Scout jamboree has royal flair for St. Charles teen

Hylands Park, just north of London, is a long way from Richmond Elementary School in St. Charles, where Ryan Griswold first became a Cub Scout.

Now a junior at St. Charles East, Griswold is closing in on Eagle Scout status and has the trip of a lifetime under his belt as a participant in the Illinois contingent of Scouts who attended the World Scout Jamboree in England last month.

The first thing that caught the eye of Griswold, who was taking his first trip outside of North America, was Scouts from other countries going through customs at the airport.

"It was really awe-inspiring to see all of the Scouts from all over the world," Griswold said.

An estimated 40,000 Scouts from 160 countries attended the 2007 Jamboree, which was honoring the 100th year of Scouting in the United Kingdom, where Scouting originated.

Griswold said it was interesting to listen to England's Prince William address the Scouts at the opening ceremony.

Aside from Scouting activities, Griswold said the medieval castles around London caught his attention.

"The castles really stood out because, otherwise, London is a lot like any other big city in the United States," Griswold said.

Chance of a lifetime: Denny Wowra, a commissioner with the Three Fires Council in St. Charles, was among the volunteer adults on the World Scout Jamboree trip, and he was most impressed with the international flavor and the theme of "One World, One Promise."

"There were so many of the Scouts walking arm-in-arm and playing together," Wowra said. "The Scouts would visit with other Scouts from other contingents and experience all kinds of different things, like their food and customs."

Wowra said the jamboree was "a chance in a lifetime" for the Scouts who attended. "And that's not just a quote from me," he said. "That would be a quote from many different people who experienced this."

A favorite closes: It's not a big surprise when a restaurant closes with no warning. Erik & Me in St. Charles is just another in a string. Similar instances have unfolded in Geneva -- Rain, Potter's and Geneva Family Restaurant.

Erik & Me was one of my favorites -- even 25 years ago, a few years before it came to St. Charles. Back then, I stopped at Erik's Deli in Oak Park before shows or sports events in Chicago.

The St. Charles Downtown Partnership is planning a party Sept. 29 to celebrate the completion of another phase of the First Street redevelopment project, but it appears to be too late to help Erik & Me.

Punt, pass and Congress? The public-relations machine that will be getting Geneva Mayor Kevin Burns in the public eye more often as he makes his bid for the 14th District Congressional seat long held by Dennis Hastert, was quick to let me know Burns has football skills.

He'll have a lot more political footballs to juggle if he gets elected to Congress in the future, but for the time being Burns won the punt, pass and kick contest against other local political figures at halftime of a recent Kane County Eagles game.

I knew Burns had athletic skills, as I recall him toiling behind the plate as a catcher for the Geneva High School baseball team in the early 1980s. And "toiling" is the correct word to use.

Sweet temptations: An offer of chocolate ice cream would get me to sit still and listen to anything.

The Batavia Education Foundation is banking on our love of ice cream as an opportunity to tell residents what it does and why.

The foundation is hosting a back-to-school ice cream social from 4 to 9 p.m. Monday at the Batavia Creamery, 4 N. Island Ave. (formerly Baskin Robbins).

The invitation is to come and eat ice cream and learn about the foundation's mission in the school district. Part of the proceeds from ice cream sales will go to the foundation.