By: Michael Bennett, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Ridgetown Independent News
‘Be Prepared’ has been the motto of Boy Scouts since Bayden Powell founded the movement in the 1900s in England.
The 1st Ridgetown Scout Troop embodied that slogan during their annual winter camp on the Feb. 6-8 weekend.
About a dozen Scouts and Ventures from the 1st Ridgetown were camping at Camp Cataraqui, along with other troops, including the 19th Chatham.
With no cell service, internet or television, the campers had no idea how bad the weather conditions were around the area, as this was the weekend that had fierce winds and sub-zero temperatures that forced many roads – including the 401 in Essex and Chatham-Kent – to close because of a rash of accidents in zero visibility.
Early on the Saturday afternoon, three members of the 1st Ridgetown troop – Alex Frazee, 14, and Aidan Frazee, 17, of Ridgetown, and Travis Clark, 16, of Highgate – decided to go on a hike to see the huge frozen ice mounds on Lake Erie.
Instead of going along the trails inside the camp, the trio opted to take the long route out the main gate to Clearville Road.
They were about 200 to 300 metres out of the camp when they came across a brand new BMW 240I two-seat convertible stuck in a snow-drifted ditch. The driver said he had been stuck for about two hours and couldn’t get a signal to call for assistance.
A couple of the boys went back to the camp to get help as the rest of the troop, along with some of the Chatham scouts, returned with shovels.
While they were digging, one of the Chatham Venturers showed up with his pickup truck, armed with a tow strap, and was able to pull the car out of the drift.
Adam Frazee, 1st Ridgetown Scout leader – along with his wife Angie – said the man was in his late 30s, early 40s, and was on his way from Detroit to upper New York State when he was rerouted off the 401 in Essex County onto Highway 3.
The man needed a break and decided to turn onto Clearville Road, unaware of its layout or the snow drifts.
“He said he got stuck, got out and actually watched his car sink into the ditch,” Frazee said.
The man was certainly not dressed for the conditions, as he wore jeans, dress shoes with ankle socks, and a light windbreaker.
“He got back into his car to keep warm, but said he was thinking about walking back to the highway to try and get a signal to call for a tow,” Frazee said.
Considering the sub-zero temperatures and his clothing, staying in the car was very likely a life-saving decision.
The man offered to reward his rescuers, but the boys declined.
“They said ‘that’s not what Scouts do,’” Frazee said of the boys’ response.
“Then he pulled a card out of his wallet … I knew what it was right away because I have one too,” stated Frazee.
The man was a card-carrying Eagle Scout.
“The kids were laughing that for a Scout, he certainly wasn’t prepared for the weather conditions,” Frazee said.
It turned out that the man flew from Washington, D.C., to Detroit to pick up the car, with plans to cut through Ontario to reach the resort in upstate New York to meet friends for a ski weekend.
The man sent his winter gear and ski equipment with his friends while he took only a small backpack on the flight, not expecting the driving conditions and the ordeal that lay ahead.
“It’s neat the fact that he was an Eagle Scout,” said Frazee. “What are the chances, of all the roads he could have turned down on Highway 3, by accident, he picked the one that had a Scout camp and Scouts ready to help?”
Frazee said he couldn’t help but think how this story was very similar to how the Scouting program came to the United States.
In 1910, an American businessman named William D. Boyce was visiting England when he got lost in a thick fog.
He ran into a local youth who helped him find his destination, but when he offered a reward, the boy turned him down.
“The lad said, ‘I’m a Scout, and that’s not what Scouts do,’” Frazee said, recounting the story.
Frazee said the man was so intrigued that he delved deeper into this new Scout program – which Bayden Powell had only started two years earlier – and brought scouting to the U.S.
“And that’s what these kids did, Scouts helping a Scout,” Frazee said.
They only got the man’s first name – Jessie – but took pictures with him before he continued on his trip.
Frazee said he was truly impressed by how his Scouts and Venturers responded to the situation, especially under such severe conditions.
“The kids did all the work, they figured out what to do … they knew what to do,” Frazee said. “It was all based on stuff they learned working on farms or what they learned working in co-ops in high school. They brought me out thinking they’d need me, but I ended up just observing and being proud.”
“It was completely youth-led … it was a great group effort,” Frazee said.
The 1st Ridgetown Scout Troop was busy last week, cleaning up Kiwanis Park for the annual Easter Egg Hunt.
They are also preparing for the annual Chatham-Kent Scouts Kub Kar Rally, rescheduled for Saturday, April 25, at the W.I.S.H. Centre in Chatham.
The event was originally scheduled for January but was postponed because of the weather.
Weather … cars … The 1st Ridgetown Scouts will definitely Be Prepared for this event.
