THE BOY SCOUTS

This is a woefully incomplete list of activities of the Boy Scouts in St. Louis Park.  Please contact us with more information or corrections.  Also see a memoir about the Boy Scouts of the 1940s and '50s by Ted Meland.

The national Boy Scouts of America was incorporated on February 8, 1910, and chartered by Congress in 1916.

In the fall of 1918, the St. Louis Park Commercial Club (J.A. Guy, President) sponsored the Village's first Boy Scout troop.  Richard Murrell made an application to Scout headquarters on November 29, 1918.  Endorsement of Murrell as scoutmaster was made by Charles A. Kilbourne, B.W. Chell, and F.H. Brummond.  This may have been Troop 296.  Original members of the troop were:

Herbert A. Peterson

Hans Nelson

Ralph Hamilton

Fritz Bradley

Warren , Harry, Charles George and Fred Williams

Edwin and Elmer Norgard

James B. Murphy

Melvin and Earle Sewall

Francis E. Edey

Herbert Snow

Clifford Nordstrom

Wallace Brown

Robert Fuller

Donald Whalen

August and Willard Geseking

Edwin Brady

Munroe Brown

George Goodrich

Ellis Gates

Nels Peterson

Roy Blacktin

Elliot Anderson

M. S. Sorenson

Vernon Erickson

Boy Scout Troop 47 started in about 1924. Jake Werner was one of the men who organized the troop. One account says that it was the first troop in the Village, but it obviously wasn't.


Troop 47, 1924


Still in the '20s the Village Council was informed that Scout Troop 296 needed a project so they could earn merit.

In 1932, Brookside Troop No. 102 had 18 members, lead by Scoutmaster A.D. Stevenson (Ray Merrill).

In 1933, the Northside Mothers Club “financed and sponsored a boy scout movement” with the Ladies’ Aid.  This was probably Troop 234, based at Eliot School and lead by F. Maylone.

Also in 1933, Troop No. 56, based at Fern Hill, was lead by Mr. Lundy.
 

In 1939, Clarence Furber was scoutmaster of Boy Scout Troop 256. Chuck Burnes was the assistant scoutmaster. The troop originated at Fern Hill School, and then moved to the High School on Walker Street.  The picture at right shows the troop in 1939.

A note in a January 1945 edition of the Dispatch tells us that R.N. Ruedlinger was the scoutmaster of Troop No. 266. 

In 1946, Sea Scout Troop 202 received permission
to meet in the Village Hall.                                      
                                                                                  Troop 256 @1939
In 1948, the Lenox PTA sponsored many groups,
including the Boy Scouts. 

Below is a picture of Cub Scout Den 4, Brookside School Pack 202, about 1948.  Left to right:  Jim Bechtold, Steve Feltes, Jim Benderr, Pete Rogers, Greg Walsh (in back) and Keith Simons (far right).  Mascot in front was a paper mache figure made by Gordon Simons, Sr., with a uniform sewn by Delora Simons.  The mascot was used as the Den 4 flag holder for many years.  Photo courtesy Keith Simons.




In November 1950, the American Legion could no longer sponsor Troop 202, which had 101 cubs in 12 dens. The leaders prevailed upon the Brookside PTA to sponsor the troop, which would mean coming up with $43 in registration fees.

In 1952, Troop 232 was formed and lasted until 1975. 

In 1953, an extension was built to the basement of Evangelical Free Church to accommodate a scout program.

Boy Scout Troop 252 was started on or before 1955.  Mark Toretsky's research shows that sometime between 1955 and 1960 the meeting place was changed to B'Nai Abraham Synagogue and was sponsored by the Synagogue's Men's Club.  In 1960 it had a membership of 60 boys.  In 1972 or '73 the meeting place moved to the Jewish Community Center and met on Sunday evenings.  Scoutmasters included Charlie Lazer, Al Kaufman, and Bob Elkin.  Mark writes:

Troop 252 was predominately Jewish; however, it was open to any boy who wanted to join.  We had non-Jewish boys who would start our campfires on Saturdays so we could cook our meals.  We kept kosher, which meant having to bring two patrol boxes of cooking utensils, one for dairy meals and the other for meat meals.  We always brought a Torah on camping trips and held services on Shabbat (Saturday) mornings.  Many times boys and leaders from other troops (if we were on a camporee) would stop by our campsite and observe our services.

 

The troop's equipment was stored in a room in the basement of the JCC.  We had to carry the equipment up a flight of steel stairs that was at an angle of 80 to 85 degrees to the floor.  This made it a little challenging when we had to carry the patrol boxes up or down from the troop room.  Troop 252 sadly and unfortunately disbanded during the summer of 1983.

In April 1956, Cub Pack 383 was chartered, sponsored by the Ethel Baston PTA.

In 1958-59, there were 41 boys in 6 dens, plus 13 boys in 2 Webelos dens. That year the Viking Council expanded its emergency services, including removing snow from fire hydrants and practicing fire safety and prevention.

On December 31, 1964, Cub Pack 385 was chartered, sponsored by the Cedar Manor PTA.

In 1971, the Union Congregational Church sponsored Troop 296.

Scout Troop 370 was sponsored by the St. Louis Park Optimist Club.  Click here for a listing of members of this troop, which existed from 1972 until the late 1980. 

LIST OF BOY SCOUT TROOPS

In the early 1960s, the Park directories had a list of Boy Scout (but not Girl Scout) troops, listed here in numerical order with their sponsors:

Troop 202:  St. Louis Park Optimists Club
Pack and Troop 232:  Prince of Peace Lutheran Church
Troop and Post 252:  Bnai' Abraham Men's Club
Pack 256:  Fern Hill PTA
Pack and Troop 274:  St. Luke's Lutheran Church Men's Club
Pack 278:  Oak Hill Park Knoll PTA
Troop 279:  Christ Memorial Lutheran Men's Club
Pack and Troop 282:  Lenox PTA
Pack 287:  Peace Presbyterian Church Men's Council
Troop and Post 296:  Union Congregational Church
Pack and Troop 307:  Aldersgate Methodist Church
Pack and Troop 341:  Holy Family Catholic Church Men's Club
Troop 343:  Eliot PTA
Pack and Troop 345:  Evangelical Free Church
Pack 346:  Eliot PTA
Pack, Troop, and Post 369:  Westwood Lutheran Church Men's Club
Pack 379:  Aquila PTA
Troop 379:  St. Louis Park Lions Club
Pack 383:  Ethel Baston PTA
Pack 385:  Cedar Manor PTA

Post 501:  Benilde High School

 

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This information comes from a variety of sources: newspapers, books, yearbooks, phone directories, interviews, etc. Given the varied sources, we cannot guarantee that all of this information is correct, and welcome any additions and corrections. Please contact us with your contributions and comments.