MT. PLEASANT—Boy Scout Troop 527, the new community troop serving much of Sanpete County, is holding a Dutch oven mutton-and-sourdough dinner fundraiser on Friday.
The dinner will be at Tifie Scout Camp at Mountain Dell Scout Ranch east of Mt. Pleasant. Seating will begin at 5:30 with dinner served beginning at 6 p.m. Entertainment for the evening will be furnished by the band Junction 89.
Tickets are $15 per person and $45 for a family, and can be purchased in advance or at the door.
To get to the camp, go up State Street in Mt. Pleasant and turn east on the street just before Maverick. Continue on that road beyond the city limits, and follow the signs to the Scout ranch. The facility is about 7 miles from Mt. Pleasant.
Money raised at the event will go to support a troop serving about 25 youth from Sterling north to Fairview and including some members from Fountain Green, Scoutmaster Gary Cole said.
“It costs around $800 to $900 per boy per year to be involved in all the activities that we have for them to do,” Cole said.
Some of the youth attend national youth leadership trainings, which help them become better leaders in their troop and in their communities in the future, he said.
The event is a celebration of the sheep industry of Sanpete County, and the men and boys who herd the sheep.
Local sheep rancher Dale Peel said a few generations ago, sheepherders lived in canvas- wall tents when in the mountains or on the range tending sheep. These were replaced with the iconic step-side sheep wagons or sheep camps, which have small wood ranges with a cooking surface and an oven.
“The herder’s diet typically consisted of a good deal of sourdough,” said Peel. “Sourdough pancakes in the morning and sourdough biscuits with supper, and of course there was mutton.”
Peel said the values and skills of the sheep rancher of Sanpete County parallel those of the Boy Scouts.
Tickets for the event can be purchased in advance by calling or texting 435-250-4669. Tickets are also available at Peel Furniture in Mt. Pleasant, and from Phil Thomas at Bailey Farms in Ephraim.
