Sleeping Bags and Merit Badges-

Reliving Good Moments from Scouting Adventures

I am among the Scouts attending a week of comradery at the former Camp Portaferry in Lewis County, NY back in the early 1970s.  I’m in the middle row in the center just above the scout at the top of the Boy Scouts sign.   The camp property was sold in recent years and divided into building lots.  Photo:  Port Leyden Historical Club.

A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, friendly, and courteous.

These are some of the attributes outlined in the official Scout Law.

I was a Boy Scout for a few years.  I earned some merit badges, packed a sleeping bag for a lot of campouts, and picked up some lifelong lessons.

I left scouting upon moving up to high school but the memories are still there.

Every summer, our Troop 41 would head up for a week to a Scout Camp in Lewis County in northern New York.  At Camp Portaferry, we’d earn some merit badges (I recall at least one for flag signaling), horse around at the dining hall following meals, and go on a hike or two.  We would enjoy nightly campfires with all the troops attending.  Most of those campfires featured telling ghost stories, performing in talent show competitions among the troops, and singing such classics as “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” and “Be Kind to Our Web Footed Friends”.

In case you are not familiar with the lyrics to that second title, here’s a sampling written to be sung with the refrain of Stars and Stripes Forever:

Be kind to our web-footed friends,

For a duck may be somebody’s mother.

Who lives in the deep of the swamp,

Where the weather is cold and damp (pronounced so as to rhyme with swamp)

Here’s what a properly attired scout would wear prior to heading out for either a weekend campout or a weeklong stay at scout camp.  Photo:  Newvine Family Collection

I left scouting long before even considering going after an Eagle Scout designation.  My friend Phil stayed with the program and became an Eagle Scout.  

I never fully appreciated the work and dedication that went into becoming an Eagle Scout until years later when, as a community leader, I was invited to a ceremony where the designation was awarded to a few local scouts. 

There was a part of the ceremony when the master of ceremonies asked all Eagle Scouts to stand.  Looking around the room, I saw several men stand, connecting with this new group of those receiving one of scouting’s highest honors.

There seems to be a special connection among the Eagle Scout community.  It doesn’t always happen, but when it does, it is really something to see.

Local scout leader Onis Lentz passed away in early 2022.  He served in practically every volunteer role of the Boy Scouts, including a stint on the Executive Council of the Yosemite Council.  Photo: Judith Alvardo, Rio de Oro District. 

I may not have stayed with Scouting as long as I would have liked, but I have been honored to know some outstanding people who were scouts.

Of special note is my friend Onis who recently passed.  Onis was a scout, scout leader, and steady advocate of the value of scouting to society. 

He earned his Eagle Scout designation and was also honored with such awards as the Silver Antelope, Silver Beaver, District Award of Merit, and the Order of the Arrow.

He was a member of the executive board for the Greater Yosemite Council of the Boy Scouts of America. 

He was among the first to welcome me to the community when my wife and I moved here in 2006.  He lived the Scout Law, particularly the part about a scout being loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, and kind.

“My grandfather was a very special person,” Tara Zampa said about Onis.  “He was loved by many.”

From the Camp Portaferry Trading Post, I purchased this mug during my time at Scout Camp.  Photo:  Newvine Personal Collection

There is no doubt that the Boy Scouts have had their share of negative press in recent years.  I do not excuse any of that, and hope that resolution comes to those harmed by the actions of some bad actors.

All I know is that for me, being a Scout made a better life for me.  A lot of the solid citizens I’ve known through service clubs and other community initiatives just happened to have scouting as part of their background.  

And that has made a positive difference in the lives of many.

Steve Newvine lives in Merced. 

His book Can Do Californians is now available in hard cover at Lulu.com.  

He is indebted to Judith Alvardo and the Rio de Oro District for providing information on the scouting career and honors bestowed upon Onis Lentz.  A celebration of life for Onis will be held March 5 at Camp Warren-McConnell, 11760 Livingston Cressey Road, in Livingston, CA