Boy Scouting Outside the Troop

The Greater St. Louis Area Council and the Shawnee District sponsor several activities during the course of the year. Troop 16 participates in many of these. Each spring and fall there is a District Camporee. The District sponsors a Klondike camping weekend each year in January. Two summer JLTCs are conducted by the Council. Parents are advised to check the Troop 16 calendar and the Council’s monthly newsletter, The Dufflebag, for a complete listing of these events.

The Order of the Arrow represents a group of honor Scouts. Troop 16 boys in OA are inducted into the An-Petu-We Lodge. Boys cannot "join" the Order of the Arrow - they must be chosen and duly elected by their fellow Scouts. Boys elected into the O.A. are judged by their peers to be those representing the highest ideals of Boy Scouting, and must have attended at least one complete week of summer camp. Troop 16 selects a number of boys to be inducted into the O.A. each year at summer camp. The Order of the Arrow represents a whole new avenue of Scouting entirely independent of the Troop.

Older Scouts (age 14 and completed 8th grade to age 20) are eligible to join a Venture Crew or Explorers. These units accept boys and girls, and are either pursue high adventure activities or specific interests. Many older boys in Troop 16 are also members of Crew 4216. Contact a Crew member or the Crew Committee Chair for additional information.