Scouts honor at 100

The Boy Scouts of America is celebrating 100 years of scouting and one Back Mountain family has logged in about 50 years of service to the organization.

The Huntington family of Dallas numbers five and their dedication to scouting is impressive.

Richard Huntington is cubmaster for Pack 232 and scoutmaster for Troop 146 in Jackson Township and his wife, Amy, is troop committee chair for the troop. Their children are also heavily involved in scouting: Anthony, 12, is a first class scout; Christopher, 10, and Michael, 9, are Webelos; and Marigrace, 6, is a Daisy Scout.

The 100th anniversary will be celebrated locally on March 4 at a dinner at Genetti Hotel and Convention Center in Wilkes-Barre. Former Green Bay Packer and Hall of Famer Willie Davis will be the featured speaker.

Tom Slavicek, scout executive for Northeastern Pennsylvania Council Boy Scouts of America said the scouting program has been teaching timeless values of character, leadership, and responsibility to young people.

“The virtues and ethics found within the Scout Oath and Law have withstood the test of time and are considered to be the foundation for living among millions of Scouting alumni, and for over 7,300 current youth and adult members here in the northeastern area of Pennsylvania,” he said.

Slavicek said the local council’s history goes back to 1911 when the first troops were formed in the Honesdale, Scranton and Wilkes-Barre areas. Currently there are more than 175 Cub Scout Packs, Boy Scout Troops and Venture Crews, which involve high school-aged boys and girls) in the region.

Richard Huntington also holds the rank of Eagle Scout – earning the honor in 1986.

“Our family enjoys scouting as one of the brightest organizational offerings for any and all young Americans to join,” he said. “It’s an opportunity to learn about and to experience the splendor and resources of the outdoors, to forge ethical behaviors and values in the most formative years of life, and to learn leadership, camping, and survival skills that will last a lifetime.”

Huntington said his family looks forward to camping in the outdoors, whether it’s on platform tents, in cabins, or in small lightweight backpacking tents, and they all go along for the family bond it creates.

“Learning to cook over a fire, to build structures out of natural materials, to provide first aid to the injured, to get involved in local clean-up events, collecting food or coats for the less fortunate are all part of today’s scouting program,” Huntington said. “The Northeast Pennsylvania scouting movement is awake and active, and it’s creating some great times and useful skills for the future leaders of America.”

Amy Huntington also serves as a Den Leader for Pack 232. She is a former Brownie/Girl Scout, Silver Leader Award recipient in 1985.

“It seems there isn’t a thing we haven’t done in the six or seven years Richie and I have been leaders in scouting,” she said. “Scouting offers young boys the opportunity to learn and explore so much of our community, of our world.”

She said the scouts have been to local fire, police stations, Luzerne County Courthouse, learned about the weather in WNEP’s Backyard with Tom Clark, seen the newsprint presses and even taken home leftover paper rolls (creating banners for many different events!) from the Times Leader. They also saw how stained glass is made at Baut Studios in Swoyersville, visited the chemistry labs at Misericordia University and saw how a priest lives at the Oblates of St. Joseph.

“What I love most about scouting is experiencing the joy the boys have in all of these doings,” she said. “We are fostering a joy of learning, of trying something new, of wondering, of imagining the possibilities.”

She said the goals of scouting are to build courage, build compassion, and build character.

“I am so happy to see the once-shy little 6-year-olds turn 12-13 now, and every one of them is becoming a fine young man that any parent would be proud of,” she said.

Christopher Huntington, 10, said his favorite part of scouting is being at campfires with his friends.

“We tell stories around the campfire and they get so silly and turn into songs,” he said.

“We get to float down the river, bumping over the rocks, then drag the tube back up for the next person to use,” he said.

Marigrace Huntington, 6, made a leather bracelet with letters to make her name. She said she loves swimming even when it’s freezing cold.

“No boy ever joined scouting because he wanted his character shaped,” Slavicek said. “Instead, he joins because of the fun and adventure that scouting offers, and we have plenty of that around here. Our two camps, Camp Acahela near Blakeslee, and the Goose Pond Scout Reservation near Hamlin, offer excellent summer programming.”

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A local family has passed the tradition of scouting through the generations.

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