Nutley Scouts takes first place in Klondike Derby

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NUTLEY, NJ — Scouts from Troop 147, Nutley’s Beav-Haw team, sponsored by the Franklin Reformed Church, placed first in the Panner Division for younger Scouts in the Feb. 1 Lenape Trail District Klondike Derby held at the South Mountain Reservation for Essex County Scout troops, according to a March 3 press release from the troop.

The Klondike Derby is modeled after the Alaskan 1898 Gold Rush and is a challenging winter event in which teams of Scouts participate in activities such as first aid, fire building, pioneering, compass and map reading, knot tying, and tomahawk throwing. The Scouts went to 12 Yukon-named stations pulling a Klondike-type sled loaded with equipment to meet each town’s challenge.

The Beav-Haw team of Troop 147 was led by co-captains Ethan Wanko and Archer St. Amant with team members Vipul Kothakonda, Rishi Bhandari, David Crecco, Clark St. Amant and Aidan O’Halloran.

Troop 147’s second team, the Golden Eagles, was led by co-captains Joey O’Halloran and Ryan Lui, with members Joseph Buset, Marc Visco, Jeff Quinn and Sumedh Ameti.

During the last four years, Troop 147 has won two first-place trophies, a second-place tropy and a third-place trophy.

Photos Courtesy of Michael E. Groome