Everything old is new again as Scouts revel in longstanding tradition of Pinewood Derby

Most Cubs Scouts can’t drive yet, legally, but that sure doesn’t stop them from owning their own cars.

Pinewood derby cars, that is.

BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP/Photos by SB NEWS
BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP/Photos by SB NEWS

Local Cub Scout Pack 313 held its annual Pinewood Derby on Saturday, March 5, at Saint Anselm Catholic Academy, 365 83rd Street. Cub Scouts and their parents were challenged to carve and design their own cars, and then race them against their competitors at the event.

The Pinewood Derby car race is an event dating back to 1953 for a single Cub Scout group, but has since grown to become a longstanding tradition for scouting groups throughout the United States.

For Pack 313 Cubmaster Paul Muccigrosso, the tradition is an important one.

“Scouting is a tradition that is passed on from generation to generation, and that’s how it’s going on with me,” said Muccigrosso. “It’s actually like reliving my childhood. I was a Cub Scout as a boy, and I did the same thing with my father and my grandfather, and my friends. I still have the car I made as a child. And now my children play with it.

Muccigrosso said that he was happy to see the children flex their creative muscles, and compete against another in a friendly, sportsmanlike manner.

“They’re all great. Because the youngest Scouts are not allowed to use knives yet, their fathers and mothers have to help them. But even their cars are creative, great colors and paint jobs,” he said. “It’s just great to see what the kids come up with and see what they do.”

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