The History of the Waterville Boy Scout Troop

List of Waterville Eagle Scouts

1910 – 1958

By Sydney Erickson and Fredrick J. Heath (source unknown at this time)

Boy Scouts of America was organized on Feb. 8, 1910. Within a year there was a scout unit in Waterville. The first reference to Boy Scouts in the “Waterville Times” appeared Feb. 3, 1911, under the “Matters About Town” column.

The first meeting place was in the Berrill Block.

Charles W. McLean recalls that he was Scoutmaster in 1912 and was assisted by a scout named Emmett St. Louis. There were 43 boys in the troop, which met in a room provided by Joseph O’Connor in the building where The Huddle restaurant now stands. The troop was deactivated during World War 1.

The next mention of scouting appeared in 1924 when William McElhinney was Scoutmaster.

In 1929, the Rev. David Bunville, a Methodist minister, attempted to form a scout troop but encountered difficulty in becoming organized under the Utica Council. He enlisted the aid of Minford Peterson, a Waterville High School faculty member, and they organized the Pioneers.

The Pioneers specialized in Indian customs, made Indian costumes, learned Indian dances and did Indian bead work. The Exchange Club helped the Pioneers get organized.

After three years, the organizational problems were resolved, the Pioneers disbanded and a scout troop was formed under the sponsorship of the American Legion.

By 1937 Scoutmaster Theodore H. Townsend had a very active troop of 52 boys. One year, the troop had the most advancement in the district.

Townsend’s troops produced two Eagle Scouts: Donald Terry, now a professional scouter in Rochester; and Ted Townsend Jr., a YMCA secretary in Philadelphia. The younger Townsend once saved a life and attributed his ability to do so to his scout training.

In the late 1940’s Philip Suters was Scoutmaster with John F. Zweifel as Assistant Scoutmaster and institutional representative. Some years later Zweifel was honored by the Waterville Rotary Club for his scout work. Dr. John Upcraft and Charles G. Brainard Jr. were committee members.

From 1950 to 1957 meetings were held at the American Legion rooms with an average of 45 boys.

Around 1957 or 1958 the scouts moved to the Waterville Library basement with 29 boys and David Wilbur as scoutmaster. Rotary Club became sponsor.

From 1959 to the present, there have been many able Scoutmasters and an average of 35 to 45 boys.

1959 – 1997

By Joe Falk (with contributions from Andy Sabol and Tom Olin)

Since 1958, the home of Waterville Boy Scouting has been the basement of the Waterville Public Library on Main Street in Waterville. It was originally dug out and made ready by the Waterville Rotary Club, exclusively for the use of the Boy Scouts.

In 1964, Jack Prior was Scoutmaster with Bruce Payne as Assistant Scoutmaster. That year, teacher Andy Sabol joined as another ASM. Andy took over as SM from about 1966 to 1968. Another teacher, Dave Wilson, served as ASM for a short time.

Troop 23 under Scoutmaster Larry Gray, prior to 1971, had Karl Gerhard as an Eagle Scout.

In 1971, Troop 108 was formed by Paul Bridge, Gordon Orendorf, John Melvin, Gene (Fish) Langone and Scoutmaster Don Hammond. During Hammond’s tenure as Scoutmaster, Gene Langone, Robert Hammond, Kevin Belfield, Dean Alcott and Steve Fanning achieved the rank of Eagle Scout.

Joseph W. Falk took over troop 108 from Don Hammond in 1977. The Cherry Valley Oil Company, Dave Hazelden, was the troop’s sponsor from 1971 until 1986. Smith Trieber & Wittig, Don Hammond, continued as sponsor until 1987.

During his time as Scoutmaster, scouts inducted into the Eagle rank were Dan Carroll, Scott Bullock, Mike Falk, Dave Desany, and Brian Falk. More than 200 boys took part in the Troop’s programming.

Summer Camp experiences include the Ute site at Cedarlands Scout Reservation in Long Lake and later at Camp Kingsley in Ava, NY. Some participated in a three-council trip to Ft. A. P. Hill in Bowling Green Virginia to attend the National Jamboree in 1981 (with a Valley Forge side trip). The area BSA Council was then the Upper Mohawk Council. Later in 1981 the Iroquois Council in Rome went bankrupt and was added to the local council, which was renamed the Land of the Oneidas Council. In subsequent years, Scoutmaster Falk and Wes Storm, of Troop 79 in Marcy, made two trips to the National Boy Scout Ranch in Cimmaron, New Mexico. Some scouts from Troop 108 did take part in both trips. Other campouts included Frontiertown, West Point, Harry’s Point out of McKeever (Dave Hazelden will never forget that one), and the Brookfield hills. Troop 108 also constructed a camp; the site, courtesy of Jack Gallagher of Sangerfield, was somewhere off Gorton Lake and Drury Roads. Many winter weekend campouts found the Troop at Camp Ballou in Frankfort Center; at Camp Kingsley; the American Legion outbuildings on route 20; the Waterville Fish & Game Club; and Cedarlands. Troop 108’s “Atomic Reactor Game” was one of the highlights at a scout show held at the Armory in East Utica. Several swim events found the boys in competitive events at Mohawk Valley Community College, Colgate Pool and the K of C in Utica. The scouts also took part in many community projects, from decorating the tree in the park for Christmas to caring for the trees along Main Street and cleaning up the creek behind the Food King Market. Many hours were also spent working on Eagle projects. Scoutmaster Falk was honored by the Waterville Rotary and received the Award of Merit and the Bronze Pelican Award from the Land of the Oneidas Council.

Starting in 1987, the C.J. Fulmer Post #92 American Legion, with Don Hammond as their Institutional Representative, has sponsored Troop 108. Scoutmasters have included Robert Shelkey, Dave & Donna Wicks and Becky Guthrie. In 1994, Eagle Scout Bill Getman took over as Scoutmaster of Troop 108. His scouts got together twice a month and in February 1995 participated in the Klondike Derby at Camp Kingsley in Ava, NY.

Louis Langone followed Bill Getman as Scoutmaster, but the troop disbanded around 1996 or 1997.

1998 – Present (2005)

By Mark Perrin (with contributions from Bud Dorr and Tom Olin)

During the summer of 1997, Mark Perrin was serving as camp director of Camp Kingsley in Ava, NY. It was at that time that he met Bud Dorr, a Webelo leader and Cubmaster in Waterville Pack 23. Bud had taken a group of three scouts to Webelo camp. Mark's son John had been in Pack 23 the year before, but his den had folded up when his leader could no longer serve. At a campfire one evening, Mark and Bud were discussing the fact that that would probably be Mark's last year as camp director, and that he was looking to involve himself with the scouting program at a local level.

That fall, John joined Bud's den as a second-year Webelo. As the year progressed, it became obvious that the scouting career for their sons would soon come to an end if something was not done. Troop 108 had been inactive for about a year due to a lack of a leader. At first, Bud talked about being both Cubmaster and Scoutmaster, but he still had another son that was involved in the Pack. At that time, the Land of the Oneidas Council discouraged anyone from being both a Cubmaster and Scoutmaster simultaneously.

In the spring of 1998, a meeting was held with: Don Hammond, of American Legion Post 92 in Waterville, the chartered organization for Troop 108; Chris Shanne, the District Executive; Bud; and Mark. Soon after, it became official: Troop 108 was reborn with Mark serving as Scoutmaster. Bud served as Advancement Chairman and helped out as an additional leader as well. They started with scouts Chris Manion, Justin Paré, Carl Gerhardt, Phil Olin, John Schultz, and Justin Gates. Soon after, Mark's and Bud's own boys graduated into the Troop after receiving the Arrow of Light award with the Cub Scouts. That first summer, they attended Camp Kingsley's summer camp program, and the Troop took off after that. Several parents stepped up and were willing to help out. Jim Weeks and Bob Williams came aboard as Assistant Scoutmasters a year later when their own boys became members of the Troop. A great deal of equipment was purchased with the help from grants obtained from the Waterville CARES organization and the Barton fund. Mark Mowrey, who was serving as committee chairman, played a huge role in writing the grants that led to equipping the troop. Mark Perrin continued to serve as Scoutmaster until August of 2001 when Mark Mowrey took over the Troop. Mark Mowrey served as Scoutmaster until August of 2005, when Bud Dorr assumed the role. As of the end of 2005, the re-established Troop 108 has produced eight Eagle Scouts: Matt Weeks, Andy Dorr, Phil Olin, John Perrin, Justin Hicks, Alex Snow, Alex Mowrey and Bobby Williams. Bill Strohmeyer took over the role Scoutmaster in January of 2006. In April 2008 twelve boys and three adults had the experience of a lifetime attending Seabase High Adventure in Key West, Florida. The Order of the Arrow lodge was reformed, and ten boys were elected into the Order. Mark Perrin took over from Tom Olin the role of Committee Chair, leaving Tom time to rework the troop website.