I mentioned in another thread that I was on the the summer staff at Maumee Boy Scout Reservation in about 1974-1978.
In those days there was no chow hall. The boys did “patrol method cooking.” Every afternoon each patrol sent a couple boys to pickup food at the commissary for the next 24hrs, along with instructions on how to cook it. At beginning of the week each patrol was issued a set of Boy Scout cooking gear, including a cast iron skillet, a dutch oven, and a sheepherder stove. If you cleaned the top of the stove you could cook directly on it, since the sheepherder was basically a big iron box heated by burning wood inside of it. Staff members were divided up and assigned to each patrol so we could get fed. It didn't take long to realize that it was wise to show up early and help the boys with the cooking. One of my buddies got to breakfast one morning and discovered his patrol had mixed the pancake mix with pickle juice!
Anyway, I got a lot of time in cooking and cleaning cast iron and didn’t realize it was a “thing.” I thought cast iron was something you used only when camping.
One of the highlights of the week was a peach cobbler made in the dutch oven, and home (or patrol) made ice cream. The commissary issued a crank ice cream maker and extra ice for that. I always made sure I was there early to supervise that night.
In those days there was no chow hall. The boys did “patrol method cooking.” Every afternoon each patrol sent a couple boys to pickup food at the commissary for the next 24hrs, along with instructions on how to cook it. At beginning of the week each patrol was issued a set of Boy Scout cooking gear, including a cast iron skillet, a dutch oven, and a sheepherder stove. If you cleaned the top of the stove you could cook directly on it, since the sheepherder was basically a big iron box heated by burning wood inside of it. Staff members were divided up and assigned to each patrol so we could get fed. It didn't take long to realize that it was wise to show up early and help the boys with the cooking. One of my buddies got to breakfast one morning and discovered his patrol had mixed the pancake mix with pickle juice!
Anyway, I got a lot of time in cooking and cleaning cast iron and didn’t realize it was a “thing.” I thought cast iron was something you used only when camping.
One of the highlights of the week was a peach cobbler made in the dutch oven, and home (or patrol) made ice cream. The commissary issued a crank ice cream maker and extra ice for that. I always made sure I was there early to supervise that night.