This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

Troop 45 Takes Annual Klondike Derby

Mineola scouts sweep Iditarod-honoring competition.

The Shelter Rock District of the Theodore Roosevelt Council, Boy Scouts of America regularly scheduled Klondike Derby was postponed in January at the Muttontown Preserve because of heavy snow cover.

This is somewhat ironic because the Klondike Derby is loosely based on the Ididirod sled race in Alaska with the Boy Scout version having groups of four to eight Scouts pushing home made sleds through the trails of Muttontown rather than having them pulled by dog teams as in the Iditarod. The problem in January was not snow on the trails but rather snow pilled high in the parking lot making car parking a logistical problem. The event was rescheduled to Saturday, Feb. 26.

Rescheduling the Klondike Derby was a problem for many area Boy Scout Troops including Mineola’s Troop 45. First, the new date was the second weekend of the President’s Day School Break and some of the Scouts would be away on vacation.

Find out what's happening in Mineolawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Second, the snow which canceled the event in January was gone – replaced in many areas with mud which would just make moving the sleds through the preserve harder. Third, in the case of Troop 45, the Patrols that were competing were prepared and at the top of their game in January. The question was could they maintain that level of preparedness for an additional month?

Under Senior Patrol Leader Glenn Peters and Scoutmaster Steve Grosskopf, Troop 45 threw their prepared February schedule out the window and continued their Klondike Prep activities. The Patrols that had lost members to the school vacation were combined, new and old Patrols continued to work together and practice their Scout skills and Troop Meetings were given over to Klondike simulations. In short, the Scouts of Troop 45 did everything they could to maintain their edge and to be prepared for the rescheduled Klondike Derby.

Find out what's happening in Mineolawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The Saturday of Klondike was sunny but much warmer than had been the January date. The Friday just before Klondike had seen precipitation on Long Island, but rain rather than snow. The snow that covered the Muttontown Preserve a month before was gone. All these elements would change the nature of the race. Every Troop 45 Scout had on their mind that the Troop had been winners of one or both divisions of every Klondike Derby in the 13 years of Scoutmaster Grosskopf’s tenure. Would the streak continue?

The Scouts pushed off at 10 a.m. prepared for a day of finding their way along the trails and pushing their sleds to various “Cities” where they performed tasks comprised of Scouting skills. Depending on how they did in these Scouting skills, they were awarded nuggets that were tallied at the end of the day and when factored in with the speed at which they completed the course, provided their order of finish. In the end, add another year to Troop 45’s Klondike wins – this year a sweep!

First to be announced were the winners in the Cub Scout WEBELOS division. These are the boys who are finishing up the Cub Scout program and who are just about to bridge over to Boy Scout Troops. Cub Pack 311’s WEBELOS have a Troop 45 Dec Chief and came down to several Troop 45 Meetings in preparation for their Klondike events. The Boys in Troop 45 were very happy when the WEBELOS Den of Pack 311 were announced as the winners.

Next it was time to announce the Young Scout Division winners. The whole Troop was on edge as they announced the scores of the third and second place finishers, but that turned to joy when the Division Winner was announced as Troop 45’s Screaming Eagle Patrol!

Next everyone’s attention turned to the Senior Scout Division. The very competitive race involved the oldest Scouts in each Troop with the best skills and the most experience. Senior Patrol Leader Glenn Peters knew that every older Scout Patrol at Klondike had in their minds to beat Troop 45 and take the trophy. Peters didn’t want that to happen while he was SPL of the Troop. However, hard work and preparation had taken the day as Glenn and the Leadership Corp were announced as the winners of the Older Scout Division.

“I couldn’t be prouder of the way Troop 45 performed,” Scoutmaster Grosskopf said after the race. “Under our Senior Patrol Leader Glenn Peters, our Scouts were prepared. They’d worked very hard and they did a great job. To sweep the event is an incredible thing.”

Senior Patrol Leader Glenn Peters was also very happy. “I am grateful for the work our Scouts did in preparing for this event and want to thank all the Troop 45 leaders who helped us be prepared for today,” he said. “I also want to congratulate the WEBELOS of Pack 311 and look forward to their participation in our Troop.”

Troop 45 is sponsored by and at the  and has been serving boys in the Mineola area since 1921. They are planning a huge 90th Anniversary celebration this fall and are actively looking for Troop alumni to participate.

For more information on this event and other Troop 45 activities, check out their website at www.troop45mineola.org.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?