Lowering the American flag each day of a Cub Scout day camp July 23 through July 27 at the Howard County Fairgrounds signaled it was time to go home.

On day three of the camp, Cub Scout Packs 373, 62, 917, 944, 305, 361 and 373 led the flag ceremony, which was an honor for the scouts.

Craig McPherson, Pack 917 member, helped fold the flag.

"It's really big and if it touches the ground you have to burn it." Craig said.

Looking on from a hillside at the fairgrounds as the flag was lowered and folded, were the rest of the 335 boys from 32 packs who attended the camp.

Nora McPherson, a den leader in Pack 917, said the flag ceremony instills a sense of pride in country and scouting.

There was also ample opportunity for the boys who attended the week-long camp to develop pride in themselves.

Don Campell was the administrator for this year's day camp. Campbell is the Cubmaster of Pack 305 of the National Pike District, Baltimore Area Council. He started planning for the camp back in January, when he met with other camp administrators at the Cub Scout Baltimore Area council. By March, Campell was joined by a group of 20 others from packs in the National Pike District to plan camp activities and configure logistics.

The week of the camp, parents escorted kids through the 13 activity stations, acting as chaperones for the boys.

All in all, it took 315 volunteers to run the camp, said Campbell, noting the commitment of all the volunteers.

"There's a desire on the part of parents and the Cub Scout program, which is for boys in first through fifth grades, to put on a summer camp and give boys an opportunity to get outside, have fun and achieve requirements for rank badges," Campbell said.

"They do a good job," Cub Scout Edward Frederick-Bittner said.

Kathy Norton, a den leader from Pack 323, said volunteering as a den leader and at the camp gives her time to spend with her son, Wesley.

"I believe in values the Cub Scouts try to instill in boys," Norton said.

Early rise and lots to do

The boys, including Campbell's son Luke, were kept busy from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Campbell said. Some boys started the day even earlier.

Cub Scout Phillip Taylor said he had to get up at "the crack of dawn" to be ready to ride to camp with his dad, Michael, Assistant Cubmaster of Pack 917, who volunteered at the camp.

Campbell said the camp went smoothly.

"The weather was great, the activities were great and the kids seem to have a great time," Campbell said.

"The boys get wet, dirty, run and play," Campbell said. "One of the goals of the summer camp is to give boys an opportunity to have fun and games within a safe and well supervised environment modeled after the 12 core values of the Cub Scout program."

There's a mixture of boys in Cub Scouting, Campbell said.

"Through the camp we keep in mind the mixture and make an effort to find ways for all the boys to participate," he said.

One example of this is the sport station where the emphasis is less on competing for first place and more on cooperating for fun and skill development.

"We believe all boys should have a chance to play," Campbell said.

New to the camp this year was a science station, where boys had an opportunity to learn about the environment.

As in camps past, boys earned beads for participating in the activities, which they donned from their camp hats.

Mason Banner said other ways to earn beads were by making new friends and picking up trash.

Mason's favorite activities were archery and BB guns.

"I hit the Bull's-eye in BBs," he said.

Archery and BB guns were the favorites among many of the boys, Campbell said. They are two activities the boys don't have at other Boy Scout-related events. For Cub Scouts Justin Argauer and Matt Retzbach, BB guns and archery were highlights of the week.

Not only do the boys learn about the skill of archery and BB guns, they learn of the safety rules for the two sports, said Barbara Argauer, a den leader in Pack 761.

"The No. 1 rule is safety," Edward Frederick-Bittner said.

When the boys gathered for the last time for the final flag ceremony, the rules, fun and learning were put to rest until next year's opening flag ceremony at the 2009 summer Cub Scout summer day camp.

Correction: First paragraph was corrected - singled was changed to signaled.

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