By Meg Peters
Review Staff Writer
Boy Scout Troop 128 of Lake Orion thought very highly of the 2015 Hodag last weekend at Camp Agawam, namely because they won the competition.
Taking home the ‘God-awful trophy? the Golden Coffee Thingy, Scout Master Tom Houlihan said the event was one to stick out fondly in the boys? memories.
Through a series of scout events, including first aid activities and wilderness survival tests, Troop 128 prevailed, earning the most points accumulated throughout the two-night winter camping excursion.
‘We brought home the grand prize,? Houlihan said. ‘If you look at it you can see its progression through the years,? he said of the Golden Coffee Thingy, the official trophy.
‘Every time someone gets it they have to add to it, so it went from this little pot with a stick on it to this God’awful, someone put table legs on it, but the point is it’s the grand prize.?
Troop 128 was the only Boy Scout troop to bring a trebuchet to the contest, a weight-driven, catapult-like medieval artillery contraption used to hit a target.
‘Everyone else brought catapults or slingshots and it worked, rather well honestly,? Houlihan said. ‘They had targets set up, you were going for range and accuracy. We didn’t do very well, but we did well enough considering that was the first time we used it.?
Tents dotted the woods were scouts slept through mild, winter temperatures, bonfires going all day to warm chilled bones. Also included in the day’s activities were a sled race and a costume contest for the theme ‘Star Trek? which Troop 128 took to heart.
‘We were the only ones fully dressed,? Houlihan said. ‘Our sled looked like an Enterprise shuttle craft, so when we took the field we looked like a Star Trek away team.?
The weekend beheld perfect conditions.
‘It was cold when we rolled out of our sleeping bags Saturday morning, but for what we were doing it was perfect temperature.??
Orion Township currently owns the old Boy Scout camp, which was closed for the past two years until the township purchased the historic site for about $1 million last August.
Initially the township purchased the 137-acre camp with the thought to trade it for a chunk of land currently owned by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, a 78-acre parcel adjacent to Civic Center Park at township hall.
If the trade proceeds, which is still under discussion, the camp would become an extension of the Bald Mountain Recreation Area to be used as a state park.