our rivals

Now maybe there was a little envy in the mix, but Troop 54 had a rival scout troop across town. The Goodyear Troop 58 seemed to have everything. Large air-conditioned buses would transport them to and from Jamborees. It was a very large troop. If Goodyear Troop 58 were going to camp, Goodyear employees where sent ahead of them to prepare their campsite and erect their tents for them. In other words, the old Troop 58 never really had to heed the Boy Scout Motto of "Be Prepared". They had others to do it for them.

They had nice big tents too. It seemed 54 and 58 were usually given adjacent lots when on Jamborees. I don't think that was a very good idea. I never really had a beef with 58, but I did take part in one incursion that I still think quite humorous. Late one night - Mark Condra, James Harp, Dean Smith, Kevin Smith and I slipped across enemy lines. We spread out and waited for the word to go (from Mark or James). The Goodyear tents were very big and nice - held up on both sides by three to four ropes staked into the ground. Each of us had a narrow row between the tents in which to cut the lines running to each stake. It was like clockwork. We each pulled our knives and started cutting through the ropes quickly. We each had to run through two rows of tents, cutting all the ropes within a few minutes.

The tents fell on sleeping scouts. We could hear them as they woke, frantic or angry yells as the unprepared scouts felt for their collapsed exits. You see - tents with floors are harder to excape when support is cut loose from without. We had plenty of time to get back to our own tents and go into deep faux sleep before anyone could react. I remember Milton shooting his flashlight into James and my tent, asking us if we knew anything about the attack on 58. We acted sleepy, innocent and unaware of all evil doing. He let us roll back over and go back to sleep.

One other story about the Goodyear troop. We went on a trip to Shiloh one year. Again, they came up in those buses of theirs. I remember returning from a very long hike that day. I had collapsed in our two man tent (kind of like a small teepee). I remember Mark Condra yelling across to me from the campsite. He kept yelling and I finally looked out his way. By this time he was closer to the tent and yelling, "JUMP DAVID - JUMP!!!" I felt like it took forever for me to grasp the idea that he wanted me to get the hell out of that tent. After grasping that there was urgency in the order, I ejected myself outward. That's when the Goodyear bus backed over it. For years after that, you could tell which tent was the one the bus ran over. Two huge muddy tire tracks made a unique imprint across the canvas fabric that never completely could be washed out.

I still remember sitting on the wet ground, leaning back on my elbows, watching as the Goodyear bus sunk into the entirety of my tent and belongings. That was the day Mark Condra kept me from getting my head mushed. Thanks Mark.