Everyone Had Fun, Scout’s Honor : Thousands Converge to Celebrate the Merits of Old-Fashioned Boyhood

The Orange County Council of the Boy Scouts of America threw its annual Scout-O-Rama on Saturday, drawing thousands of people from Southern California and even other states to a celebration of family, citizenship and boyhood.

About 10,000 Scouts and 15,000 spectators roamed the booths at Mile Square Regional Park and browsed craft exhibits, skill contests and projects, all created and run by boys--with a little help from their leaders.

Ross Scarberry, 17, of Anaheim kept things moving smoothly at the Wiatava Lodge’s mega-exhibit of tepees, beaded crafts, Native American dancing and branded wood necklaces.

“Being involved in Boy Scouts has given me a chance to meet a lot of different people and more than anything, to develop a lot of leadership skills,” he said.

Joe and Cindy Bynum, holding 3-year-old Joy by the hand, do not have any children involved in Scouting, but said they were drawn to the Wiatava display because of Cindy’s Native American heritage.

“It’s important that the culture not be lost,” Cindy Bynum said. “So it’s good to see them teaching the traditions and how things are done.”

Canoe races, face painting, firetrucks and a rope-pulled swing that sent one child up in the air and brought another down also were popular attractions.

True to Boy Scout philosophy, many of the afternoon’s games, crafts and contests carried lessons in citizenship, service and physical fitness.

Older boys and teens helped little children as they scrambled over obstacle courses, holding their feet, giving them a leg up or a helping hand.

Built by Lake Forest Troop 634, the obstacle course was one of the more elaborate exhibits.

Tiger Cub Ruben Hipolito, 6, barely needed any help. First he sprinted under the hurdles. Then he climbed a rope up a slant to another rope, where he went hand over hand to the monkey bars, slid through a tube and finished up by running through a set of car tires to the cheers of his family.

Ed and Victoria Hipolito clapped and yelled for Ruben, as did Robin, 5, Roxanne, 3, and little Rocco, 16 months.

At the booth put on by Pack 916 in Garden Grove, Bill Carpenter helped children “walk the plank.”

The simple-looking exercise--walking blindfolded across a 3 1/2-inch plank or a 1 1/4-inch board--lured passing children to try to scoot across and earn a piece of candy. Most of the adults who dared to try floundered on the wider board; they did not try the narrow wooden strip.

Steven Zoelle, 10, of Placentia had no trouble walking the plank.

“Being a Boy Scout is fun,” Steven said. “I like all of it: the camping and outings and the crafts.

“And they teach us all kinds of important stuff--like, you know, how to tie knots.”

Carpenter leads the program at the Banter Elementary School, where 42 boys are Scouts, he said.

“When you really get to see your guys doing well and being on the honor roll at school and becoming leaders, well it makes this all worth it,” Carpenter said.

Adults at the Scout-O-Rama were as enthusiastic as the children.

“I’m addicted to Scouting” said Sandi Lane who had driven from Las Vegas with her family to attend the Wood Beading ceremony, the final event in the Boy Scout training program for adult leaders.

Throughout the day, women and men who had supervised their children’s troops as long as 30 years ago greeted friends they had made over the years by remaining dedicated to the organization.

Allen McAlister and other members of the San Gabriel Valley Council, Boy Scouts of America, drove to Orange County to participate in the wood beading ceremony, singing songs after the beads were conferred.

McAlister is a Cub Scout trainer and wears four beads. Others stood back to let him talk.

“Boy Scouts is about three things,” McAlister said, “Character building, citizenship and physical fitness.”

But you never let the boys know that’s what you’re teaching them, added Steven Johnson, also from the San Gabriel Valley Council.

“All they’re supposed to know is that they’re having fun,” Johnson said.