Author: troopboss

  • 1964 The Tent Peg

    If you’re a current scout in Troop 335, you’re familiar with the Friday Flyer, our weekly email bulletin that outlines upcoming campouts and troop activities. Our current Scoutmaster, Mr. Shaffer, started the Friday Flyer as a way to keep scouts and families up to date and to communicate important information to the troop.

    But how did the troop do this before the Internet was invented?

    In 1964, scouts in Troop 35 (which is now Troop 335) began publishing a periodical newsletter called The Tent Peg that included articles written by scouts with trip reports, upcoming campouts and hikes, campfire songs, jokes, interviews, recognition of advancement, troop finances, and more.

    Issues were typically written on typewriters, mimeographed, and sent to families through the U.S. Mail.

    Enjoy this first issue of The Tent Peg and read about what our troop was doing 60 years ago!

    Do you know any of the scouts in these issues of The Tent Peg or can you tell us more about the history of our troop? Please contact us and help us connect before our troop centennial on May 26!

  • Was Troop 335 Exposed to Radiation in 1986?

    Today’s moment in troop history comes from a September 1986 visit and campout at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and near Dayton, Ohio. The base has a dedicated scout campground where our troop made camp and cooked their meals.

    Wright-Patterson includes the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, which is the world’s largest and oldest military aviation museum. The boys explored the history and technology of the Air Force including an A-10 Warthog. Excursions included a 12-mile hike on the Wright Memorial Trail and a visit to the site of the original Wright Brothers Hangar, which was their first flying field beginning in 1904.

    You can imagine our surprise when the troop was contacted nearly a year later by government officials to report that there had been a radioactive spill of americum-241 at the base around the same time of their campout!

    With a half-life of 432 years, americum-241 is a radioactive material that can be found in nuclear waste and has some industrial purposes in smoke detectors and other manufacturing processes. Workers who decontaminated the spill washed off using a water spigot near the campground.

    Testing at the camp indicated there was no contamination, but the Air Force arranged for scouts and scouters to be tested by private laboratories. Scoutmaster Robert Gray wasn’t very concerned, saying that “the tests are merely a precaution”.

    Photos and memories of the campout were glowing, even if our scouts were not!

    Do you know any of these scouts or can you tell us more about this expedition? Please contact us and help us connect before our troop centennial on May 26!

  • 1990 Isle Royale Backpacking

    For our first moment in troop history, we’re going back to the last week of June in 1990 for the troop’s backpacking trek in Isle Royale National Park in Lake Superior.

    Isle Royale is the least-visited national park in the United States because it requires a ferry or seaplane to visit, and it is mostly undeveloped wilderness. The crew from Troop 335 took the ferry to the island and backpacked out of Rock Harbor. After seeing “moose muffins” along the trail for days, they finally spied a moose swimming in an inland lake. At some point they must have lost some of their fishing gear (or maybe it was a joke) as they used an inflated ziploc bag for a bobber. Nonetheless, fish was on the menu at least one night along the trail.

    The expedition was led by Martin Burg and David Beck with scouts including Dan Griffin, Seth Heiss, Dave Koeller, Matt McConnell, Chike Okeafor, Eric Summerfield, and Davis Tyner.

    This was a fun memory to revisit, especially as our troop is planning another expedition to Isle Royale this coming July!

    Do you know any of these scouts or can you tell us more about this expedition? Please contact us and help us connect before our troop centennial on May 26!

  • Troop 335 Centennial Celebration

    Connect with us and join in our celebration of 100 years of scouting in West Lafayette! On May 26 at 2:00 pm, Troop 335 will celebrate its centennial with its traditional Memorial Day Court of Honor and shared memories with current and past scouts and their families.

    WE NEED YOUR HELP!

    Please connect with us and help us to identify and reach out to everyone who has participated in our troop in the last century. We also welcome sharing any old photos, uniforms, patches, programs, maps, or other memorabilia from your time as a scout or scouter.

    Our troop historians will be periodically sharing your memories and moments from Troop 335’s history on this blog as well as on Instagram at @scoutsbsatroop335 and our Facebook event for our 100th anniversary.

    SAVE THE DATE

    What: Troop 335 Court of Honor and Centennial Celebration
    When: May 26, 2025 at 2:00pm
    Where: Franklin L. Cary Camp, 6286 State Road 26 E, Lafayette, IN
    How:Connect with us / RSVP now using this form!

    To contact the troop about our centennial, please email 100troop335@gmail.com.

    Stay tuned as we share memories and moments from troop history as we celebrate the centennial of Troop 335 and 100 years of scouting in West Lafayette, Indiana!

    Press release – April 16, 2025

    Navigate future posts in the links below as we add weekly moments from troop history: