Castleton Tenderfoot Spots Unit To Victory in Helderberg Derby
An 11-year-old tenderfoot, who has only been in the Boy Scouts a month, spotted the Raven Patrol of Troop 53, Castleton, to victory in the Klondike goldrush derby.
Billy Vadnais spotted all the observation posts set up on the 4.5-mile course Saturday at Camp Allen in the Helderberg Mountains for his patrol.
Aided by the sharp eyes of the tenderfoot, the patrol scored 265 points to take first place in the competition.
More than 250 Boy Scouts took part in the derby. Patrols of eight were judged on their ability to perform Scout problems as they pulled a 50-pound sled loaded with equipment and supplies.
The derby, sponsored by the Fort Orange-Uncle Sam Council of the Boy Scouts, was watched by more than 300 spectators.
Scout patrols encountered seven "towns", named after Alaskan towns, during the "mush" derby and were asked by the "mayor's" to complete such tasks as first-aid, cooking, tenting, compass reading and observation.
Tenderfoot Vadnais spotted all five observation posts set up near one of the towns.
Led by his 11-year-old brother John Vadhais, the patrol leader, the Ravens scored 47 more points than the second place Apache Patrol of Troop 40, Albany.
The Flaming Arrow Patrol of Troop 74, Rensselaer, was third with 221 points.
Robert J. LaCasse of North Greenbush, chairman of the event, said the tenderfoot had done "exceptionally well" on his first major Scouting test.
Other members of the winning patrol were: Chris Martin, Steve Rose, Larry Bollman, Ken Russ, Mike Cory, and Andy Russ.
Original Article
This was a transcription from The Albany Times Union, page 13 on Monday, February 8, 1965. The original article can be viewed at the links below: