Warsaw Boy Scout Troop 776, chartered by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, recently paddled 100 miles on the St. Joseph River.
The trip began in Three Rivers, Mich., ending at Lake Michigan in the St. Joe harbor in St. Joseph, Mich.
The boys joined troops in the LaSalle Council in the Elkhart-South Bend area and also a troop from South Haven, Mich.
The majority of the boys are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and belong to the Young Men's Organization of the Church.
Under the direction of Stake Young Men's President Joe Null, the group wanted to celebrate this year's 100th birthday of Boy Scouts of America by rowing 100 miles on the St. Joe River. The boys were part of a 51-person group with 25 canoes who spent six days and nights camping and rowing on the river July 12-17.
During the week they were able to view a Voyager canoe and be part of a PBS filming of the state parks of Indiana.One evening Bonita Bent, a teacher at IUSB, told of the native Americans who lived along the river in the 1700s and demonstrated several musical instruments.
The boys were treated to a free hamburger and drink at Burger King in Elkhart as they had to portage across the dam at Johnson Street. Several other dams in Mishawaka, South Bend and Niles, Mich., required the boys to Portage.
All boys completed the trip without injuries and learned skills in leadership and perserverance.
