Lynnfield Scouts Are Iron Men

Lynnfield's Cub Scout Pack 48 Bear Den recently enjoyed an adventure at the Saugus Iron Works.

A National Park Ranger led a tour of the nearly 400-year old iron works, which are just a 10 minute drive from Lynnfield. The Scouts learned about the complex process of processing the natural resources necessary to extract iron. The site is virtually an exact reconstruction of the original iron works, much of it recovered from an archaeological dig in the 1940s.

What drew the most amazement from the Scouts were the giant water wheels that powered the iron mill. The Rangers turned on the water wheels so the Scouts could watch how the wheels powered equipment including giant bellows the size of cars to keep the furnaces at more than 2,300 degrees.

The Bear Scouts also welcomed the new all-female Bear den to the adventure. Maria Machado and Selenna Kosmas, both 3rd graders in Lynnfield, recently joined Cub Scouts. Starting in fall 2018, Cub Scouts now offers admission to girls. Girls become members of all-girl dens lead by a female scout leader. Maria's mother Perla and Selenna's mother Yanna are the co-leaders of the female Bear Den.

Photo: Maria Machado, Selenna Kosmas, Michael Cieslewicz, Tyler Ing, Camden Anderson, Benjamin Glasser, Alan Curley, Chris "CJ" Anderson, William Biggar