Boy Scout troop camps out at lake

It was cold last Friday and Saturday, near freezing during the night.

But the Boy Scouts of Troop 311 in tents on Wright Patman Lake stuck it out.

In fact, they enjoyed it. The next day, the five boys, ages 11 to 17, were up early and after a egg omelet over the open fire, they were off to studying the scout manual for badge achievement.

Wrapped a little warmer was Troop 311’s assistant leader Greg Davis. But he, too, was enthusiastically smiling and interacting with the boys.

Troop master RaDonna Perrin came out a little later. She’s the mom and so not one to spend a night in a tent. She didn’t make the breakfast either, for that’s a merit badge accomplishment for the boys. Here’s how it goes:

First, the boys have to plan the meal, do the shopping and pick the spot to build the fire, which they must later put out properly.

Then, the boys put eggs in a Ziploc bag with cheese, onion, bacon or whatever they want, and drop this into boiling water. When it’s done, they rip the plastic bag open and eat.

“The boys love them,” assistant Scoutmaster Greg Davis said.

To the lakeside camp visitor, one of the striking impressions is how the Boy Scouts seemed content with nature, the weather and the lake. No cellphones for example. Not a one.

Scout Troop 311 has about 10 members and meets at Atlanta’s All Saints Episcopal Church on Monday nights, Perrin said.

“The boys work for badges, do the community service project of trash pickup on two miles of Queen City roads and learn, for example, about electricity, citizenship, first aid, knot tying and other projects,” she said.

But out at the lake campout, it was polar bear time. The temperature got down to 34 degrees.

“Soldiering it out,” said Davis. And the boys agreed. They had some daytime hikes to do, some cleanup around the park and those merit badges to study for.

“It’s a boy-led thing. We adults are just advisers,” Davis and Perrin agreed.

Staff photos by Neil Abeles ■ The tents are colorful and the site is clean. It’s the Boy Scouts of Troop 311 doing an overnight campout at Cass County Park on Wright Patman Lake.

■ ABOVE: Holding their Boy Scout salutes are, from left, Brian Hertzberger, Timothy Brady, Greg Davis, Colby Perrin, Nathan Davis, J.T. Matlock, RaDonna Perrin and Jason Matlock.■ RIGHT: Timothy Brady, from left, J.T. Matlock, Brian Hertzberger and Nathan Davis study their Boy Scout manuals lakeside on a cool day.

■ Boy Scout Colby Perrin demonstrates his knot-tying skills to his assistant Scoutmaster Greg Davis.