The Franklin Reporter & Advocate Eight Villages, One Community
The past met the future May 21 at Colonial Park, when Boy Scout Troop 113 celebrated its 50th anniversary with a picnic and party.
More than 140 people were expected to drop in during the afternoon event, said Lisa Andreini, the troop’s committee chairwoman. The troop committee handles troop finances and day-to-day issues.
In addition to the food and games, special awards were scheduled to be given to Marvin Foster, the troop’s first committee chairman, and Pat Dillon, who was to be honored for his 13 years of service to the troop.
“We invited past scout masters, past troop committee people, past scouts,” Andreini said.
“We just wanted people from the past getting to know the current people, sharing stories, things like that,” she said.
The troop has from its onset been sponsored by Somerset Presbyterian Church on John F. Kennedy Boulevard. Hugh McCann, the current Scoutmaster, said the initial boys came from the neighborhood that sprang up around the church in the mid-1960s.
“There are close to 1,000 boys who have come through the program over the years,” he said. “That’s a lot of kids who have been influenced by the scouts. It’s a big part of Franklin Township.
Foster said he also worked with the troop’s first Cub Scout Pack, in which his two sons were involved.
“We started out with three dens, of seven boys each,” he said. “Once a month we had pack meetings. We started out at the church, but we grew and then we got permission to have the den meetings at MacAfee School. At one time we had like 80 boys.”
“I’m glad the troop is still going, and the Cub pack is still going strong,” Foster said. “That’s a good sign.”
2016 Boy Scout Troop 113 50th Anniversary Picnic
