Bigfork Boy Scouts have the run of Melita Island

Summer is the season eagerly awaited by the entire Scouting world all year long, as a time of hiking, camping and earning as many merit badges as possible.

To that end, Scouts from all over the United States head out to Melita Island every year. Among the Scouts who camped on the island last week were nine Scouts from Bigfork Troop 1923.

Although there could be little doubt about the level of excitement and energy that prevailed throughout the week, the Melita Island campout meant more to the boys of Troop 1923 than a vacation on Flathead Lake. It also represented an ideal opportunity to earn merit badges.

"Everybody will come away from here with at least three merit badges'some, as many as six or seven," Scout Master Rod Driver said, last Friday. "Some of these guys have really hit it hard, since they've been here. A few of them even met some of their Eagle Scout requirements while they were here."

Six out of nine of Driver's Scouts qualified for the swimming requirements, which must be met before they can take part in any of the aquatic activities. Driver said those who didn't meet the requirements were younger Scouts who chose to focus on non-aquatic activities like archery and marksmanship.

To aid the Scouts in qualifying in aquatics, the whole troop spent every Tuesday and Thursday at the Montana Athletic Club, preparing for the testing. As a result, they were able to take the initial test at The Summit, prior to coming to Melita Island.

While on the Island, Driver was joined by three of his Scouts' fathers, who came at intervals to relieve each other. Brian Sugden, Dan Paine and Tom Moore each came out to spend a day or several with their boys and help the troop enjoy as successful and productive a stay on the island as possible.

One of the highlights of the stay came early on, when Troop 1923 conducted an official flag retirement ceremony. Although the Melita Island staff coordinated the ceremony, Troop 1923 was allowed to conduct the entire service.

The troop had placed a couple of articles in the newspaper, asking people with flags that needed to be retired to turn them in to Troop 1923, and a total of eight flags were turned in. Since one of the boys was forced to return home on the second day, due to illness—he was later able to return—eight boys took part in the ceremony, each being responsible for one flag.

The ceremony took place on the southern lakeshore of the island, around a fire ring. Each flag was presented in an open display held up by two of the Scouts. The flags were then lowered, one by one, into the fire.

"It was one of the best ceremonies that I have ever seen," sand Wanda Wendt, a staff member at Melita Island. "Each of the boys was part of the color guard that carried and unforled the tattered flag. They gave the history of the American Flag. They spoke of what it means to our country and why we should respect it."

"It was very reverent and uplifting, I felt," said Melita Island Program Director Richard Woodland — known to the campers as "Dicky." "They did an excellent job. It was actually very humbling to see. Their Scout Master is a great guy, and their leaders have really done an awesome job with them."

Last week, Melita Island hosted a total of 60 staff members and 204 campers, most of whom attended the flag retirement ceremony and expressed similar feelings about the job that Troop 1923 had done.

However, camping on the island did include some great learning and recreational activities, as well. In fact, no one in Troop 1923 could decide what they liked the most, whether it was having some fun with fellow Scouts, getting wet, or enjoying a bit of freedom in one of the coolest places any of them had ever been to.

"Melita Island is great, because you get to swim and get away from your family," Mack Paine said. "You're free. You get to hang out with all your friends and do a lot of cool stuff, like work on merit badges and building a raft together. This makes Grizzly Base Camp look lame."