Boy Scout Troop 325
Scoutmaster Minute
Let The Adventures Begin
July 12, 2005
Larry Polyak, Scoutmaster

Next week, almost everyone here is going to start an adventure of some sort. About 16 of you older guys will be gone for three weeks, attending the Boy Scout National Jamboree in Virginia. This is a "once every four years" event and for most of you this will be your one and only chance to attend this Jamboree as a scout. It sounds like a great adventure, and a great chance to meet scouts from all over the country. I wish you all well.

Many of the rest of you will be going to Summer Camp at Hi-Sierra. Some of you have been there before and can take advantage of some of the high adventure activities that they offer. For others it will be your first time there and you will get to experience all the great things that they have to offer. I encourage you to do and participate in as much as you can, and have fun. I've been to Summer Camp with the Troop for the last three years, but will not be going this year. I can truly say that I am going to miss it. I hope you all advance a lot and earn lots of Merit Badges.

I have an adventure of my own starting next week. In the early 1900's, my grandfather, Mirko Poljak, immigrated to the U.S. from a small village near the city of Zagreb, in the country of Croatia. Talk about an adventure! Here he met a fellow Croatian immigrant from the town of Mrkopalj. Her name was Vincenca Tomic. They married, and had *thirteen* children. They passed away when I was about 1 or 2 years old so I never knew them. Here is a picture of my grandparents and five of their sons: Jack, Tom, Mike, Joe, and Tony. Later on I'll give five points to the first scout who can correctly identify which of these men is my father.

Next week, Karen and I will be joining my sister and her husband, and my brother and his wife, and will be traveling to Croatia for the very first time. We will travel across most of the country, from Zagreb to Dubrovnik, and it promises to be quite an adventure as well.

I will make you a deal: have a great time and do your very best on your adventures, and come back with lots of stories to tell and experiences to share. In return, I promise not to bore you with home videos of my vacation. Deal?... Good.

Imati velik vrijeme , i svibanj Bog biti sa vašim, which is Croation for:
Have a great time, and may God be with you.

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