In the Past….

The 137th Ottawa Scout Troop would meet once a week at the Greenboro Pavilion on Fridays. If we were going camping, we would meet and then depart from there. Meetings were started with a horse shoe. The troop colours were green and yellow (just as they are now), and, "in the beginning", no girls were aloud to partake in Scouts.

By 1982, the troop was not very active; they attended a small amount of camps and activities. A total of 10 or 11 scouts were registered. A plan was devised that the troop should attend at least two activities a month. One would be a camp, the other would be a bottle drive, hike, soap box derby, community service project, Keskinada Lopette, etc. The activities started the week after registration. We would go to our "Get Aquatinted Camp" at Lake Phillip. The new scouts would be taught the basics: lashings, building a fire, tying knots, etc. The older scouts would refresh their skills. For our regular troop camps, we camped at Murphy’s Point, along the Rideau trail (camping and hiking), and various others (most camping was done within 100 miles from Ottawa). The troop would attend all district camps, and, in many cases, won the Challenge Flag for best camp site or other challenges that had been set up. One year, we got to ride the Rideau Canal in a house boat. After three years, 33 scouts were enrolled in the 137th Scout Troop, and a waiting list had to be created also.

The troop were very active in canoeing. This was only for the second or third year scouts (those with the bronze canoeing badge). Some were held on the Black River, the Mississippi River and The Spanish River. A camp was held at Algonquin Park once, but it was thought to be too far. We would do a canoe training camp, in which you were completely self-sufficient. You went through a bunch of tests/activities to acquire more skills, because we frequently ran rapids.

Every summer, two or three scout families would plan a canoe trip that would range 2-3 weeks (portage, nature tripping etc.)

All in all, the 137th was a very active and successful troop. Scouts would come back every year, just so they could see what we would do next and even though the registration has decreased from 33 to 8 (2002), that is still very much the case. Go 137 Ottawa!!!