Corbin Smith, 11, and Jeremy Lewis, 12, both of the 1st Owen Sound Scouts, learn how hard it is to make a fire with a plank of wood, a knife and matches at the 57th annual Scout campout in Harrison Park on Saturday, January 25, 2020 in Owen Sound, Ont. Scott Dunn/The Owen Sound Sun Times/Postmedia Network
Maybe you think all you need is a match to start a fire.
Tell that to the Scouts who tried and tried again to build self-sustaining fires using only matches, a small wooden plank and a knife Saturday.
Down in Harrison Park at the 57thannual Scout campout, 104 Scouts and leaders took part in fun events including building fires, lashing, sawing logs, and the rescue mission, a culmination of the self-sufficiency training all Scouts get.
It was a grey, damp and cool day. Scattered drops of rain added extra challenge to the fire-building event. The air smelled of wood smoke though, so fire was possible.
Corbin Smith, 11, and Jeremy Lewis, 12, both with the 1stOwen Sound Scouts, were given 10 minutes to get a fire going. They used three matches. When the first one went out, they used a second to light the first like kindling, then came the third.
After seven minutes of trying, their fire sustained for a minute. Just starting a fire earned points. Using fewer matches scored more points. Each minute the fire lasted added more points too.
The trick demonstrated later was to take a piece of the quarter-inch-thick plank supplied. With a very sharp knife, slice thin peels of wood, creating a flayed piece of wood containing a series of shavings. Whittle similar types of tinder, assemble into a tepee and light.
One year a Scout did all of that and created a sustained fire in two minutes.
At the 57th annual Scout campout in Harrison Park, Scout leaders Jeff Bowen, left, of the 1st Mildmay Scouts, and Nick Noseworthy, of the 4th Orangeville Scouts, hold in their hands wood carefully carved such that it will catch fire more easily and sustain a fire on Saturday, January 25, 2020 in Owen Sound, Ont. Scott Dunn/The Owen Sound Sun Times/Postmedia Network
Afterwards, Jeremy said it was fun. “I don’t get to start fires that often at home because, like any other parent, (they) would just tell you no,” he said. “You definitely get to learn a lot, by people who know what they’re doing.”
“And you get to meet new friends. That’s definitely one thing.”
Corbin, in his second year of Scouting, said it’s taught him a lot too, including how to use a knife safely. They’re practical things he’ll need someday, Corbin said.
Each safety skill certification must be earned. Once achieved, a permission card is awarded, to use a knife, hatchet or to build a fire. Getting caught using unsafe practices incurs a penalty though. After four penalties, the permission card must be surrendered until requalification is achieved for a new one.
The boys said they enjoy camping – this was about their fourth campout this year – and the chance to meet new people, including from the United States.
None came from the U.S. this year because they come every other year. But the Scouts decided to fly the U.S. flag and sing the American national anthem as a gesture of kinship, camp director Len Cox said.
Still, Scouts from Collingwood, Barrie, Lucknow, Hanover, Owen Sound, Chesley, Mildmay, Flesherton, Orangeville and Oshawa slept in tents at the back of the park and enjoyed being young boys and girls from different places, all on the same weekend campout.
Scouting isn’t as big as it once was though.
Troops in Walkerton and Kincardine have folded and troop numbers have been declining, 1stMildmay Scout leader Jeff Bowen said. He brought five Scouts from Mildmay, population about 1,000. He brought three more from Chesley.
Yet Scouting is growing in Orangeville, said 4thOrangeville Scout troop leader Nick Noseworthy, where population and demographics provide fertile ground for the youth self-improvement organization founded in 1907 by British Lt.-Gen. Robert Baden-Powell.
Sometimes it’s more because of a lack of volunteer leaders, including behind-the-scenes volunteers doing office work, Bowen and Noseworthy said. “I like sharing what I know. I like teaching kids. I like camping,” Noseworthy offered.
Kids’ skills aren’t as developed coming into Scouting as when Bowen and Noseworthy entered, they said. And conversations around the campfire tend more towards online gaming now.
“They also have a passion to come out here and be outdoors and learn new skills,” Noseworthy said.
“Because it’s not just learning about knots and fires, it’s responsibility. It’s taking ownership of their stuff, of other people, of taking care of other people, friendship. It’s life skills . . . It’s stuff they can take with them for the rest of their lives.”
Ryan Johnson, of Berkeley, helped members of the 1st Flesherton Scouts build a double igloo — one for the girls and one for the boys — at the 57th annual Scout campout in Harrison Park on Saturday, January 25, 2020 in Owen Sound, Ont. A tarp protected the top from rain but the Scouts reported sleeping in the igloo was too hot, and quiet. Scott Dunn/The Owen Sound Sun Times/Postmedia Network
