Annual event shares Scouting with community

PALMER — Dozens of Boy Scouts and other community members converged at the Matanuska Experiment Farm in Palmer this weekend for the annual Bear Paw District Spring Camporee and Scout O Rama.

Longtime organizer Lois Feaster said this is the first year the experiment farm has been home to the annual event. She said the price was right — free — and that meant several troops also camped out in the field across the road Friday and Saturday nights.

She said Scout O Rama is more than a fun event for local Scouts. She said the event is also a way to introduce the fun of Scouting to the broader community.

During the day Saturday, Scouts mingled with community members checking out displays and demonstrations from the Army National Guard, Home Depot, MATSAR Search and Rescue, WildBird Rehabilitation Center, model airplanes and Marty Quaas and some of his trains. The day also included a rifle safety class, fly-tying class, the blustery Raingutter Regatta and a Dutch Oven Cookoff.

Last month, Feaster marked her 46th year as a volunteer for the Boy Scouts. And after 19 years at the helm of Scout O Rama, Feaster, 85, said this will be her last year to organize the event.

“You name it, I’ve done it,” she said of her long career with Boy Scouts of America.

At the ticket table Saturday, Thomas McRae and Feaster had their heads together making plans to pass the baton for Scout O Rama from Feaster to MacRae’s capable hands. He’s the head of the committee for activities in the Bear Paw District and part of Pack 395

One of the favorite parts of this year’s Scout O Rama seemed to be the white tent where Mark Mobley was manning a demonstration on identifying various furs.

Feaster said Wells Stephenson owns the collection. But Mobley was working with Scouts Saturday.

“This black mink came from right down the river,” Mobley told a group of Scouts.