By Celia BURSTEIN

On Friday, Dec. 18, Cub Scouts from Pack 360 sang holiday tunes for the Montview Retirement and Assisted Living Community. The selection began with the “Dreidl Song” to commemorate the last night of Chanukah, then moved on to classic and modern Christmas songs.

“Community service is one of the foundations of scouting, and we like to give back to the community, especially around the holiday time,” said the Cub master John Breckow. “It’s a good time to remember charity, giving back to the community and giving back to all the people that have given to us.”

Cub Scout Aaron Leucht agreed. “We’re making older people happy,” said the third-time participant. “They might do something good for us in return.”

His father Chris Leucht believes it is particularly important to give back to the elderly during the holiday season. “A lot of people that are not living with their families are really lonely this time of year.”

But he also believes that giving to the community in general is an important Cub task. “I think one of the big purposes of Scouts is to learn to be leaders, and an important part of being a leader is to know how to serve other people,” Leucht said.

The performance spanned half an hour and featured songs ranging from the traditional “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” to the less conventional “All I want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth.”

Iris Spears, a five year resident of the retirement community, connected more with the traditional Christmas songs, enjoying the memories they brought, but appreciated the more modern songs as well. According to Spears, an overwhelming amount of entertainment groups performed that day, but she said she always looks forward to the Cub Scouts. “It’s good for them to start very young to learn that it’s the thing to do to give back to the community and that the community supports them,” Iris said.

Florence Turner, also a resident, said the performance was “beautiful.” “Not all of us see young children,” Turner said. “They’re natural in themselves, which I enjoy.”