On Centre: Philipsburg

Campers look to the sky for badge

By Lori Falce

A bunch of Boy Scouts together for a campout? Happens all the time. Working on a community-service project? Not unusual.

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Staking their tents on the grounds of an airport? OK, now you’ve got something out of the norm.

Eight troops of Scouts from the Bucktail Council gathered for a camporee last weekend at Mid-State Regional Airport. There were typical camping trip activities, like the rare sight of adolescent males washing dishes.

There were spur-of-the-moment highjinks, like a wrestling match between eight kids and an air mattress. (I’m pretty sure the air mattress won.)

And there was a poorly secured tent that drew howls of laughter from the other troops as it blew over (and over) in a stiff wind.

But there also was a reason for selecting the location. The 108 kids had the chance to work on their aviation merit badges with the help of pilots from the State College and Clearfield chapters of the Experimental Aircraft Association and to take rides in the planes.

In typical Boy Scout fashion, the young men didn’t just take advantage of the opportunity. They also gave back, forging and clearing a hiking trail on the airport grounds, part of Mid-State’s ongoing push to develop recreational opportunities to connect it more to nearby Black Moshannon State Park and develop attractions for visiting pilots.

A concert and a ballgame

Bryan Ennis was a baseball enthusiast, a music lover and a sixth-grader at West Branch Elementary School when he died in 2005. After losing him, his family started a scholarship foundation in his name, raising the money to fund education through the things he loved.

This year, the Heartsongs to Heaven memorial concert will be at 7:15 p.m. Saturday at Gethsemane United Methodist Church in All-port, right across the street from Bryan’s school.

Lydia Crooks, Joe Quick and Brenda Webber, Dan Nelson, and Al and Karen Hewitt are scheduled to perform.

Also performing are Valley Voices under the direction of Patty Coldiron; the quartet Hearts n’ Song, which includes Eloise Pifer- Rice, Edie Brown, Marc Gelfand and Jeff Ennis, Bryan’s father; and Jennifer Sproull, Bryan’s sister and his former band and chorus teacher.

On June 20, the memorial baseball tournament and carnival that celebrate his other passion will be held at Martha’s Park in Lanse.

To date, $6,000 in scholarships have been awarded in Bryan’s name.