This time of year is when Westminster Hall hosts time-honored Americana traditions at the Village Church of Northbrook.
Feb. 17 was when Cub Scout Pack 463 staged its annual Pinewood Derby and coming on March 2, the community is invited to the 68th annual Pancake Festival from 7:30 a.m. until 2 p.m. at 1300 Shermer Road.
On Saturday (Feb. 17), nearly 40 racers rolled 57 handmade pinewood derby cars down a 48-foot aluminum track. Racing participants included siblings, friends, parents or guardians of Scouts.
The track, with its electronic scoreboard at the finish line, is operated by Chris Hersee of Evanston, a regular Scouting volunteer leader on the North Shore Pinewood Derby circuit scene.
“I enjoy it a lot,” Hersee said. “This track, I bought when my son was in second grade. This is almost 20 years old.”
Nearly 50 boys and girls belong to Cub Scout Pack 463, said Cubmaster Matt Morgan of Northbrook, the parent of Rachel Morgan, 9, a fourth-grader and Webelos Scout.
“Our pack strives to create a fun and welcoming environment for all youths,” Morgan said.
Pack 463 is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
“We have served Scouts in Northbrook since 1973,” Morgan said, adding that, “another pack in Northbrook is older than we are.”
Scouts range from kindergarten to fifth grade and, “is the largest we’ve been in six years.
“Our Scouts are mostly from District 27, but there are a few from District 28 and St. Norbert School,” Morgan added.
Assistant Cubmaster David Adams of Northbrook, who will become pack Cubmaster this June, has two children in the pack, Ethan, 8, a second-grader, and Jack, 6, a first-grader.
“I’m excited to be Cubmaster, it’s a lot of responsibility but it will be fun,” Adams said.
Regarding the Pinewood Derby, “I think for the kids, it’s one of the more fun events of the year because they get a chance to show their creativity and their ability to build things,” Adams said.
Regarding Scouting, “It’s a great opportunity for kids to be able to learn to do things independently, stretch themselves, build in confidence and learn to work with other kids,” Adams said.
Scouts construct their Pinewood Derby car from a provided kit which includes a wood block, plastic wheels and nails for axles. Race times are recorded electronically to the thousandth of a second.
With adult help, Scouts build cars to meet a maximum five-ounce weight limit for finished cars, and with some height and width requirements, “but for the design, the sky’s the limit,” Morgan said.
Cars are checked for specifications on the morning of the race. STEM or STEAM educational principles of science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics are used.
Of STEM or STEAM, “I think it’s take your pick,” Morgan said. “I would say STEM, there are some awards in Scouts related around STEM so we can call it STEM.
“I mean, you can go down some pretty deep rabbit holes in terms of the physics behind the Pinewood Derby,” Morgan said.
“When I was a kid, there was no internet,” Morgan said. “You basically just did it based on what you probably read in the magazine.”
Today, Morgan said, there are, “a lot of blogs, a lot of websites on how to make the fastest car, and so sometimes, I almost overthink it.
“I make a car for myself,” Morgan said. “I really like to.
“Really, the purpose of this is for the Scouts to build a car with their parents or their guardians, and have that be quality time.
“I don’t remember if, when I was a kid, if my car ever won,” Morgan said. “I do remember those times building a car with my dad and I want that for these kids.
“This is one of my favorite events that we do.”
Morgan later told the audience at welcoming remarks, “We are a family pack.”
Ben Giannini, 7, a second-grader from Northbrook, was among Scouts who had the thrill of helping to launch a set of cars rolling from the top of the track.
This year was Ben’s first Pinewood Derby, said Ben’s father Louis Giannini. Ben made a car for, “mainly looks, a little bit of speed.
“We had fun building it together, picked out the shape, picked out how we wanted it to look,” Louis Giannini added. “We worked on it together, so it was a lot of fun.”
Nick Sassali of Northbrook watched his children participate, Alex, 9, a fourth-grader, and Valentina, 8, a second-grader.
“It’s really about community and family and good old competition,” Nick Sassali said. “It’s the process of being an annual event and the opportunity to work with my children and building out cars, spending that time together, actually building something. It’s a process.”
The Sassali family started working on their cars about one week before the derby.
Valentina, for her first Pinewood Derby, went for speed with her car design, choosing white with pink trim.
“It was hard and I had to work hard,” Valentina said.
Alex went for speed, using, “red with USA things on it, and also considered the impact of the car’s wheels and weight, “of the front and the back and how heavy it should be.”
Valentina is “thinking about” joining the Scouting pack with her brother.
“This will be a good event for her to decide,” Valentina’s father Nick Sassali said.
Karie Angell Luc is a freelancer for Pioneer Press.
