Troop 101

The Oldest Troop West of the Mississippi

History

 

In 1909, in the small suburb of Los Angles, called Pomona, one of the boys in the First Baptist Church approached Mr. J.M.Paige, the Sunday School Superintendent with a copy of the Original Boy Scout Handbook and discussed with him the possibility of the church sponsoring a troop to provide boys of the church and community with a meaningful activity.  The superintendent was so impressed with the program that he approached the Pastor, Dr. William Harper, with the idea.  It was agreed upon and the troop began meeting that same year.  However, it wasn't until the next year when Troop 1 was Nationally Chartered along with other existing troops, on February 15, 1910.

 

It is now 2009, and the First Baptist Church of Pomona is still the sponsor of Troop 101 (a change in number due to council changes).  The meeting place has been changed from a Victorian house, to the basement of the church, to the gymnasium of the church.  The Troop has been continuously meeting since before February 15, 1910.  The troop’s supplies fill a room and a trailer, instead of one closet.  Unfortunately, a lot of the troop’s historical items have been lost over the years, but we still have some, and the troop log book that covers 1913 through 1920 is something to read.  The number of boys now verses then, is about the same, always around 30.

 

The troop is very active with Troop meetings each Monday night, twelve months a year, a patrol leader’s meeting once a month, an adult committee meeting once a month, and an occasional newsletter (formerly called: The Regurgitator).  The troop has broad based activities with outings every month including campouts, camp-ins, bicycle rides, canoe trips, caving, repelling, to name a few.  The year round outdoor activities are possible because Southern California is blessed with great weather, the ocean, the mountains, and the desert—all within a few hours drive.

 

During the last couple of years, the troop has enjoyed many campouts, in the local mountains, the Eastern Sierras, the ocean and the desert.  The summers have been rounded off with a week at Camp Emerald Bay Boy Scout Camp on Catalina Island, off the coast of Southern California.