Hundreds of scouts prepare their costumes for a judged event at Bay City Lake Campground in Hessel Saturday, September 17. More than 800 people, including 537 scouts, their leaders, and families, attended the 19th Annual International Scout Rally. Several centuries were celebrated in the woods north of Hessel at the 19th Annual International Scout Rally at Bay City Lake State Campground Saturday, September 17. An estimated 850 people, including 537 scouts, ages 11 to 18, filled the campground. Each scout troop had its own campsite with its own theme of an event in the world’s history. Colorful costumes and decorated sites created the pages of a history book. Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts dressed as pirates, hippies, fur traders, Quaker colonists, and Medieval knights in armor. One scout commemorated the invention of the shower stall in a costume that included a shower curtain.

Boy Scouts from Troop 140 of Les Cheneaux (clockwise from lower left) Matt Nelson, Charlie McConkey, Matt Hill, Aaron Sherlund, Taylor Smith, Jeremy Sherlund, Nathanial Landreville, Thomas Beukema, and Jordan Huff take a break from activities at the 19th Annual International Scout Rally Saturday night, September 17. Scouts came in from the Midwest and Canada, with Troop 129 of Davison traveling the farthest, more than 300 miles. The largest troop from the United States brought 30 people, and the largest group from Canada was the Elliot Lake Girl Guides, with 10.

Troop 20 from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, won the Black Sheep Award for demonstrating scouting at its best. The Black Sheep Award is an annual tradition that alternates between American and Canadian troops each year.

State Representative Gary McDowell, a former Boy Scout, attended the rally and talked to participants about what scouting was like when he was a boy growing up in Rudyard.

The rally is organized each year by Dale Streichert, troop leader of Boy Scout Troop 140 of Les Cheneaux, and several volunteers. Judy Izzard, Herb Melcher, and John Kenn of Brimley assist Mr. Streichert in serving as “the backbone of the event,” ensuring that it returns each year to the Hessel campground. Troop 140 is sponsored by the Les Cheneaux Lions Club, which is represented by Ms. Izzard and Mr. Melcher. Clark Township Volunteer Fire Department brings water to the campground throughout the weekend.

Mr. Streichert said 29 other scouting units brought “events” to the rally, including learning activities and games that teach skills like climbing, cooking, rope tying, and endurance tests. Other activities include individual and group costume contests, an adult “Cracker Barrel” gathering, and a youth dance for the scouts. Ernie Rauch of Cruisin’ Tunes provides the music for the dance.

Next year will be the rally’s 20th Reunion, which Mr. Streichert described as “a really big deal.” The event will incorporate all the themes from previous years’ rallies, so attending scouts can dress or arrange their sites according to any theme from the first to the 19th rally.