Pinewood Derby

On Saturday Cub Scout Pack 323 in Hollis, ME held their annual Pinewood Derby. It was a big day for the 22 boys in the Pack...and being perfectly honest, it was a really big day for me. For anyone that doesn't know...I'm the Cub Master for Pack 323.

I know...I know...but as hard as it may be for you to imagine...I put on a Boy Scout Leaders uniform every week and do my best to mold and shape young minds. Wow...that's the first time I've actually said that out loud (yes I really said it out loud as I wrote it...an odd habit)...it is kinda hard to imagine isn't it? Well, maybe not so much if you really know me!

Anyway, I thought it would be nice to dedicate one blog about "my boys." I'm so proud of all of them. They all worked hard, along side their parents, to craft a car out of a 7 inch block of pine.


Some of the cars were amazing...Gunner made an amazing Humvee, Kyle had a great looking police cruiser, and my son Nick had an awesome Space Shuttle. All of the cars were cool in their own way.

However, the coolest part had to be the look on their faces. For all of them but four, this was their very first Pinewood Derby. Of course I greeted them with as much fanfare as possible...regaling them with the history of the Derby and stories of the 43 million Cub Scouts that came before them that participated in this 56 year old tradition.

We had Saco River Public Access TV on hand taping the entire event for broadcast in the next few weeks. Parents, Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and neighbors were everywhere.

After two hours, 12 pizza's, countless cupcakes, juice boxes, and bottles of water...we crowned a winner! Wolf Cub Hunter Ward took First Place, Bear Cub Shaine Patterson took Second, and Wolf Cub Brandon Hogan secured Third Place. All three of them will go on to compete in the York District Pinewood Derby on April 11th at Marshwood High School.

So a big Cub Scout salute to all of Pack 323. You guys were great. Thanks to the parents who have been so supportive as we rebuilt the Pack from five boys to over twenty in the past 12 months, and to all of the Den leaders that do such a great job each week.

If you're son, grandson, or for that matter, any boy you know is in 1st through 5th grade and you think they would benefit from Scouting...help get them involved in a local Cub Scout Pack. You can Google "Cub Scout Packs" for your area, and the local Council website should pop up.

If your boy lives in the Hollis area then have them check out Pack 323's website at http://www.pack323.org/ and get in touch with me. You can also e-mail me here.

We have a LOT of stuff planned for the summer...including camping at Camp Hinds in Raymond, a Portland Sea Dogs baseball game, a Sports Day...there's always something going on in Cub Scouting!