History of Troop 206

Troop 206 was first chartered in 1955 by the Encinal PTA in Atherton, with Preston Harrald as its first Scoutmaster and 16 registered Scouts. The Troop prospered and was eventually co-chartered by the Atherton Police Athletic League and the PTA. In the late 1960s, Mike Bredenbrek was recruited as Scoutmaster from a Palo Alto unit, and with him eventually came Warren "It's Just Around the Bend, Boys" Storkman and a dozen or more Palo Alto Scouts. The troop grew steadily through the 70s and for several years was split into two separate registered units (206 and 606) when the enrollment neared 100 and was over the recommended unit size by BSA National standards. At that time, one troop had Emerald piping on their red neckerchiefs and the other had Gold piping. Sometime later, the two troops were reunited, but the Emerald and Gold neckerchiefs were retained and patrols were assigned to one division or the other. Leadership (boy and adult) neckerchiefs used both Emerald and Gold piping.

Mike Bredenbeck had been active in a Southern California Troop which went to Camp Emerald Bay on Catalina Island nearly every year, and in 1969, Troop 206 began a long and continuing tradition of using Emerald Bay as a frequent summer camp destination. For many years, 206 and the LA Troop camped together, and at 150 Scouts strong, essentially took over the camp. Today, Troop 206 attends a variety of local and distant camps, including Oljato, Chawanakee, Emerald Bay, Fleischmann, Royaneh, Wente, and Hi-Sierra in California as well as camps in Oregon and Hawaii.

During Mike's years as Scoutmaster, Warren Storkman ran the Summer Trek program, which he continued during his years as Scoutmaster in the late 80s and beyond. In many years, the summer included a 20-30 mile Trek and a 50-Miler. Besides the annual Treks, the Troop developed other traditions including two perpetual awards. The Angus Award, first presented to Scott Rehmus in 1986, honors Scouts who demonstrate outstanding youth leadership in the Troop and is named after George Angus, a long time Trinity parishioner active in Peninsula Scouting. Angus nominees are selected by the Assistant Scoutmaster Council. The Storkman Award, presented by the Patrol Leaders Council, is a tribute to the year's outstanding patrol. The award plaque, which includes a brass-plated pair of Warren's old hiking boots, was first presented in 1990 to the Vikings Patrol. They were a near legendary patrol in the Troop's history and won the Storkman three times in the early 90s; two of its Patrol leaders (Nils Lahr and Dave DesMarais) were also Angus honorees. Two other distinguished awards have been instituted: the Jim Planting Award, for demonstrating and teaching exceptional Pioneering Skills, and the Bill Ashworth Award, for demonstrating consistent active participation and showing Scout Spirit.

By 1988 when Warren was succeeded by Jim Pooley, the Troop had grown too large for the Encinal gym and moved to Sacred Heart Preparatory School in Menlo Park. The Troop remained there until the mid-90s when it returned to the Encinal gym, and then back to Sacred Heart Prep. At this time, Trinity Episcopal Church in Menlo Park became the single chartering organization for the Troop and the Troop now meets at Trinity for troop meetings.

Besides summer camps and Treks, the Troop's other traditional activities have included the annual Scouting for Food campaign, a family ski trip, snow camping, caving, canoeing and rafting, a Pancake Breakfast fundraiser at Trinity, and Bay Area backpacking and hiking. Other highlights have included Sacramento River canoe trips from Red Bluff to Knights Landing, a Whitewater Canoe Clinic on the Klamath River, High Adventure Camps at Philmont in New Mexico, treks to Mt. Whitney, earthquake relief work in Watsonville (1986), Summer Camp on Maui (2001), and summer treks on parts of the Pacific Crest Trail and the John Muir Trail.

Troop 206 also has a strong tradition of nurturing the development of Eagles; over 160 boys have earned Scouting's highest award with the Troop since its founding. Eagle projects have included trail improvement and bench construction in local parks, emergency facilities for neighborhood schools, street sign refurbishment, and restoration work in the historic Civil War cemetery on Woodside Road.

The Scoutmasters since the early 1990s have included Dick Desautel, Phil McHale, Chuck Nile, Bill Ashworth, Kyle Barriger, Bruce Baron, Doug Johnson, Roger Hardy, Dave Reneau, Glenn Bugos, and Mark DeZutti. The current Scoutmaster is Richard Collyer.

Emma Shelton, ASM. Updated 2018.