Athens Bible School Pack 25: The Lost Sea 1/2011

About ABS Pack 25

Eric Roth is Pack Chairman. David Fortenberry is our Cubmaster. The den leader of the Tiger Cub Den is Kimberly Harbin. Jennifer Fortenberry is the den leader of the Wolf Den. Matt Davis is the leader of the Bear Den. Gay Ulrich is the den leader of the Webelos I Den. Tracy Moyers is the den leader of the Webelos II Den. Membership fluctuates around two dozen boys in grades 1-5. First graders participate as a Tiger cub. Second graders work toward the rank of Wolf. Third graders may attain the rank of Bear. Fourth and fifth graders participate in the 18 month long WEBLOS program. Pack 25 is one of dozens in the Arrowhead district that serves Limestone, Morgan, and Lauderdale Counties. Also, the pack and district form part of the Greater Alabama Council that serves the 22 uppermost counties of Alabama.

Activities that Pack 25 offers include: regular den meetings centered around rank advancement, service projects, family camping, hiking, canoeing, trips to attractions across the Tennesse Valley, banquets,and pinewood derby racing.

The Scouts had a blast crawling, sliding, and camping in the Lost Sea Cave. A phenomenon said to be thousands of years old, but the lake itself – hidden deep inside a cavern 30 feet beneath the surface – was not actually discovered until 1905. Today a 4.5 acre portion of the Lost Sea is a Registered Natural Landmark, so designated by the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, and is named in the Guiness Book of Records as “America’s Largest Underground Lake.” The actual size of the lake has not been determined.
Divers have discovered acres of flooded “rooms” in the cavern beneath the Lost Sea, and the conclusion is that there’s more to the Lost Sea than meets the eye. Cave experts say that the Lost Sea is a part of the Craighead Cavern system, known for the rare crystalline cave formation called anthodites.
The cave was once used by Cherokee Indians, later by Civil War soldiers, and over the more recent years, as a dance hall, cockfight venue, and a favorite place of moonshiners. In the 1950s, the cave was designated a fallout shelter.