Local Packs gather at Camp Barnhardt By Lee Ann Sides Garrett For the Salisbury Post "I've never been to Texas," says Moses Villa. "They've had lots of rain there. We haven't had so much." Villa, a Cub Scout with Pack 21, speaks of a conversation over a ham radio with a fellow Cub Scout from Texas. Villa's conversation was part of a 50th anniversary celebration of Jamboree on the Air, an event connecting scouts all over the world by ham radio. The jamboree was part of a larger event for Cub Scouts at Camp John J. Barnhardt called the Cub Scout Gold Rush. The Rowan County Amateur Radio Society provided equipment and expertise for the day. The society has about 33 members and has been on the air since 1937. Cody Miller, from Pack 315 at Grace Lutheran Church, spoke to two scouts in Houston and said he liked talking to them but it was hard to think of things to say. "It quiets them down to hand them the microphone," Ham operator Billy Stewart said. About 1,500 Cub Scouts waited patiently for the flags to be raised and the gold rush to begin as gold stones glinted in the morning sun, waiting to be discovered. Packs attending the event brought gold-painted stones for the hunt. The stones were hidden in a large, open field. After the opening ceremony, the youngsters scrambled to find them. Each stone earned Scouts admission to games created by other packs set up around the field. Games ranged from simple ring toss games to more elaborate and even silly ones. Pack 89 from Prospect United Methodist Church near Monroe constructed a formation of hula hoops the Scouts tried to crawl through without knocking down. Pack 173 from Harrisburg hosted a giant Connect Four game and Pack 102 from Concord presented the kickin' chicken, which featured a rubber chicken that rang a bell when a participant hit the target with a bean bag. Scouts attended a nature presentation by Bob Pendergrass that featured an albino black rat snake and a red-tailed hawk named Jeremy. Other events included a firearms safety course, archery, canoeing, fishing, wagon rides and panning for gold. Later in the evening, Scouts hunted for 50 vials of real gold and gathered around for a campfire with no fire because of a burning ban. According to organizer John Spidell, the Cub Scout Gold Rush hosted almost as many parents as Scouts. Cub Scout packs from the seven counties in the Central N.C. Council gathered for a weekend of fun. Some packs spent the weekend camping. Others, like Roxanne Scully and her son, Trevor, just came for the day. "I'm not a camper," Roxanne said. "But Trevor enjoyed it last year and they have events he really enjoys." Trevor is a Webelo in Pack 351 from Shiloh United Church of Christ in Faith. Antonio Valente, whose son is in Pack 375 from First United Methodist Church in China Grove, said he loves coming to events like these. "I was a Scout when I was a kid," says Valente. "It's good bonding for me and my son."
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