By Joe Donahue
With more than 900 people attending a pow-wow at Comer Scout Reservation in Mentone, Alabama, Coosa Lodge set a new attendance record, and many of them were the "Boys in Blue."
The lodge hosted a spring pow-wow for Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, and Venturers in the Greater Alabama Council on March 15-17, 2013. Over 700 participants attended the event, which was staffed by more than 200 members of the lodge.
Coosa Lodge Chief, Patrick Yim, said that at first, they were not sure how the event would turn out. "Once we got closer to the event," Yim remarked, "we started getting full packs signing up."
Cub Scouts were given a special focus at the event, as the event spun off of an American Indian Seminar that was originally held just for the lodge. They had their own table where they could make a piece of Native American regalia, as well as other Indian crafts. Additionally, they had the opportunity to see exactly what being a member of the Boy Scouts was all about.
Many booths were set up for the event and were in operation until the early afternoon. These included booths on Dutch oven cooking, hide tanning, Cherokee Indian history, and dance classes. There was also a branding booth, a demonstration of birds of prey, and a booth on council opportunities.
Cub Scouts and their families had the opportunity in the morning to take part in a "Thunderbird Hike," a five-mile hike across the camp, with fellow Boy Scouts and Venturers. "Many of the Scouts helped the Cub Scouts with their hike, sharing words of encouragement and keeping them on the trail," said Yim.
The late afternoon featured the actual pow-wow dance circle. Native American dancers were on hand to help the Cub Scouts with what they had learned, and taught them proper etiquette when at a pow-wow and while in the circle.
In the evening, the lodge held a show that brought the house down and capped it off with a crossover ceremony, where ceremonialists read out the names of every Cub Scout in attendance and lodge members helped each Cub Scout across the bridge. After the show, an ice cream social, a lodge expo, and a patch trading event were held.
Lodge members served as staff in a variety of areas at the event. There were brothers serving in American Indian Affairs positions, a fellowship crew, and a service corps, which provided hospitality to the hordes of participants.
In all, the event blew away everyone's expectations. Coosa Lodge's efforts demonstrate great strides to support our "Boys in Blue."
"This was a big undertaking, especially for our first one," Yim remarked. Scouts and Scouters have already begun asking if the lodge intends on holding the event again in 2014, and it intends on doing so. It also intends on expanding the program offered. Yim also commented that next year they would look into the logistics of organizing camping by district so that Cub Scout packs that did not have "brother" troops could visit potential troops to join. Yim was extremely pleased with the efforts of the lodge. "I'm looking forward to seeing next year's event," he said.
