NARATIVE

The Origins Of Scouting

The idea of Scouting for boys had occurred to Lord Baden-Powell long before he originated the movement. The ideas evolved as part of his work in the military developing field and camp craft skills in soldiers. To prove the ideas could be adapted to boys he led a trial Scout camp of some twenty Scouts from all social classes at Brownsea Island in Dorsetshire, England, on 25th July, 1907 they pitched camp. At that event Baden-Powell and others taught the boys camping, cooking, observation, deduction, woodcraft, chivalry, boatmanship, lifesaving, health, patriotism. All key elements of the Scouting program today. The event was a great success. From its inception Scouting has always been boy led, this was one of Baden-Powell’s strongest passions and again the concept was developed during his years of military service under trying conditions. During the siege of Mafeking, which lasted 217 days, by trusting and using boys for responsible jobs, such as carrying orders and messages, he learned the good response youth give to a challenge. This led him to the idea that with a little guidance the boys could obtain for themselves training and useful skills that could last their lifetime. He also knew from experience with the YMCA and Boys Brigade, both popular youth organizations in Britain at the time, that adults would voluntarily sacrifice time and energy to train boys. Baden-Powell then published “Scouting for Boys” in 1908, as a guide for all Scouts; this was derived from his book “Aids to Scouting” which was published for soldiers. After “Scouting for Boys” many boys and girls wrote to him indicating they had begun forming their own patrols. In 1909 11,000 Scouts attended the first Scout review in England. Baden-Powell remarked “As a matter of fact I didn't actually start the Boy Scout Movement, because the blooming thing started itself unseen.” Scouting in America was incorporated on February 8th 1910 and chartered by Congress June 15th 1916.

Local History

Scouting in Rochester traces its beginnings to 1910, when the first Troop was organized. The Rochester Council (a forerunner of the Otetiana Council) was chartered on February 12, 1913, with 13 local Troops. It was formally incorporated on February 27, 1919.

At the end of 1921, membership in the Rochester Council exceeded 2,000 Scouts and leaders in 62 Troops.

At the end of 1939, Cubs, Scouts and volunteer leaders totaled 8,369. In 1940, Chief Scout Executive James E. West toured the J. Warren Cutler Scout Reservation. He told the campers "The Council has a great place here. Everybody seems to be enthusiastic about the new idea of Troop camping."

The current Otetiana Council, which serves Rochester and Monroe County, was formed in 1943 as the result of a merger of the Rochester Council and the Red Jacket Council. In 1950, Council membership included 9,650 boys in 267 Cub Scout Packs, Boy Scout Troops, and Explorer Posts. That year, 269 Scouts represented Otetiana Council at the Second National Boy Scout Jamboree.

In 1951, the Council purchased 2,850 acres in the Adirondack Mountains near Tupper Lake. This began the development of Massawepie Scout Camps, which were ready to begin operation in the summer of 1952. Currently, Massawepie encompasses 3,600 acres.

Membership at the end of 1960 totaled 15,420, including 7,355 Cub Scouts, 7,175 Boy Scouts, and 890 Explorers. In 1963 Otetiana Council celebrated its Golden Anniversary. At that time membership was at 16,602, including 7,594 Cub Scouts, 7,705 Boy Scouts, and 1,303 Explorers. Adult volunteer membership was at 6,578.

The name "Otetiana" which means, "always ready" was derived from an early Native American Chief of the Seneca Nation. Chief Otetiana was born in the 1750s near Cayuga Lake. His Colonial contemporaries gave him the nickname of "Red Jacket" since he proudly wore a scarlet coat given to him by British officers in appreciation for his services during the American Revolution, his intelligence and eloquent oratory.

Council records have been checked and rechecked they have no earlier reference to any Webster Troop than 1925. In a letter dated 1974 local council officials point out that when the records were moved to computer disbanded Troop records were not included.

Imagine it is 1925….

To put life in perspective at that time,

• A new high school building on the present site of SPRY school was erected the year before.
• Television had not been invented, that occurred in 1926.
• A team of sled dogs, led by the husky Balto, race 650 miles with medicine and save the diphtheria-ravaged citizens of isolated, snowed-in Nome, Alaska. Johnny Torrio leaves Chicago for New York and leaves control of the Chicago mob to Al Capone.
• The village of Webster was celebrating its 20th year of incorporation.
• It would still be 4 more years before Webster appointed its first police officer.

Webster, town population about 1500, a mainly rural village on the outskirts of the Rochester metropolis. A group of enthusiastic parents got involved in Scouting; they decided to form a Boy Scout Troop. Webster itself had only been incorporated as a village in 1905.

The Troop was formed in 1925 as Webster Local Troop 1. The first Scoutmaster, and indeed the only Scoutmaster until 1933, was Albert B. Eckler Jr.

Troop Archive Data

Troop 108 has many artifacts from both Troop 1 and 108. These artifacts consist of copies of Charter renewals that give information about meeting location, Scoutmaster, Committee members, sponsorship, and number of Scouts. Some of the early charter renewals give glimpses into the life of the community and the activities the Scouts undertook. We also have a number of charters, applications to join the Troop, individual Scout records and advancement reports. Some of the most interesting and informative insights come from records of Troop committee meeting minutes. The minutes of Troop 1 meetings as recorded in an old Rochester Composition book are difficult to decipher, having been written in many different hands, but are a fascinating glimpse of Scout life before the depression. We also have meeting minutes for the years 1954-58.

It is unclear why we have so much historical material from certain periods and none from others, it probably depended on the committee at the time and if anyone was interested in keeping records. After Ash Palmer took over as scout master records improved and Vic Marra, the longest serving adult member of the Troop, was noted as a historian and record keeper.

Troop 108 and Troop 1

While the cause is unclear it appears that during 1926 the name of the Boy Scout Troop in Webster, Troop 1, was changed to Troop 108. Since Scouting had begun in the US in 1910 it is highly unlikely that in 1925 the first Troop, as indicated by the designation Troop 1, would have been in Webster. Indeed Otetiana council history as we have seen records that at the end of 1921, membership in the Rochester Council (Otetiana’s predecessor) exceeded 2,000 Scouts and leaders in 62 Troops. It is to be noted there are other Troop 1’s in the country. More likely to surmise that a rationalization of Local BSA Troops and a renumbering created Troop 108 directly out of Troop 1.

A strong case can be made for Troop 1 evolving into Troop 108 as follows:

• BSA charters indicate Troop 108 “was formally Webster Local Troop 1”.
• BSA charters indicate the original registration of Troop 108 was 1925.
• Several examples of Scouts who have individual Scout records for both Troop 1 and Troop 108, with the same information on both.
• 3 of 4 committee members served both Troop 108 and Troop 1 in 1927.
• The same Scoutmaster served both Troops.
• 23 Scouts on the first Troop 108 charter renewal can be found on the last renewal of Troop 1’s charter.
• The same sponsor for both Troops.
• It does not appear Troop 1 was disbanded.

It does not appear that Troop 1 was split apart with a portion forming Troop 108 rather Troop 1 evolved into Troop 108.

Between December 2003 and February 2004, conversations between Otetiana council’s Florence Witte and Iain Harding of Troop 108 established the origin date of the Troop as October 1925; effectively the Troop 108 is considered to have started with Troop 1 which was chartered on that date.

The council also recognized and made adjustments to the number of months of tenure of the Troop to 941 months as of February 2004. This calculates out that the Troop was founded 78 years and 5 months ago, which is October 1925.

In addition, it has been established by council that Troop 108 is the oldest Troop in Webster, the next oldest being Troop 112.

By oral history as told by Vic Marra to Joe Lang the Troop number was chosen in honor of the 108th Infantry regiment of New York from the Civil War.

The 108th Regiment Infantry "Rochester Regiment" was organized at Rochester and mustered in on August 18, 1862 and mustered out on May 28, 1865. During the war the regiment served in the battles of Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Wilderness, Spottsylvania and Petersburg. They were present at Appomattox Court House for the surrender of Lee and his army.

During the Gettysburg campaign the regiment was commanded by Lieut. Col. Francis E. Pierce, and was part of the second brigade commanded by Col. Thomas A. Smyth of the third division, commanded by Brig. Gen. Alexander Hays of Maj. Gen. Winfield S. Hancock’s second army corps. They were the direct recipients of the famous Pickett’s charge on the third day of the battle. The regiment is also the subject of a book “Before the Appointed Time” The 108 New York Volunteers at Antietam” By R. L. Murray detailing the exploits of the regiments first battle, the Battle of Antietam, Americas bloodiest battle ever.

While a distant memory to us in the twenty first century, in 1925 the civil war was a more recent event. It is only 60 years between the end of the civil war in 1865 and the founding of Troop 1 in 1925, about the same length of time as between the end of World War II and today. In 1914 the Bell Echo a School newspaper of west Webster published an entire issue dedicated to local civil ware veterans including the 4^th, 16th 108^th, 117^th and 140^th NY regiments. A 1941 Democrat and Chronicle article reports on the death of Frank L. Van Alstyne of Webster of the 4^th NY Heavy Artillery and hsis ervice in the civil war. At that time it was reported there were only 4 other Civil war veterans in the county.

Many members of the 108^th (Company A in particular) were Webster residents and are buried in the several cemeteries in this area. There is a stone memorial to the 108^th on the Gettysburg Battlefield in a grove of trees in front (Battlefield side) of the Cyclorama Building.

In 1975 the officers of Troop 108 considered that it had been in existence for 50 years and held the appropriate anniversary celebration, at that time the plaque naming the Troop Eagles was created by Vic Marra. Since that time additional eagles have been added to the board as they have graduated. The 1985 court of honor program refers to 1985 as the 60^th anniversary of the Troop, so do the Troop newsletters from that period.

The First Charter Renewal

Charter renewals are formal BSA documents listing the Scouts, leaders, committee members, which are renewing registration in a particular Troop for the next year. The first charter renewal was in 1926; the cost at that time to renew the charter was $16.50.

According to the applications to join the Troop registration fee was set at 50 cents, the equivalent of $5 today. There were about 26 Scouts renewed in that first charter. The Troop met on Mondays at 7:00pm and was sponsored by the Webster Ad Club; this was the forerunner of the Webster Chamber of Commerce. The location of the meetings described in the charter is given as the school, of which E.W. Spry was the principal. This school is referred to in the Troop 1 meeting minutes as the High School.

Charters 1933-2004

A charter is a formal certificate recognizing a particular Troop. The earliest charter that we have in dated 1933. In keeping with tradition the President of the United States is offered the role of honorary president of the Boys Scouts of America. The 1933 charter is signed by Franklin Roosevelt; the honorary vice president is Herbert Hoover.

In all the Troop has 29 charters up through 1972 the scoutmaster was listed on the charters, this proves a valuable cross-reference to the charter renewal documents.

The charter for 1975 has seal affixed to it denoting the Troop is 45-year veteran, the charter for 1976 indicates the Troop is a 50-year veteran.

Troop Sponsorship

Fortunately Troop Sponsoring organizations are recorded in the BSA charter renewals.

The Webster Ad club, a precursor to the Webster Chamber of Commerce, sponsored both Troop 1 and Troop 108 this sponsor ship continued until 1931. In 1932 the charter renewal shows that the Troop was being sponsored by American legion post #942 and that meetings still on Mondays. The Troop continued to meet at this location until the Scout building was finished in 1954.

Notes from the August 1957 committee minutes indicate that both the American legion and the Webster chamber of commerce were sponsors of the Troop at that time.

Troop 108 was co-sponsored by the Kiwanis Club and the American Legion

up until 2002. In 2003 the Troop received letters indicating that the American Legion would not be sponsoring our Troop specifically any longer and would be supporting Scouting in a more general way. Since then we have heard that they are considering starting a Troop at their location.

Troop Meeting Locations

Fortunately Troop meeting locations are recorded in the BSA charter renewals.

The original meeting place for Troop 1 was the Webster high school, which at the time was a new building. The early charters give the name of the principal of the school that we met at as E.W. Spry, the principal honored in the naming of the current Webster Middle School that many of our scouts have attended both past and present. During one of the early Troop meetings concerned Scouts pointed out that Scouts should be reminded that it was unlawful to cause damage to the building.

Meetings until then were still being held at the Webster High School. In 1932 the charter renewal shows that meetings were being held at the Masonic temple or at the American legion, still on Mondays. The Troop continued to meet at this location until the Scout building was finished in 1954.

The scout Building is story in its own right through the generosity of many the home of Troop 108 was realized in 1954. Before his passing Ash Palmer wrote a short history of the scout building, which has been paraphrased here.

“The funding for the building started during World War 2 when Ward Tinkelpaugh who server as scoutmaster from 1945-48, recognized the need for a meeting place for the Troop and began a fund dedicated to that purpose. At the time of Ash’s joining of the Troop in 1950 the fund was between $500 and $1000. The fund remained about that level until Ash became scoutmaster for the first time in 1950. At the same time the America Legion were complaining of scuff marks left by the scouts shoes in the rooms used by the scouts. The action was turned over to the Troop committee. The committee approached the fireman for permission to build on fireman’s field. The Webster fireman generously agreed and a lease was drawn up by Jerry Barrett (a former Troop 108 scout). The initial lease was for $1 per year for 25 years.

The committee further obtained donations from the community in the region of $2000-3000, however this was not enough. Two individuals Mr. Fred Huberlie and a Mr. Nagle (Ash is unsure of the exact name, although there is Daniel Nagle who was a scout in the Troop in 1945.) contributed $1000 each to the cause. Now with $5,000 reserved for the project it was enough to begin. Others who generously contributed to the building were Prinzing Plumbing, who provided the ductwork and the oil burning furnace, Richard Prinzing was a member of the Troop. Basch or Mason provided the floors lumber and roofing materials was provided at a greatly reduced price by A.N. Martin and Son lumberyard and Webster Lumber. The village of Webster put in the water line at no cost the Troop furnished the copper pipe.

The building was laid out in string and the first scout was actually inducted into the Troop within the string outline. The first building was a 24 by 40 foot structure that had a small kitchen and bathroom. The fathers of the scouts, with Bernie Kotwas, a roughing contractor by trade constructed the building, Bernie acting as general contractor and ensuring the project kept moving along.

Almost as soon as it was finished the Troop blossomed to some 70 scouts all crammed into an area of about 700 square feet. An addition of some 72 by 24 feet was added in about 1955 again donations and Troop finances paid for that work.”

Records indicate the concrete sidewalk, that forms the east side of the building was added by a couple of the parents in 1962.

The Webster fireman have been extremely supportive hosts of Troop 108 and can be considered ideal landlords since the lease is very cheap and they don’t often collect it. Their active involvement continues today, the fireman provide a space for the Troops dunk Tank at the Webster Fireman’s Carnival, the dunk tank generates a significant contribution operating revenue of the Troop.

The Troop building is in continuous need of repair and this is worked on as time and willing volunteers are able. In 1992 a Town of Webster Fire safety inspection was carried out, several areas of non-compliance were found and remedied by 1993. The building has been vandalized twice that we have records for once in 1983 and once in 1993. After the 1983 incident a Burglar alarm was installed.

Meeting Minutes

The minutes of Troop 1 meetings as recorded in an old Rochester Composition book make interesting reading. Each meeting opened with the Scout Oath and Law I guess some things never change!! Also it seemed normal for the Scouts to describe a good turn that they had accomplished since the last meeting.

Fund raising appeared to be by candy sales. There is an entry in the meeting minutes dated April 1926 that “$61.94 was received from candy so far”. An early committee was formed to obtain flags, belts and poles it records that a full size patrol flag could be obtained for $5.50 ($56 in today’s terms). Meeting minutes for March of 1926 show the funds from the candy sale were to be used to purchase the flags. Other fund raising actives included dues, earliest records indicate these were 2 cents per week, and had been reduced from 5 cents so the boys could pay every week without getting behind.

As a stroke of luck Mr. Don Ebert’s, an assistant scoutmaster with Troop 108, significant other ‘s father was associated with the Troop for some time as Troop secretary. Mr. Ebert therefore came into possession of a vast archive of Troop committee minutes. Most notable the periods covered in this archive are all of 1951, and most of the months for 1957 though 1971. The late 50’s were a period of explosive growth for the Troop and the number of registered scouts was given as 92 in the minutes of August 1957.

Merit Badges

Some merit badges in the early 1920’s were similar then as today there are the standards First Aid, Swimming, Cooking etc. Signaling which was classified as Semaphore or Morse. Morse code message sending / receiving was also a requirement of first class. The nature merit bade evolved into the environmental science badge of today and often took two years in summer camp to complete. Merit badges from that time that are no longer with us are Bee Keeping, Blacksmithing, Cement, Dairying, Poultry Keeping, Printing, Stalking and Taxidermy. In all there were about 68 different merit badges compared to about 130 today. In 1928 the cost of each Merit badge pamphlet was 20 cents, a subscription to boys life magazine was $2.00. In the early 50s the citizen merit badges were Home community, Nation and World Brotherhood.

Troop 108 has a 1950-51 Tomahawk District (Tomahawk was the precursor to Arrowhead) merit badge counselors list, not surprisingly Troop 108 is well represented with Scoutmaster Tinkelpaugh, Alfred Kittleberger, Fred Wolf, being listed as merit badge counselors. Over all in the district there were 146 merit badge councilors. In 1950 there were some 90-merit book choices for boys including Citrus and Nut culture, options I do not believe are available today.

An Interesting Merit badge is Rabbit raising, which is no longer available. Rabbits were raised for food and possibly clothing so this was an important economic badge.

Other Troops in the area

Troop record books from 1940-50’s show that scouts were transferring back and forth between Webster Troops. Earliest records of transfers that Troop 108 have in its possession indicate a Pack 112 existed in 1949 as well as Troop 112 and Troop 113. Troop 113 served the West Webster area, Troop 108 and 112 the village and the east of Webster. Also documented are Troop 9 and 110 both existing in 1948. A Troop 107 is also noted in existence in 1953. It must be noted that these are the earliest records that Troop 108 has and does not indicate that this is the origin date of those Troops.

In 1957 there is documentation of a conversation between Mr. Harold Dye Chairman of Organization and extension and the Scoutmaster at the time Vic (Monty) Rayment. Mr. Dye’s suggestion is to split the Troop, which by that time was 70 plus boys. Mr. Raiment’s response was a study in politeness so befitting a Scout, his basic message is “No” and he suggests forming a brand new Troop that would take the pressure off the 2 village Troops 112 and 108. There is no further conversation in the minutes or other wise, however the author is personally unaware of any other Troop in the village of Webster other than 108 and 112. Records indicate that 1958 was one of the peak years for Troop membership and that level was not to be reached again until the late 1960’s.

The Troop scout membership around the late 1950’s did prompt the building of the addition to the building.

In the 1951 minutes there are discussion on the formation of Cub Pack 108, Troop 108 was deeply involved and had arranged to provide den chiefs, however in that year it appears that not enough parents could be obtained in order to start the pack. 1960 minutes indicate Pack 108 was active and going strong.

The War Years

Starting in 1943 several Scout leaders were indicated on the charter or charter renewal paper work as being as being in military service.

Minutes on 1959 indicate former scout Ken Kittleburger addressed the committee just before deployment in Korea. The Troop was also looking forward to the return from active duty or Irving Trumble another former scout, it was anticipated he would return to be an active Troop member.

Troop Neckerchief and Patch

The Plaid in the neckerchiefs is the Black Watch Ancient pattern tartan first suggested by Ash Palmer in November 1951. Minutes from that meeting only indicate a “tartan plaid” not the actual pattern. In those days there was a formal Troop 108 Womens Auxilary, who in December 1951 minutes were commended for making the neckerchiefs for the Troop. The early photograph of the Troop from 1943-45 shows a neckerchief but it is not possible to determine the pattern if any. It was only in 1999 the Troop patch that we use today and is reproduced on the front cover of this work has been used. The Troop patch was developed while Frank Schaaf was scoutmaster and is based on a design from another Troop. Before then the Troop used the shoulder numerals “108” in the middle of the neckerchief.

December 1968 minutes specifically report purchasing Cotton Black watch Plaid material for neckerchiefs. Tom Pellett a former Troop 108 scout has 2 neckerchiefs a woolen version and the cotton type we use today, the woolen version was bigger and it was the winter neckerchief. The woolen version was used before 1955 and the light cotton summer versions entered service in 1956.

Leaders and explorers would also wear green ties as evidenced by many of the camp photographs. Leaders neckerchiefs had a yellow trim around the edges while the scouts had red.

Annual Reports

It is unclear why there are annual reports for some years but not others, possibly because the author had the time or inclination.

1945

This report was compiled by the then Scoutmaster Ward Tinkelpaugh and appears to be a council form. It lists a total of 45 scouts, 8 advanced in rank or passed Merit badges. Of note is that no scouts were recorded as having attended long-term camp, then defined as greater than 6 consecutive days, but 25 different scouts attended at least one of the 2 overnight camping trips. 24 different scouts attended at least one of the day hikes that were conducted. The plan for 1946 was to have 50% of scouts attend Eagle island camp or camp cutler, there were also 4 short-term camping trips planned. Also planned was a 35^th anniversary celebration on May 21^st, this refers to the original founding of the Boys scouts in America in 1910.

The report also includes a boys life subscription form indicating the base cost of a boys life subscription for a scout was $1.25 but that dropped to $1 if 5 registered scouts from the same Troop has subscriptions.

Also noted is one boy Louis Marcello, reaching the age of 18 and going off to the service, this was still a time of war.

1956

The annual report for 1956 prepared in advance of the Troop charter renewal indicate we did have 72 boys registered in that calendar year. There were 10 boards of review and 4 courts of honor in that year. Service projects included Working at Camp cutler and assisting with Civil defense. 35 scouts had at least 10 days and nights camping.

1993

The 1992-3 report contains a description of adult leader roles and responsibilities. The report also contains the meeting minutes for 1992-93. There is a wonderful description of the problems with the Dunk tank, seems that late or no shows of Scouts caused the most problems. Showing typical Scout ingenuity when the tank sprang a leak the scouts fixed it with a twig stuffed in the hole and later duct tape. Once again proving why that substance is as valuable as a penknife it is recorded that no business was lost because of this episode.

Fund Raising

Early in the Troops history fund raising appeared to be by candy sales. There are quite a few references to ribbon candy in the minutes between 1956 – 1958. In 1956 the proposal was made and approved that same year that 1$ per case of the candy sales be credited to the boys individual scout accounts. In the same year it appears that not all the candy was sold, the surplus was turned over to the Children’s Shelter and the minute’s note the candy was “gratefully received”.

Paper drives seem to have also been a source of income, however it seems better in some years than in others 1956 was quite a profitable generating nearly $140 or approximately $7 per ton. Paper drives were still going on in 1975 there were four planned basically one per quarter that year. References have been found to Troop paper drives as late as 1987.

It also appears that in the 1950’s and 1960’s the Troop distributed telephone directories and receiving between $400 -$500 for that activity.

In 1942 there is an application to the Rochester Red Jacket council, a precursor of Otetiana Council, for permission to raise funds by having a booth at he Webster fireman’s Carnival. The object of the game would be to throw darts at a series of balloons for prizes, it was hoped to raise $30 for the purpose of “Scout rooms”. This was the beginning of the fund to build the scout house that was completed in 1953.

Not all scouting activities go off without a hitch and so it is true with fundraising. In 1957 it was decided to hold a chicken Barbecue event for the purpose of sending the scouts to the National Jamboree at Valley Forge. A total net profit was made of $77.79. Alfred Kittleberger wrote this was a bitter disappointment, $77 would not contribute to the cost of sending many boys given the National fee was $50 per boy. There is no root cause given for the failure of the Chicken Barbecue however, the report shows records that the expectation was 5000 tickets would be sold at a cost of $1.85 for adults. Just prior to the event it seemed to be confirmed that over 2000 tickets had indeed been sold. In his report Mr. Kittleberger records approximately 400 tickets sold.

A 1956-57 Treasurer’s report indicated incomes were approximately $1,000, expenditures $785 leaving a working balance of about $270.

Slighter later on in 1961 committee minutes indicate that alternate ideas for fundraising included selling of Bags of charcoal, and light bulbs. It seems that selling Christmas wrapping had also been a staple of the Troop for several years. The sale of fire extinguishers, first aid kits and the like has also been considered at various times in the Troops history.

Some fundraising ideas are better than others, in 1962 the Troop investigated possible setting up a shooting gallery at the fireman’s carnival. The idea was rejected as the cost of insurance for this activity was $250, and the Troop would not condone that expense.

The dunk tank seems to have made its appearance just before 1983 where it is referenced in the Scoutmaster’s minutes that we have. Funds from this activity were split 50/50 between the Troop and the scout’s individual account. The 1993 annual report indicates about $2400 was received for operating the dunk tank that year. Scout Dues, the Dunk Tank, Donations from the sponsoring organization and the clean up at the Corn hill arts festival are the main sources of income for the Troop today.

Camping / Outdoor Activities / Hiking

Nothing recorded in the early years, as to places or durations.

Early charters recorded the average number of miles hiked per Scout; in 1926 that number was about 9 miles.

Camping was obviously going on there were at this time Council places to camp in an organized manner. We do have a 1945 Otetiana council training course that was the property of Ted Holtz and assistant scoutmaster with the Troop. This has interesting articles on making backpacks, tents and sleeping bags. There is also training on patrol organization, first aid sanitation and safe use of Axes.

Ash Palmer’s Troop record books record all the attendance of all the scouts and the merit badges being worked on. What are also included in the calendar are references to camping. The records for 1951-52 show there was sporadic camping some times in consecutive months.

What we do have is a series of camp pictures, the earliest of which is from 1956. Almost all the pictures until about 1999 show that summer camp was exclusively at Massawepie. We have a photo that indicates that Massawepie had its 25^th anniversary in 1976 making its origin 1951 attendance appeared to be good. Early pictures show both Ash Palmer and Vic Marra along with other leaders.

Ash Palmer was one of the local leaders on the trip to Philmont in 1953 for the 3^rd BSA National Jamboree, and true to his record keeping skills we have a whole folder of information about that event. Including maps camp layouts, handbooks, guides and record books. About 160 scouts and leaders attended from the Rochester area, 18 from Webster between the ages of 12 and 18.

Though details are sketchier it appears that 4 scouts from the Troop went to Philmont in 1956 as well.

The Troop had two scouts (David Vanhousen and Stephen Lang) and 2 adults (Dan Vanhousen and Joe Lang) attend the 2001 national jamboree at Fort A.P.Hill Virginia where the then 15 year old scouts set the record time on the kayak course. There is an article about this in one of the glass cases in scout house. This is evidently a by-product of the focus this Troop places on canoeing. The 2 scouts both went on the 60-mile canoe trip the summer before.

The 1974 Troop membership Guide proposal by Ash Palmer clearly indicates scouts were expected to go on every camping trip. To quote from that reference “It is our experience that a scout who does not go camping soon looses interest and drops out. Therefore, we expect all scouts to camp when one is planned, conflicts with other activities we can usually work around”. In the 1974 guide reference is made to the long-term camp being two weeks at Massawepie. In addition to this it was also reported in 1974-75 seven short term weekend camps were planned.

In addition to Camping activities such as rock climbing, Canoeing, visits to Buffalo naval park, Cooperstown etc are referred to thorough the 1980’s, these seem very similar, if not the same as the events that the Troop participates in as of today.

Since at least 1997 and likely earlier this Troop has had a canoeing and winter camping focus. There are usually 2 canoeing trips yearly - one in the fall and one in the spring. When there are enough boys who are experienced enough and physically able, there are weeklong canoe / hiking trips held during the summer. The last two were in 1997 that left from Massawepie and was a combination hike and canoe trip and 2000 that was a 60-mile canoe trip on the Fulton chain of lakes in the Adirondacks. In 1999, the Troop was so experienced in winter camping that we did a winter campout in Cohocton without tents! The boys and adults built their snow shelters during the day that they later slept in for the weekend. All were warm and survived!

From the minutes of the early 1950’s it seems that reimbursement for gasoline for various trips such as journeys to Massawepie and for fund raisers such as paper drivers was very common. In one committee meeting Ash palmer claims $7.50 for gas for a trip to Massawepie.

Troop Equipment

Army Surplus seems to have been the method of choice to obtain camping equipment in the early years. Committee minutes show that Mr. Palmer and Mr. Webster had long discussions with the Rochester Civil Defense organization. They were able to obtain the equipment at 3% of the list price.

In later years Vic Marra arranged to obtain cut price equipment from the Eureka camping outlet in Binghamton New York by way of his some who was a resident in that area. The Troop continues to use those tents obtained by Mr. Marra.

The February 1951 Minutes indicate the Troop purchased baker tents but also had a nylon mountain tent. The minutes record in detail discussions on repairing the nylon tent, in the spirit of a true thrifty scout, several suggestions including nail polish and rubber cement were proposed, a volunteer was then appointed to look into the matter further.

Boy Leadership

The patrol method was clearly in force and the first recorded patrol names were, Flying Eagle, Cuckoo, Fox, Stag and Lion. The flying eagle patrol Name was still being used in 1986. In the 1950s wolf and flaming arrow patrols were also dominant. Tom Pellett recalls “We had weekly patrol meetings, usually at the patrol leaders home, as well as regular Troop meetings (sort of like the den meetings in Cubs today). I seem to recalls that Troop meetings were every other week, alternating with explorer post meetings. We would work on individual advancement and skills in patrol meetings; Troop meetings were more general and for the benefit of the entire group. Explorer post meetings were similar except there were no patrols. Patrol meetings were “boy run” and Troop meetings were “Adult” run.”

Following the lead of Baden-Powell in trusting the Scouts with significant responsibility the records show that the treasurer in the early days of both Troop 1 and 108 was one of the Scouts, Ralph Bohnacker, he had control of the annual budget which could have been as large as $20 ($203 today).

Patrol leaders kept track of individual boy records and reported on merit badge achievements at every committee meeting.

Troop Membership

Applications to join Troops were significantly different from today. In those days, unless you were connected with the sponsoring organization, you needed a pastor, priest or rabbi to vouch for your good character before being accepted into Scouting. Interesting to note that Charter renewal documents carefully recorded the religious preferences of the Scouts and leaders.

Early records indicate that when formed the Troop was about 25 boys in size with 5 adult leaders. There also appears to be some transfers to and from other Troops indicating there must have been others in the area. Early Individual Scout Records list the reason for some boys dropping out as “in attendance at meetings”. Committee meeting minutes show that if a Scout missed 3 meetings in a row his highest rank would be withdrawn from him until he attended 3 meetings consecutively. I’m not quite sure that was BSA policy!!! For the first 10 years the Troops Scout membership hovered around 30. During the late 30s a low of 13 was reached but generally up until the late 50s the population was about 20. During the late 50’s and into early 60’s the Troop had an explosive growth to a Scout membership of greater than 60. In two different years the Troop’s roster hit 70 Scouts. This was potentially because of all the baby boomers that would have been about 11-12 in 1957. This level continued until around 1975. There followed a steady decline of membership to an all time low of eight in 1995, more recently Troop membership has been 20+ boys.

Notes are unclear of recruitment methods for boys, on indication in July 1962 minute’s shows that adverts were placed in local newspapers for scouting in general, the boys would then be offered Troops that fitted their geographical region.. It does seem that the close work of the Troop with the local cub packs does help in obtaining scouts. The committee was of differing opinion about why some Troops were considered over others. Today we know that siblings tend to gravitate to the same Troop and there is a great deal of influence that friends have. An extroverted popular boy choosing one Troop can draw a lot of his friends in. Ash Palmer expressed his belief that the parents and fathers in particular held considerable sway over the Troop that their sons joined.

The Troop Committee

As is the case today the committee consisting of the adult leaders of the Troop and committed parents was very active and always working for the good of the boys.

However the burden on the scoutmaster is evident in an exchange in the September 1951 minutes. It appears that Ash Palmer had frantically requested help over the previous 3 or 4 committee meetings to help with the Troop which at that time numbered some 30 plus boys and 20 explorers. Since no action had been taken to provide additional leadership resources Ash felt compelled to resign to bring the matter to a head. He presented his resignation in September of 1951 and further promises were made to obtain assistant scoutmaster help, this evidently satisfied Mr. Palmer who in the committee meeting withdrew his resignation.

Uniforms

Enclosed in Ash Palmers record books for 1951 we have the results of a uniform inspection of some 25 boys. Remarks included lack of pants, to which we assume they were referring to lack of official scout pants, too no tie, no insignia, no socks. In those days they must have taken the inspections seriously since it was indicated four scouts need to have their shoes shined. For this inspection record only 5 boys were deemed “OK”.

Uniform inspections seem to have been part of the Troop program at every meeting. An interesting point about the Troop meetings are that they seem have been planned down to 5-minute increments. We are in possession of the Troop program for the first 6 months of 1958 that indicate every meeting was like this. I don’t know how they did it!!!

The 1974 Troop guide also indicates scouts were expected to wear uniform to all meetings and camp. In 1975 a brand new uniform including the Beret (I wore one in England) cost $16.57 however that included trousers and belt. The equivalent cost in 2003 excluding the trousers, belt and Beret was $37.45.

The Troop has in its possession original uniform of Ash Palmer including his campaign hat.

Troop Challenges Throughout The Years

It is clear from the Troop meeting minutes that many of the same challenges were faced in 1925 that face us today including attendance Scout behavior fundraising and good citizenship. Typical meetings including work on Merit badges and achievement of rank requirements are constant themes. Will research some more, specifically how they kept older scouts in the Troop.

A Troop handbook was developed in 2003 at the suggestion of the scoutmaster Joe Lang; interestingly this was not the first time a Troop handbook had been created. Ash Palmer created a Troop membership guide in 1974. This covered areas such as Membership/ Attendance Finances, fund raising, Camping and uniforms including a price list. Comparing the 2003 version versus its older brother we find that exactly the same areas are covered. In the 1974 version stress was put on expecting regular attendance at scout meetings and a request to understand why any scout chose to leave.

Encouraging Scouts into regular attendance seems to be key throughout the years. In 1983 the patrols were competing in inter patrol competitions to encourage patrol spirit. Monetary sums were awarded which went towards patrol equipment. Included in the points system was attendance (in uniform), skills competitions advancement behavior at meetings and service projects. There was a concept of a lost patrol for scouts who did not attend for eight consecutive weeks; they lost camping privileges until they attended two meetings. Boys in the lost patrol did not affect the record of the active patrol they were formally part of. The above indicates the patrols stayed together for longer, long enough to take responsibility for patrol equipment and work towards its replacement.

There is an advancement polices and procedure document from around 1982. A lot of the content of the original 1974 version is repeated here, however of note is that one of the reasons to convene a board of review is for scouts that do not advance a rank within three months.

Troop, Awards, Certificates Through The Years

We seem to be lacking both certificates and patch and flag awards from earlier than about 1947, again this just about coincides with the time Ash Palmer became involved in the Troop.

Certificates 1947 – Mountain type camping at Power Mill Park

Patches, flags

Can list of show certificates other wise

What about Troop of the month history?

The Troop lost many of our flag awards in 2001 during the Fireman's carnival when the Troop Flags (among other things) that they were on went missing. This might be the 3rd break-in to the scout house though minor. Since then we have replaced the Troop flags and dug out many of the old flag awards to put on them.

Since 1997 the Troop has been selected Arrowhead District Troop of the month twice and both in the same scouting year! Joe Lang made an award plaque for this and it is at the Scout House. The awards were for December 2002 for snowshoeing and March 2003 for Eagle projects.

Troop Library

Recently the library has been cleaned out and duplicates of books removed. What remains is a diverse cross section of books purchased or donated to the Troop over the years of its existence. Notably among the books is a 1906 version of “First aid in cases of Electric Shock” compliments of Rochester electric Company, a 1926 New York State thesis entitled “An analytical history of Seneca Indians” and one of the first merit badge books published a 1927 version of “Craftsmanship –bookbinding”. We also have a 1944 version of the field book and a 1954 version of “Handbook for Scoutmasters”. Both of these are authored by William Hardcourt, also knows as Green Bar Bill from the patrol leaders badge, it was Bill that wrote the Handbook For Patrol Leaders, the Troop has the 1950 version of the work. Bill also wrote over 300 articles for Boy's Life as his Boy's Life pseudonym where he became an Assistant Editor. The Troop has 4 of his poster articles, which are reprints from Boys Life, from various dates displayed on the buildings walls.

PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS

Harry Brewer

Harry was a scout in Troop 108 between 1930 and 1935. What he remembered most was that scouting was fun and he had a really great time. He remembers Albert Eckler as the scoutmaster and this more familiar nickname “Ally” later Ralph Bohnacker took over as Mr. Eckler retired. Mr. Brewer recollects that the meeting place was the High school on the corner of South Avenue, which is now a set of apartments. One of the service projects the Troop completed was to install basketball hoops in the school; this is where Harry and his colleagues leaned to play basketball. Mr. Brewer reached the rank of Star before other high school activities took his attention. Camping was at Mendon Ponds park in pup tents but there was no summer camp. Mr. Brewer recollects learning to drive in Mr. Bohnacker’s car.

Joe Lang

Scoutmaster August 1999 to July 2003

Member of Troop 108 March 1997 – current

My association with Scouting began in the 1960’s as a 7 year old cub scout in Pack 415 in the Buffalo suburb of Orchard Park. That was the start for what turned out to be an 11 year scouting adventure that ended with myself and two close buddies each attaining the rank of Eagle. That great experience of the summer campouts in bakers tents, the dusty dry mid summer hike on the long camp road to the rifle range, the cool lake water at the swim area, the winter cabin campouts with lots of sledding and snowball wars, working as a camp counselor and canoe trip guide were the best part. Then came college, getting a real job, marriage and then before I knew it my son Stephen was born. Pretty soon he was 6 years old and we were starting a Tiger Cub den in Tokyo, Japan where we were living at the time. That was an eclectic experience with den members from several different countries and lots of great day trip outings. That was the start of my second tour of duty in Scouting, this time as an adult. It just seemed natural that when we moved back to Webster that we would join a Cub Pack and I would be the den leader for the next 5 years.

Joining Troop 108 just seemed like a natural fit. We visited other Webster Troops but this one just hit the spot. Troop 108 did the outdoor things that we as a family were interested in; skiing, canoeing, camping. It is funny that there really wasn’t a lot of discussion about other Troops after visiting Troop 108. Steve’s mind was made up that Troop 108 was the place to be and I agreed.

One of the more memorable events since joining Troop 108 was being part of fifteen Eagle Courts of Honor. I had the privilege to preside over nine of those awards as Scoutmaster, including my son’s. Each of those young men clearly stood out as accomplished self reliant individuals, worthy of wearing the Eagle badge. Nationwide, about 3% of all boys who join Scouting achieve the rank of Eagle. That ratio seems much higher in this Troop.

The Troop had not participated in many of the Council led events such as the Klondike Derby or the Fall Camporee since we joined the Troop. I am not sure of the reasons why. Some years it conflicted with other events we had planned and before we knew it we had missed several years of events. Those Council Camporees were always fun events during my own youth where we could compete against other Troops and patrols in Scouting skills and just generally have a fun time. I was pleased to get Troop 108 back into participating in the Council Events with the Fall Camporee of 2002. Since then the Council events are becoming a regular part of the Troop program again.

One day in the summer of 2000, Vic Marra who was our long standing Kiwanis Club representative called me and said he had a box of Troop 108 records at home that I should have. After driving over to Vic’s house to pick them up and talking with Vic a good long time, I arrived back home with the box and sat down in the family room to sorted through just exactly what was in there. It contained records going back into the 1940’s. There was a fascinating collection of Troop Charters and scout applications for boys who were now sure to be old men. There were advancement records for boys with familiar family names like Kittelberger, Klem and others. There were records about the building of the Scout House, a listing of which businesses and individuals donated what materials for the building. Committee Meeting minutes written in clear, neat handwriting. It was like looking back through a time capsule.

In 2003 I happened to mention that box of records to one of our new Adult leaders Iain Harding who just happened to be a history buff. Well before you know it he and Assistant Scoutmaster Steve Sippel had organized all the Troop records into the file cabinet by year and Iain began putting together the Troop History. It was particularly rewarding to see the Scouts and Adult Leaders accomplishments of so long ago come back to life as we leaders and others learned who had preceeded us. A hearty Thank You is due to Iain for his undertaking of putting together the Troop history.

Armed with the complete set Troop records we could now put together a complete list of all the Troop 108 Eagle Scouts, the Committee Chair’s and Scoutmasters which now appears in the Troop history. Luckily for us, our predecessors had done just that for the Troops’ 50^th anniversary celebration which we were able to get a copy of from the Council Office downtown. We simply needed to add the past 25 years! As a result, the Eagle plaque on the wall of the Scout House was found to be a few names short so we have updated it to include those names that were missed.

There are many adult leaders who devoted many years to Troop 108 but there are two men who have had a special long term relationship with the Troop: Vic Marra and Ashe Palmer. Both of these gentlemen passed away during my tenure. Vic in August 2002 and Ashe in August, 2003. Troop 108 was well represented at the memorial service for Vic Marra with virtually the whole Troop of some twenty plus scouts and eight leaders along with five former scoutmasters all present and in uniform. I was shocked as I took the podium to express the Troops’ appreciation for all Vic has done for us to find that the entire United Methodist Church was filled to capacity and people were standing elbow to elbow spilling outside to the church entrance. You see, we were preparing to recognize Vic for his years of service with a beautiful plaque to present to him but Vic passed away before we could deliver it. His daughter Mary Beth suggested that Vic would have preferred we keep it at the Scout House. His memorial service was the dedication of the plaque to Vic which now hangs at the Scout House.

Ashe Palmer I am sad to say passed away without anyone of the Troop knowing about it. The name Ashe Palmer is one that many of the leaders have known but few if any of us had actually met. I received a phone call from Scott’s funeral home because a donation was made to the Troop and was shocked to hear that Ashe had died some 2 weeks earlier. We were able to contact his brother to offer the Troop’s thanks and condolences. Ashe’s brother kept his Scout campaign hat which he donated to the Troop. It hangs at the Scout house today in memory of Ashe. One day soon we will get a fitting plaque made for it to display in a prominent location.

There are many memorable stories about various campouts and events. The Tri-athlon (Canoeing / biking / hiking) is always a popular event but be sure you are not in the same canoe with Mr. Winslow unless you are ready to get wet. Luckily, Brian takes that ribbing in stride.

And there was the canoe trip on the Genesee river from Belfast to Portageville where our newest Coleman canoe got turned inside out and into a big horseshoe wrapped around a log in the river. After prying the canoe out of there we popped it back into shape, lashed saplings to the keel and gunnels to reinforce those broken parts and kept on going. Those plastic Coleman canoes take a lot of abuse. Too bad they don’t make them anymore.

The older we get, we have the opportunity to witness some technological firsts. Well, since I am not old but the Troop is, I thought I’d pass along a Troop 108 technological first. Troop 108 officially went digital in 1999. It was the fall of 1999 that the first Troop announcements, roster and calendar went out via email. An obvious next step since we have been communicating electronically at work for years but a first step for the Troop. Maybe one day we will actually have a Troop 108 website.

In 2003, during my last year as Scoutmaster, Troop 108 was selected as the Otetiana Council Arrow Head District Troop-of-the-Month not once but twice! That is an award that I don’t recall the Troop having received before and is awarded to the Troop with the most active program. Small Troops like ours don’t often fare well compared to the larger Troops of 50 –90 scouts but our program of building snowshoes and then using them for a 6 mile hike at the Suter’s cabin in Ellicottville earned us one award. The second was for a Troop open house for visiting Webelos scouts where we had setup 6 demonstrations of Scout skills. This was a big hit with the Webelos.

The most memorable BSA training course is OKPIK, hands down. If you adults have not yet taken this training course, run, don’t walk to the Council Office and sign up for it. Okpik training is winter camping training. The word Okpik is the Inuit word for snowy owl, the symbol for the program. I highly recommend that several adult leaders of every Troop take this course. You will learn the essentials of how to camp comfortably and safely in the winter and can pass the knowledge on to the other adults and Scouts. You also learn about dealing with winter medical challenges, foods, cooking, shelters, equipment, travel, make some of your own gear and even sleep out in a Quinzee - basically what we call an igloo. The session I went to was held at Camp Massaweepie in January. When we slept outside on the second night, the temperature dropped to minus 12⁰F but we were comfortable! The temperature made that trip memorable.

One thing that was even more memorable was what I learned in the car on the drive up to Okpik training. During the drive up Glenn Hallauer, Dan VanHousen and I were talking about our scouting experiences when Glenn mentioned that his college room-mate was once an avid Scout who worked as a counselor at a camp that did canoe tripping in Canada. That’s funny, I did the same thing! We were both surprised to learn that Glenn’s college room-mate Ken Kile and I worked at a camp called Northern Lights at the same time. Ken was actually my boss there. Talk about a small world. I had only seen Ken twice since my counselor days. The first was for the Camp Northern Lights reunion in 1992 and the second time for one of our Eagle Court of Honor.

We were able to transfer the Okpik winter camping information to the Scouts in the Troop who surprisingly liked winter camping! On one Ski-o-Ree held at Swain, we camped there for the weekend and participated in winter skill events. After getting camp setup in the wind on Friday night we learned that tents do, in fact, fly long distances if not staked down, that aluminum tent stakes don’t work in frozen ground and that propane stoves take hours to boil water in the winter. We have long since remedied those challenges. As it turns out, Troop 108 took 1^st and 2^nd places in the down hill ski race, and 2^nd place in the Ski-o-Ree Cook-off.

We had been working on different types of shelters at Troop meetings and for one winter campout the older Scouts decided they would not take tents but would build their own shelters using the materials nature provided and a tarp. By Saturday evening there were several unique looking shelters which kept everyone warm for the night.

Probably the most memorable campout was when we attended the 2001 National Jamboree. Two scouts from Troop 108, David Vanhousen and Steve Lang attended the Jamboree in Bowling Green Virginia as part of contingent Troop 127. They spent 10 days participating in all the various events, skill challenges, demonstrations and activities situated at the huge Fort A.P Hill. There is an incredible amount of activities for everyone to do. One can’t possibly do everything there. There are a lot of give-away’s such as hats, sun glasses, water bottles, lanyards from the branches of the military, private companies and the Boy Scouts. Everybody goes home with their packs and bags filled with souvenirs. Dan VanHousen and I drove down for the last three days of the Jamboree. Since were were technically visitors, we could not stay over night on site so we rented a cabin (with air conditioning) at the KOA campground 3 miles down the road. That came in handy on those hot muggy nights. We got to do a lot of walking all through the Jamboree and also participated in some of the events and activities. On our second morning we arrived at the Jambo and turned on our FRS radio to see where our son’s were. They were in line at the Kayak course so we headed over there and watched as they got their kayak and headed off into the lake. This particular event was a 2 man kayak time trial. We got to watch as Dave and Steve set the record time for the 2001 National Jamboree kayak course. They were awarded Waterfront Staff T-shirts on the final night. I’m sure they will never forget that! The thing that was really impressive though about the Jambo was the Closing Ceremony. It was postponed 1 day because of rain so several of the previously scheduled acts could not make on the rescheduled night but the entertainment was good none the less. The really impressive part was seeing some forty thousand Scouts and Scouters sitting in the grassy amphitheater. It was a sea of kahki and faces as far as you could see. And the fireworks to close the Jambo were the biggest and longest I have ever seen.

One of the greatest things about Scouting is the comradery. As adults you meet many other Scouters. Some of which you see frequently, possibly other Troop 108 Leaders or someone that you work with but never knew was involved in Scouting. Others that you meet you see only infrequently such as at Council events, Roundtables or Cracker-barrel’s. But each of those Scouters you meet greets you with a smile, and a willingness to pitch in and help. There is also the comradery with and among the Scouts. The hours spent talking around the campout campfires at night. The talks driving in the car to summer camp. The times when a few scouts will decide to setup their own campout. Seeing them work together as a group with the older Scouts watching out for and helping the younger Scouts. Those are the things that make you feel good about Scouting in Troop 108.

Tom Pellett

When Ward Tinkelpaugh was involved in the Troop the scouts would practice their first aid in the viewing rooms of the funeral home that ward owned and operated. It was always the scouts hoped that the viewing room was unoccupied when it came time to practice first aid.

The original start date for the extension to the scout house was +/- 1955, as I worked on it when I first joined the Troop. It extended the meeting room and included two small rooms on the north and the garage on the south.

On the subject of merit badges I clearly remember being tested for first class signaling requirement where I had to stand at XXX and send a message to my patrol leader Dick Webster? with the flags. Also I was one of the lucky few that earned Rabbit raising.

We were expected to have complete uniforms including Official shirt, pants, belt and hat (“Overseas” Style). A lot of us had white canvas “Spats” that we wore with our Explorer greens for parades, scout shows etc. Leaders at the time were all WWII vets, so uniforms and timing were the “order of the day”. We literally marched in the Memorial Day parade like the service groups do today.

Troop 108 was a dominant force in what was then the Tomahawk District (since changed to arrow head). We won awards for camping, scout show exhibits, etc. There was even a competition for Buglers known as the silver bugle. The winner would serve at all District functions and camps as the official bugler for the event. Competition was held yearly and Ron Holtz of Troop 108 won it several years in a row.

Bob Brunner

We also used to attend beaver weekend in Massawepie – This was usually around the first weekend in June when Adult leaders/parents would hop on a bus (picked us up in Webster) from all troops and head to Massawepie. We would set up the platforms and tents for summer camp and also the docks on the waterfront. We would leave on Friday night and return Sunday afternoon.

Winter camping – We would camp out at least once a month throughout the winter. We spent a lot of time in Penfield on the land of someone named Petlow 9Sp?). There was a large cabin and several lean two’s. I am not sure who or when these structures were built. We used them in 1974-76 time frame.

Troop Notables

Marshal Delavan Born 1909

Marshal Delavan was the Troops first Eagle Scout. There are some records showing his achievement of Tenderfoot in 1922, Second Class in 1923 and First Class in 1925; he was awarded his Eagle Scout rank in August 1926 and commissioned a Junior Assistant Scoutmaster in 1928, as such he was the first Scout to become a leader in the Troop. He remained an assistant with the Troop until at least 1932. He obtained 40 merit badges and was also a lifeguard. As to be expected he was patrol leader and senior patrol leader, records indicate he was originally put in the flying eagle patrol and ended up as their patrol leader.

Although we have charters and other evidence suggesting Troop 1 was in existence from 1925 onwards, it appears Marshall was working on Scout rank advancement in 1922. As recorded on his application he was a Presbyterian. A letter from the Council dated 1974 indicated that a Troop 1 existed during this time frame although no details or names of leaders are recorded, however we do know it was connected to the Presbyterian church.

E. Ashley (Ash) Palmer Born 1928 died 2003

Longest serving Scoutmaster at 26 years. Ash was the Scoutmaster at both the 25^th and 50^th anniversaries of the Troop. Ash first appears as a registered leader in 1950, though it is believed he was involved with the Troop for a few years before that, Ash was a registered leader with the Troop until 1984.

It is to Ash and Vic Marra that the Troop owes the great depth of history. Records of early years 1925-1928 are available in some detail. Between 1930-1944 records are scarce. After Ash took over in 1950 the records become more detailed and abundant.

Born and educated in Rochester, Ashley enlisted in the Navy in 1945 and served on the aircraft carrier Princeton. Ash and Al Vragel would swap the scoutmaster and explorer leader functions in order to give the other a break from the younger boys in the scout movement. He lived most of his life in Webster and was active in the Boy Scouts of America, was a Ham Radio Operator, and served in numerous local organizations.

Vic Marra Born 1913 died 2002

Vic Mara was born on October 8, 1913 in Salisbury Ohio. The Marra family moved to a 13 acre Basket Road farm in Webster in 1922. Vic who was known as ‘Vero” in high school, played basketball and football and graduated in 1934. He attended the Rochester Institute of Technology completing his tool and die making studies in 1941. Vic married Beth Fry on June 27, 1942 and lived on Dunning Avenue in Webster until 1953 when they moved to the Fry family home on Fuller Avenue where Vic lived out his years. As a tool and die maker, Mr. Marra established Automation Gauges Inc with several partners in 1956, working there until his retirement in 1978. When Vic’s two sons Thomas and Edward became members of Troop 108, Mr. Mara began an association with Troop 108 that lasted throughout his lifetime serving as a Kiwanis Club representative to the Troop for many years after his boys grew up. Vic enjoyed metalwork and woodworking in his shop in his garage and made furniture and several clocks that were donated to many organizations including the Webster Arboretum. One of Vic’s clocks hangs at the Troop 108 Scout House. As arboretum benefactors, Vic and his brothers donated the gazebo in the back of the Arboretum. Vic served Troop 108 right up to his last year and died on Tuesday August 20, 2002 in Webster after rapidly declining health.

It is to Vic and Ash Palmer that the Troop owes the great dept of history, Vic preserved records, certificates, awards and original charter certificates over a great period of time enabling this history to be written.

Such was the strong respect felt for Vic by members of Troop 108 a memorial fund was established in his memory. The purpose of this fund is to acknowledge the dedication and years of service of Vic Marra to Troop 108 and to serve as an example of unselfish service to the Troop 108 youth and adults. The funds are to be used exclusively to purchase Eagle neckerchief slides to be presented to each future Troop 108 Eagle Scout at their Eagle Court of Honor.

CHRONOLOGY

Scoutmasters

Troop 1 and 108 have had many Scout masters over the year, the average length of service of a Scoutmaster is 3 years, however there have been two very long serving Scoutmasters, Albert B. Eckler 9 years and E. Ashley Palmer who was Scoutmaster 3 different times for a total of 26 years.

Eagle Scouts

The first Eagle Scout was Marshal Delavan in 1927. After that there is a long gap until 1946. Since 1946 Troop 108 has graduated on average an Eagle Scout every year. There is no discernable reason for the gap in Eagle Scouts between those years; searches of the records indicate that Star and Life was about the highest rank consistently achieved. It may be because of the depression, stock market crash or some other reason.

2003 was a banner year for Troop 108 with 6 Scouts earning the rank of Eagle. This was certainly the most that Troop 108 ever had in one year but is also tied with Troop 262, a Troop of three times our size, the most Eagles in a year for any Troop in Arrowhead District. That is an outstanding achievement and reflection on the scouts and adult leadership.

A full listing of Troop Eagle Scouts is given below: