Emergency Preparedness. First Aid. Selflessness.
All three taught to us through the Scouting way and the Order of the Arrow, but very rarely do we get the chance to put our training into practice. However, for small Troop 226 of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania such an opportunity fell right into their hands as they were recently hiking up Blue Mountain.
Fellow mountain hiker Jane Scholl was on the mountain one afternoon taking photographs of the landscape when she mistakenly tripped and fell down a short part of the mountainside, landing on her eye and cutting herself badly. Six Scouts and Scotus from that troop found the dazed and injured woman strewn on the ground and immediately referred back to their scouting skills in order to handle the situation.
Before the troop got involved, the woman was attempting to hike nearly six more miles to the base of the mountain on her own. While one scout telephoned the police requesting helicopter assistance, two others helped bandage up some of her wounds.
The troop then consturcted a mkaeshift stretcher out of tree branches and sweatshirts and carried Mrs. Scholl to an open plateau three miles away to meet with the rescue helicopter.
For thier oustanding service and quick response the six troop members were each presented the National Medal of Merit, which was pinned on them at an award cermony the very woman they saved.
- Volume LXV, Issue 1, Order of the Arrow National Bulletin, Boy Scouts of America