Boy Scouts of America
Chairman: Harry Wilding
Co-Chairmen: Dr. Bill Ambrose, Chris Wrigley, and Dr. John Wittstruck
The Great Rivers Council of the Boy Scouts of America is going to celebrate the bicentennial of the Lewis & Clark Corps of Discovery Military Expedition in a grand and patriotic style with two 3 day camporees. Cupbord Creek Encampment will be on Memorial Day Weekend 2004, May 28,29,30. Franklin Island Rendezvous will be the following weekend, June 4,5,6, 2004. Both camporee locations have significant connections to the original Lewis & Clark Expedition. The Missouri National Guard will host Cupbord Creek Encampment at the Ike Skelton Training Site Headquarters of the Guard, five miles east of Jefferson City at the Militia Drive Exit off of Highway 50-63. Franklin Island Rendezvous will be hosted by the Missouri Department of Conservation at Franklin Island Conservation Area two miles east of New Franklin on Highway 40. Both Camporee sites have plenty of space for large scout tent cities and extravagant programs. Both the locations and dates of these events are set to correspond to the official Lewis & Clark Corps of Discovery Reenactors’ Itenerary in their historically correct bicentennial re-creation of the original Corps of Discovery expedition up the Missouri River in 1804. Boy Scouts from across the council, state, and nation are welcome. The first 3000 scouts to register are assured a campsite.
Cupbord Creek Encampment will be the first Boy Scout
Camporee ever held at the Ike Skelton Training Site, Headquarters of the
Missouri National Guard. Cupbord Creek
Encampment has received the Official Endorsement of the Missouri Lewis and
Clark Bicentennial Commission. The
theme for this camporee is: Frontier Skills and Team Building
Competitions. The 400-acre site has a
30-acre riverfront where the campsite and riverfront activities and campfire
entertainment will be held. Troops will
arrive after 6 p.m. on Friday, May 28, 2004 to set up their campsites. Over 3000 Boy Scouts and adult Scout Leaders
are expected to attend. Friday night
entertainment by the Fort Riley Mounted Cavalry Honor Guard and Artillery Half
Section in period dress will be presented in the earthen arena adjacent to the
campsite. Strict advance registration
will be required for this camporee due to security needs for this secure
military installation. No on-site
registration by Scouts or Scout Leaders will occur for this event. Registration forms for this event will be
available in early fall, 2003. The
Great Rivers Council Service Center: 1203 Fay Street, Columbia, MO 65201,
(573) 449-2561ext. 201, or 1-800-Scout Law, is the pre-event communications
headquarters. Their Fax number is (573)
874-6846. Their E-mail address is: BSA-GRC@BSAmail.org The Information Website address is: www.bsa-grc.org/cupbord
Every Boy Scout in the council will receive an event packet, by mail, that will
include registration information and a Collector’s Edition Cupbord Creek Encampment Event Brochure with information about how
to get the most out of the camporees.
The University of Missouri’s “Mizzou Magic” Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery Collector’s Edition. will be
included to address the scientific and cultural aspects of the original Lewis
and Clark Corps of Discovery Expedition.
Unforeseen
military requirements or weather-related conditions may significantly alter
planned events. Adequate transportation
must be maintained at the camporee so that prompt departure of all non-military
personnel is possible. Prior to the
camporee, if alteration or cancellation of this event is required, the camporee
committee will notify one emergency contact person per unit. Careful selection by the unit of this
contact person is essential. These
contact persons’ phone numbers and e-mail address must be accurate on the
unit’s registration form.
Program
planning for Cupbord Creek Encampment is continuing for Saturday, May 29,
2004. The program tentatively includes
the following: riverboat ride to Clark’s Hill for each scout on a Corps of
Engineer or Coast Guard boat/barge, Fort Riley Mounted Cavalry Honor Guard
performances with saber and pistols, Pony Express Council Tribe of Mic-O-Say
Dance presentations, four part challenge course with six zip lines (age minimum
applies to this event), authentic Indian Village on Cupbord Creek with Indian
artifacts from the village on display, Missouri Army National Guard’s latest
military equipment in dynamic and static displays with Guard members for
interaction, including M-1 tanks, Missouri Air Guard’s very latest equipment
(including Black Hawk helicopters), low-level fly-overs by aircraft from
Columbia, Missouri Airport’s annual “Salute to Veterans Air Show”, Missouri Department of Conservation’s Lewis
& Clark era demonstrations, and numerous period crafters and tradesmen with
interactive displays for Boy Scout participation. Educational programs related to the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial
will be offered inside the main Guard building; in addition, National
Geographic’s Lewis and Clark Great Journey West Imax motion picture will be
shown in the 250 seat high tech auditorium.
An open pit hog roast campfire feed put on by the Missouri Department of
Agriculture will feed all Scouts and Scouters registered and attending. Campfire entertainment will include
dignitary introductions and comments, Mic-O-Say dancers, and a finale by the
Fort Riley Mounted Cavalry Honor Guard.
Cub
Scouts and Cub Scout leaders will be welcome all day Saturday. A Scout activity area is being developed
with programs and activities related to the Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery
Expedition. Cubs and leaders will also
have access to the general program area.
Off site parking and event transportation will be available with buses
returning Cubs and leaders to their parking area after the program day.
The
general public will have access to the program area from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on
Saturday, May 29, 2004. A separate
parking area is planned for the public along with transportation to the
event. There will be no charge to the
public for parking, event transportation, or admission. Return transportation
to the parking area will be available all afternoon until 5:15 p.m.
The
Great Rivers Council and the Lewis & Clark Camporee Committee acknowledge
with great appreciation the cooperation of the Missouri National Guard. This camporee would not have been possible
without the use of this fine facility, the logistical support, and the manpower
of the Missouri National Guard. The
committee expresses a special “Thank You” to the Public Affairs Office and the
Office of Civil / Military Relations of the Missouri National Guard. As with any scouting event, it is imperative
that we follow the rule of, “Leave No Trace”.
A
period canoe building competition for units within the Great Rivers Council
will be going on from now until winners are announced at the Cupbord Creek
Encampment Campfire Saturday night, May 29, 2004. First place prize will be 3 Osage Cupbord Creek Encampment
Special Edition canoes with 6 paddles to the unit with the winning period canoe
entry. (Value = $ 2,561.70 ). Second place winner will receive 2 Osage Cupbord Creek
Encampment Special Edition canoes with 4 paddles. (Value = $ 1,707.80 ).
Third place winner will receive 1 Osage Cupbord Creek Encampment
Special Edition canoe with 2 paddles.
(Value = $ 853.90 ). Units are
required to register their participation in the canoe building competition with
the Cupbord Creek Encampment Committee before they start the construction of
their canoe. Photographic records of
the construction documenting Unit Scout and Scout leader efforts are
required. District Executives are
acting as agents for the Cupbord Creek Encampment Committee assuring that the
canoes are totally the effort of Unit Boy Scouts and Scout leaders. Regular inspection of the canoe projects by
the district executives is required.
Judging will be done by the Mo. Department of Conservation “Dug Out
Canoe Team” attending the camporee. A
few period authentic-appearing canoes will be selected by the Team to be used
in 2006 by the Lewis & Clark Corps of Discovery Reenactors as they make
their triumphant return down the Missouri River to St. Louis. The Cupbord Creek Encampment Committee is
grateful to Osage Canoes, Inc. of Lebanon, MO, the world’s largest
manufacturer of aluminum canoes, for their contribution of these prizes for
this event. The Committee expects that
given the time allowed and the quality of the prizes, that the competition will
be extremely keen. Thanks also to Osage
Canoes,
Inc. for the use of their newly
designed, light-weight canoe trailer and canoes for event promotion from now
until the camporees. Watch for this red
trailer and silver canoes at your area Scouting events.
The
official Lewis & Clark Bicentennial Corps of Discovery Reenactors will
arrive by boat during the day Saturday and camp in the camporee tent city
Saturday night. As time allows, the
reenactors will be in the program area during the day Saturday. One of their activities while at Cupbord
Creek Encampment will be to award Peace Medals and Lewis & Clark belt
buckles to the Cupbord Creek Corps. The
Event Committee will also award momentos of achievement to these scouts.
The
Cupbord Creek Corps is a select group of Venture Scouts who have received
training and certification within not only the Boy Scout program, but also the
Corps of Discovery. These scouts are
also members of the Corps of Discovery, and as such, will be eligible to spend
one week on the river with the reenactors as they retrace the Lewis & Clark
trail up the Missouri River. The exact
number of our scouts that will make the river trip is yet to be
determined. Possibly several scout
cadres may be Corps of Discovery crews as the expedition makes its way up the
river. The Cupbord Creek Corps that
embarks with the reenactors on Sunday morning, May 30, 2004, from our Cupbord
Creek Encampment will be received off the river the next weekend at Franklin
Island Rendezvous. A program is being developed to allow Boy Scouts from other
councils to become Cupbord Creek Corps members and serve aboard the Corps of Discovery
boats as the voyage is made up the Missouri River. The Cupbord Creek Corps membership requirements will be announced
soon. Watch for your chance to qualify
and participate in a once-in-a-lifetime national event.
The
Franklin Island Rendezvous will be a
Missouri River Homecoming for the Cupbord Creek Corps. A modern boat ramp and camping area are
being established by the Missouri Dept. of Conservation at Franklin Island
Conservation Area near Boonville, MO.
June 4,5,6 2004, will be the dates for this second camporee. Programming ideas including a six mile levy
hike, black powder shooting, and dugout canoe fabrication are planned for
Saturday, June 5, 2004. The program at
Franklin Island Rendezvous will be centered around professional staff from the
Missouri Department of Conservation.
Program ideas include: shooting sports, fishing, water safety on the
river. Campfire speakers will explain the significance of Franklin Island to
the original Lewis & Clark Corps of Discovery Expedition. The Great Rivers Council in conjunction with
the Franklin Island Rendezvous Committee will certify participants of this
camporee to earn the Boy Scouts of America Historic
Trails Award. Depending on the
manpower needs of the Lewis & Clark reenactors, Franklin Island Rendezvous
may be a second staging event to put more Boy Scouts on the reenactor’s boats
for another week up the river.
The
entire event is supported by: The Missouri National Guard, the Missouri
Department of Conservation, Osage Canoes, Inc., MOSTARS, the
Missouri Department of Natural Resources, the Missouri Lewis & Clark
Bicentennial Commission, the University of Missouri – Columbia, the Missouri
Department of Corrections, and the Office of Congressman Ike Skelton.