A Farewell to Boy Scout Troop 48

Nine of the 27 Eagle Scouts from Troop 48. (Standing, left to right): Patrick Redding, Ben Tuck, Barry Buckner Jr., Drew Alley and Ethan Beville. (Seated, left to right): Brayden Boyd, Lucas Goad, Cody Slaughter, Braden Woodyard.

 

By Steve Redding

I have been blessed to have been the Scoutmaster for Troop 48 for the past 30 years. Our Troop was not eligible to re-charter this year due to having only 2 scouts, which does not meet the minimum required. We did have a. farewell dinner on May 2nd with over 50 former scouters and nine Eagle Scouts in attendance. We had a great meal catered by Donna Surber, a lot of reminiscing, fun and fellowship.

We honored our 27 Eagle Scouts from the past 30 years. Our first in 1999 and the last in 2026. To become an Eagle requires commitment, participation, and perseverance to complete 350 requirements, 21 merit badges (12 of which are required), an Eagle project, and hold troop leadership positions.

The following names are our Eagles in chronological order: Jimmy Talbert Jr., Jeffrey East II, Patrick Redding, Ben Tuck, Will Clark, Chris White, Lelan East, Cody Slaughter, Dakota Ward, Pierce Rigney, Ethan Beville, Jonathan Holcomb, Michael Bruce, Lucas Goad, Bradley Rupe, Joseph Stacey, Jared David, Michael Adams, Kris Frazier, Evan Clark, Justyn Quesenberry, Joseph Ainsworth, Barry Buckner Jr., Josh King, Braden Woodyard, Brayden Boyd and Drew Alley. When I first started in the Troop, only four scouts out of 100 earned the Eagle rank. Today that number is at 7.

We paid homage to seven of our leaders and two of our Eagles that are no longer with us. The leaders were Dean Hufford, James Talbert Sr., David East, David Pittsenbarger, Calvin Smith, Bill Crisp and Mike Holcomb. Our two Eagles were Jimmy Talbert Jr., and Jared David. As a scout leader the scouts become like our own children, and we should never have to bury our children.

We were a very active troop and always had fun and we ate really well.

We camped one week at our scout reservation almost every year. Mostly at Powhatan and a few times at Ottarri. We camped at Camp Roland near the West Virginia border many years until that camp was closed. This camp was much cheaper than our scout reservation because we provided and cooked all the meals as a troop, and our leaders taught some of the merit badges. We camped at the Baptist camp on Claytor Lake on a regular basis. We made several camping trips to Cherokee, N.C. where the scouts would tube down the river, and is the case with scouts the water is never too cold.

We went to Damascus 13 years straight, on Trail Days in May, to camp the weekend and ride bikes on the Creeper Trail. This was a fundraiser Fun Ride sponsored by Troop 117 of the Baptist Church in Damascus. After that troop closed we really missed that trip. All family members were invited and we had a huge turnout each year. We would camp on the south fork of Holston Lake on private property and the next day (Saturday) we would take the shuttle to the top of White Top mountain and bike down the mountain about 20 miles to our campsite. On Sunday some of us would bike to Abingdon and back. It was a fun ride and weekend. On one trip Pierce Rigney was with us and on the way down the mountain he asked, “Do you feel the burn,” and I asked “what burn,” since we were going down the mountain. I noticed he was pedaling hard all the way, so we stopped and found out his rear tire was tight up against the rear frame and the frame was too hot to touch from the friction. I adjusted the rear axle and from then on Pierce also enjoyed a fun ride, with no burn!

Troop 48 competed in the New River Challenge relay race in 2001with a team in the 14-18-year-old age group. It consisted of 10 miles biking down the New River Trail (Patrick Redding), running 2 miles to the new river (Zack Terwilliger), canoeing six miles across and down the New River (Ben Tuck and Will Frye), and then running one mile and shooting a .22 for accuracy (Will Clark) for the final leg. Troop 48 WON first place. A very proud moment for our troop.

We did flag ceremonies for the Wounded Warriors Fishing Tournament at Claytor Lake, and the July 4th celebrations at the theater, we attended Va. Tech MB College almost every year, and numerous other activities and fundraisers and always had great participation.

Our charter organization, the First Christian Church of Pulaski, provided thirty years of financial support, an ideal place for us to have our meetings, and more than ample space for us to store all our gear.

We were blessed in having many registered scouts and other adults that supported the Troop 48 scouting program by doing their jobs so well that it made my job as scoutmaster easy. Everyone joined in on campouts and other trips and outings, in teaching merit badges and rank advancement, in driving scouts to functions, taking care of the finances, and always being there.

In closing, David East talked me into becoming the scoutmaster of Troop 48 thirty years ago and he told me it would be the best experience that I will ever have, and he was right. Scouting for me was a true blessing. We are so blessed to be in this area with so many natural wonders for outdoor activities. Another blessing, was to watch and to help teach and train11-year-old boys grow into capable, mature, young men. That’s what scouting is all about. But the best blessing of all is the people I’ve met and friends I’ve made along the way.

I think back on the fact that had I not been talked into doing this service, I would have never met and gotten to know all the scouts, scouters, the parents and families. All of you are a true blessing to me, and thank you all for being a part of this adventure.

You might wonder what has changed in the past 30 years to affect scouting. My answer would be cell phones, social media and video games. Before the advent of these three things there were multiple Boy Scout troops and Cub Scout packs throughout our county, now there is only one of each. Cell phones eliminate face-to-face communication, social media has algorithms designed to make them addictive to our youth and it has, and video games also compete for time to be in the real world. Is it any wonder that our children are less physically active, not conducive to outdoor activities, more depressed and with a higher rate of suicide today than 30 years ago? If you want to protect your child and prepare them for the future you should look seriously into Scouting!