Troop 140 gears for celebration

By Doug Stohlberg

Current Scoutmaster Charles Huntley has been involved in scouting for 34 years and has been Scoutmaster for three years and said scouting today is very similar to what it was when scouting began 91 years ago.

Hudson Troop 140 observes 70 years of existence with a banquet Saturday night at Bethel Lutheran Church.

"Scouting requirements and activities are very similar to what they were years ago," Huntley said. "Kids today have changed. They are so much better educated and travelled than they were even 15 or 20 years ago. They all know computer skills."

He said the best thing about scouting is that it teaches values.

"It is the same as it always has been," Huntley said. The values are expressed in the Scout Oath and Law. The same values apply today as they did when our troop started 70 years ago.

The founder of the International Scouting Program was Lord Baden-Powell of Gilwell. He said scouting "is a game with a purpose."

Huntley, an Eagle Scout himself, said the same is true today.

"When people ask me 'what is scouting,' I tell them that scouting today is fun, values and growth," Huntley said. "Fun is the game, values is the purpose and growth is the process. Scouting teaches life skills."

Huntley is proud of the fact that Troop 140 is what he calls "a boy-run troop."

"The boys do the planning and carry out the program," Huntley said. "They learn leadership. Our goal is to build leaders and good citizens for the future."

Obviously the troop has been successful with 74 Eagles in the fold and thousands of others participating in the programs over the past 70 years.

When talking of Scout leadership in Troop 140, the name Al Weitkamp stands out.

Weitkamp is the Scoutmaster with the most experience, having held the post for 20 years from 1945 to 1964. Weitkamp, 92, has earned nearly every scout honor available to adult leaders. The retired school teachers has remained active in scouting,even to this day.