experience and administrative experience as a teacher will be a great asset to Troop 48.

Way back in 2010 when Aaron was applying for Eagle Scout, he wrote, “I hope that I can continue to do good things for my community and the people around me.” He’s certainly done that so far in his career and his life, and we’re glad he’s chosen his old troop to do the same in.

MS City-to-Shore

“Troop 48 to serve the 100-mile route rest stop in this year’s MS Ride” by Grace Maiorano, Berlin Sun

Bike MS Report
by Paul Pascu, Troop Committee

Last weekend was the MS City to Shore bike ride. As usual, our Scouts manned the Century Loop rest stop which receives over 1,000 bike riders who are doing the full 100 miles for MS research. As usual, our Scouts did a fantastic job. We always get wonderful compliments for the MS folks. The MS lead volunteer for the rest stop is always so happy to see us. We make her job so much easier. And we always get an earlier email each year asking if we’ll be back again.

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“Riding in the MS 150” By Magnus P, Trails of Troop 48 (October 2017)

The MS City to Shore bike ride is a thing to remember, especially when you’re one of the riders. I was one of those riders, and I rode 74.3 miles on that trip. It was tough, yes, but to be honest, it was worth it, and I loved it. It all started early on Saturday, September 23rd . I was at the starting point with Mike. After some time, Mike and I got on our bikes and we started to ride.

It was not long until we ran into our first problem, which was Mike getting a flat on his tire after hitting a clump of potholes. That led to a flat that had to be repaired. Thankfully, there was a nice couple who helped remove the flat, and a mobile repair shop not too far behind us, so it did not take long for that flat to be replaced. Once it was replaced, we were back on the road.

So far, the bike ride is pretty simple, with me flying ahead of Mike and stopping to wait for him every once in a while. As the day kept going, it got lighter. Everything was getting easier to see, and it was also getting warmer by the minute. The temperature of that day was predicted to rise up to 85 degrees, so that sounded like fun.

I was able to see a bunch of things that I had not seen on the ride last year. I saw some areas that seemed to be somewhat rural. Some were nice picturesque  scenes that were pleasant sights due to the rising sun.

While I was riding, I found a way to entertain myself, besides pedaling away at my bike, and that other way was riding behind someone and eavesdropping in on their conversations with their friends. I got to hear some interesting things by doing that, I’ll tell you what. Other times I listened for anyone who brought their speaker to the ride, and rode behind them for as long as I could, listening to their music. I remember sticking close behind one man who was blasting Bruce  Springsteen.

One thing that was an enemy of mine last year decided to come back this year, and that enemy was pain. Last year on my last bike ride, I got a burning sensation in the top of my thighs within the last five miles. This year, I got that same burning pain within probably the last 30 miles, however, it was not as bad this time around. It wasn’t anything a little bit of ibuprofen couldn’t handle.

As I’m riding, I notice that the folks who aren’t riding are still cheering us along as much as they can. I appreciated their support for us very much. I also saw something that seemed very, very interesting, which was an old 1920s dark green car riding down the road, honking its train whistle. I must say, that was very loud, and very, very cool to see. Another interesting thing about it was the fact that the steering wheel was on the right side. Around the time that happened, we had less than ten miles to do.

One part of this ride that was challenging were the bridges, which although they weren’t as steep this year, they were still very, very long. Some people, at this point, decided to walk their bike up this bridge.  However, I was not as inclined to do so. I shifted my bike to the lowest gear possible and pedaled all the way up, and glided back down. I repeated this on the second hump, never getting off my bike except for at the stops. I reach the bottom of the second bridge and get to
the intersection, where police were stopping the bikers due to the heavy traffic.

At this point, we were at the last mile, and we stuck together the whole way to the end, and I must say that I felt proud of myself for biking 74.3 miles on the MS City to Shore.

Goshen Pond this weekend!

Thank you to everyone who helped make our Open House Campout at Goshen Pond such a big success this weekend!  Wilderness Survival, an obstacle course, Gaelic football (why is this happening every year now?), a nature hike around Atsion, and a MONKEY BRIDGE were some of the highlights of a great weekend!

Also a big thank you to David Latimer, who wrote about our weekend on his great South Jersey Scouting blog.  You can read about it at https://snjscouts.wordpress.com/

New Troop 48 Committee Chair

To our parents, leaders, scouts, and alumni,

For those who have not heard yet, with Skippy having gone off to college, Ann Gillespie is stepping down as Troop 48’s Committee Chairperson.  Ann has spent many, many years in the leadership of Troop 48, including the last seven as our Committee Chair, and has been a huge part of the success of Troop 48 over those years.  This doesn’t even take into account her long dedication to Scouting in Berlin through her years of involvement with the since folded Cub Scout Pack 55 in town.  While we’ll see her around, this is a very appropriate moment to give a HUGE thank you from everyone at Troop 48 for everything Ann.  Thank you!

Stepping up to take over the position will be Aaron Kopania.  Aaron is a recent return to the leadership fold in Troop 48, but was with us for seven years as a youth.  Aaron served as a Patrol Leader for several years before being elected to the position of Senior Patrol Leader, and earned his Eagle Scout rank in 2011.  He went on to attend school at the College of New Jersey, and currently is a teacher in the Blackwood School District.  His Scouting experience and administrative experience as a teacher will be a great asset to Troop 48.

Way back in 2010 when Aaron was applying for Eagle Scout, he wrote, “I hope that I can continue to do good things for my community and the people around me.” He’s certainly done that so far in his career and his life, and we’re glad he’s chosen his old troop to do the same in.

Yours in Scouting,
Mike McCormick, Scoutmaster
Troop 48 – Berlin, NJ