Cub Scouts celebrate milestone amid COVID-19

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Cub Scouts celebrate milestone amid COVID-19
Photo by/Jesse Kucewicz
Cub Scouts swear the scout’s oath during their Arrow of Light Ceremony, April 10.

By Dakota Antelman, Managing Editor

WESTBOROUGH – Four Westborough Cub Scouts celebrated a milestone in their Scouting journeys April 10 at the Harvey Building in Westborough. 

Nicholas Brainerd, Evan Rosenberg, Cameron Cox and Malachi Kocou all made the transition to the rank of Scout in their pack’s anticipated annual “Webelo Arrow of Light Ceremony.” 

“The transition from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts is a big thing because it’s a shift from being led in Cub Scouts to being a leader in Boy Scouts,” Pack 100 cubmaster William Bramley wrote in an email to the Community Advocate.

The Arrow of Light Ceremony is the pinnacle of Cub Scouting tradition. 

The last step for participants before they become full-fledged Boy Scouts, the event revolves around the symbolic launching of arrows. Those represent the core ideals of Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts respectively. 

Scouts then take a solitary walk across another symbolic bridge to mark their formal transition to the Boy Scouts ranks.

The Arrow of Light sticks with Scouts for years. As Bramley noted, its patch remains the only such Cub Scout patch worn on a Scout’s official uniform after rising to the level of Boy Scout. 

For all the fanfare, though, this year’s event underwent changes due to COVID-19. 

“It was pretty quick just because we’re limited on some of the things that we normally do,” Bramley explained.

Gone was a traditional banquet celebration. In its place was an abbreviated half hour version of the core Arrow of Light traditions. 

In a year of compromise due to COVID-19, this continued an ongoing trend. 

Local Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts have been able to host some events, going on trips and gathering for some small regular meetings. 

But other dates normally circled on the schedule have changed form or been postponed.

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