Local Cub Scouts preparing for registration event at Windham Middle School

By Ed Pierce

The Cub Scout experience in Windham is about children and families having fun times together and guiding boys in kindergarten to Grade 5 to become leaders and outstanding members of the community when they grow up.

Windham's Cub Scout Pack 805 gathers before presenting the
colors at a Maine Mainers hockey game in Portland earlier
this year. New scouts and parents looking to become pack
volunteers are asked to attend Cub Scout registration at
6:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 9 in the Windham Middle School
cafeteria. SUBMITTED PHOTO 

As school is about to resume after the summer break, Windham’s Cub Scout Pack 805 will welcome new scouts and parents looking to become Cub Scout pack volunteers. At 6:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 9, Windham Pack 805 will sign up new members at a special Cub Scout Registration and a Question-and-Answer Night in the Windham Middle School Cafeteria.

During this gathering, many of the older scouts will present fun and interesting activities to keep the scouts entertained while the pack leaders talk with the parents of both returning and interested scouts.

According to the outgoing CubMaster for Windham Pack 805 Casey Melanson, scouting teaches children positive character traits, helps foster relationships, and that they are part of the community.

This fall Melanson is stepping down from her leadership role and Kayla Desmond will serve as Pack 805’s new CubMaster and Josh Smeltzer is the new Pack 805 Committee Chair.

Windham Pack 805 dens meet once a week and then the entire Pack 805 meets once a month for a special meeting, such as a Halloween party, a Christmas holiday dinner, Pinewood Derby model car racing, and an array of other events.

Desmond said that Pack 805’s dues are highly affordable and goes toward national Cub Scout registrations, insurance, and other expenses. The pack also conducts a variety of fundraising activities to offset the costs of awards and activities throughout the year.

Windham parents should consider having their sons join Cub Scout Pack 805 because it helps them to work on self-growth, and to not be afraid to try new things, she said.

Joining the Cub Scouts is the first step in a young man’s journey to become a responsible citizen who cares about his neighbors and the community.

“We want our scouts to learn what it means to be part of something important, what it means to help their community, make new friends, build relationships, and to have fun,” Desmond said. “The scout motto is ‘Do Your Best’ and that’s what the kids learn.” Melanson said.

Each year Windham Pack 805 scouts have more than three dozen scouts who volunteer to work on meaningful and relevant community projects.

Some of those activities include picking up trash after Windham Summerfest or hosting a toy collection drive for a local family in need for Christmas. The Cub Scouts also participate in Scouting for Food program each November to collect non-perishable food for the Windham Food Pantry.

The Cub Scout uniforms consist of a shirt, a rank neckerchief, and a rank slide. Pants and rank hats are optional. Scouts are encouraged to have a belt (not necessarily a scout belt) to be able to display their beltloop achievements. Each scout is issued a handbook for each rank so they will be able to learn, perform, and complete each achievement and scout activities emphasize having fun and learning useful life skills.

“Cub Scouts can do anything they put their minds to. We have gone winter camping, hiking, ice fishing, and built lean-tos in the winter woods,” Melanson said. “We also have our annual Pinewood Derby where the boys design and build their own cars and then compete against one another. As a pack we have had beach outings, cookouts, movie nights, and EVO Rock Gym overnights.”

She said that local Cub Scout activities and adventures are centered around earning merit badges that are specific to each school grade level. Each badge represents a rank and advancement and refers to the progress a Cub Scout makes toward their badge of rank.

For Pack 805’s registration night on Sept. 9, registration will be staffed by Windham Cub Scout leaders who will be available to answer any specific questions that parents of children interested in participating in scouting may have.

“New potential scouts who are interested in joining are encouraged to attend the registration with a parent,” Desmond said. “If someone is interested in joining but is unable to make the registration event, they can reach out to us through Facebook or email.”

For more information about Cub Scout Pack 805, visit their Pack 805 Windham Maine Facebook page or send an email to scoutpack805me@gmail.com <