We had a very  busy weekend with only a small amount of liquid sunshine, but that did not stop us from having a good time.  We started the afternoon at Phieffer Nature Center where we completed our water program.  The boys went on a journey through the water cycle and then went on a nature hike around the property.  After that we headed to the Allegany American Legion for our summertime campout.  We set up camp and then had a barbeque chicken dinner and follwed it with several games and a campfire with s’mores.  After some drizzle in the morning, we prepared for the Flag retirement ceremony done by the American Legion.  We retired several hundred flags while dodging many raindrops, but were able to get it done in the middle of the afternoon.

This year, our pack marched in the annual memorial day parade, sponsored by the American Legion.  We had ten boys participatein the parade that went from the Allegany community ceenter to the Town Hall.  There they were able to see a flag ceremony done by the veteran membership of the allegany American Legion, and were able to pick up the shell casings from the 21 gun salute, which the boys found to be the most fascinating.

On May 22nd, 16 scouts, and several siblings, parents and leaders headed up to Buffalo for the Zoo’s ZooSnooze program.

The night started out at Ponderosa in Springville, and we would like to thank the management team of Ponderosa for being very accommodating to 20 youth under 10 years in their restaurant.

Following dinner, we headed to the zoo, and moved our sleeping bags and bags in for the night. Then, we were treated to a presentation by two zoo docents, who discussed mammals, and showed us a vampire bat, in a cage of course. A Senegal Parrot was shown to the Scouts as they discussed the properties of birds, and the different kinds of birds. Lastly for the animal displays and showings, arthropods and reptiles were discussed. A giant millipede was shown to the scouts, and this was over a foot long, we won’t find something like that at Elk Lick. And lastly, for the reptiles, Frank the ball python was shown, and the boys were able pet this 3 foot long snake.

Following the presentations, the scouts were able to prepare a treat for the river otters, which was made with dog biscuits and carrots that they froze and would feed to them in the morning. Then, a night time tour of the zoo occurred, with our docents showing us the endangered animals and habitats display, as well as the kitchen, where we were treated to frozen mice for the snakes and a giant tub of mealworms which are eaten by many different animals in the zoo. We were also able to see many of the more nocturnal animals in the zoo that are not normally seen during regular zoo hours, like the snow leopards and mane wolves. And the highlight of the trip was a show the large polar bear put on for us that night.

Following the movie Jumanji and a snack of pizza and animal crackers were hunkered down for the night, and only once, was there a roar from the lions or tigers.

In the morning after breakfast, we were given another morning tour  of the zoo, and we saw the newest exhibit, the heritage farm display, showing a farm along the Erie Canal around 1830, with a barge that the boys could climb on and many farm animals that were typical then as now. We were also given a tour of the Rainforest falls, which had crocodiles, piranhas, bats and many colorful birds and leaping monkeys. Brendan S. made a new girlfriend, as he mesmerized one of the female gorillas with his wit and charm, and wanted to keep him in her eyes as long as she could.

Many thanks are due, first to the Allegany American Legion, without their support, this trip would not have been possible. Second to the staff and volunteers at the Buffalo Zoo, all of docents were volunteers who gave up their time to share their love of the zoo and the many animals there with our Cub Scouts. And lastly, Mrs. Burroughs, who made all the contacts, made sure all the permission slips were handed in, and ensured that everyone had an educational, but most importantly fun time.

Our pack attended a nature hike at the Eschelman property of the Pfieffer nature center.  Our cubs saw beaver habitats, bobcat scat, deer prints, and what galls are.  Then the cubs learned about water, how humans need water and how to identify good water based on the animals living in the water.  The scouts then talked about the waater cycle and how their actions can effect it.

Following lunch, the Cubs partipated in a conservation clean up project.  They cleaned up five large garbage bags of litter, including cans,glass and plastic bottles, metal container lids, glass jars, wrappers, and an empty joint compound bucket.  Five scouts were able to complete the Leave no Trace award that was started at the Survivor Day in November.

Our Spring 2010 fundraiser is over and it has been a huge success.  We sold 4530 candy bars, and five boys sold enough candy bars to pay their way to summer camp, congrats to all the boys that sold.  We were able to set up a stand in front of Wal-mart, and there were able to sell 551 candy bars (all we had left) in two and a half hours, or three cnady bars a minute.  This has proven to the a very successful fundraiser for us, and we will look for even greater results next year.

On Saturday March 20, seven scouts and several Family members went to the Salamanca Lanes for a fun day of bowling, pizza and FUN!  Several of the boys broke the 100 mark, and all the boys completed the requirements for thier bowling belt loop.  A big thanks goes out to Mrs. Wynn, who made sure that no scout had the lowest score, Thanks for taking one for the team.

Today six of our cubs braved the cold and headed to Elk Lick Scout Reserve for the Western Gate District Cub Scout Winter Fun Day.  The Boys were able to play several games, identified several trees, including maple, cherry, birch and hemlock all without their leaves (except the hemlock which is an evergreen). They got to do a lot of sledding, and best of all, besides the tasty lunch of hot dogs and chiken soup was the BB GUNS!!!!  The boys all had fun, and even Mrs Burroughs who is a tropical person managed to have a good time.

Last Night we celebrated the 100th anniversary of Scouting with our annual Blue and Gold Banquet.  We had over 100 scouts, parents, friends and Legionairres together to celebrate the achievemnets of our Cub Scouts and the Scouting Movement.  We had an arrousing cake auction, with our own Todd Palmer as the lively auctioneer, Collette Harrison made an excellent cake, and all the table centerpieces.  We handed out badges to two new Bobcats, eight Tigers, seven wolves as well as 29 gold and silver arrowpoints to go with them, and three Bears.  Numerous Belt loops were earned, and presented, a long with many Webelos activity Badges.  The night was highlighted by the crossing over of the Seven Webelos into the Boy Scout Troop, as they crossed the bridge, on to new adventures.  Congradulations to the seven newest Boy Scouts.

Three of our second year webelos went to Elk Lick Scout Reserve and participated in the Western Gate District Klondike Derby.  The cubs participated in seven different stations including fire building, knots, block and tackle, orienteering and team building games.  They came in third place for both of the team building games.

We had a Skating session at the Olean Ice Arena, and several boys took advantage of the time to learn that Ice skating is not as easy as it looks.  There were a couple of small wipeouts, and some tumbles, but several of the cubs were getting the hang of it when we were done.