{"id":1984,"date":"2017-05-12T08:19:57","date_gmt":"2017-05-12T13:19:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/?p=1984"},"modified":"2017-05-12T08:23:34","modified_gmt":"2017-05-12T13:23:34","slug":"troop-201-turns-100","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/troop-201-turns-100\/","title":{"rendered":"Troop 201 Turns 100"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\"\"<\/a>We gathered on the grounds of the venerable Boy Scout cabin of Troop 201, at Teague Park in Longview on a gorgeous cool Saturday in early May. Several hundred former Scouts and supporters milled about, preparing to celebrate the troop\u2019s centennial and open a time capsule buried 50 years ago.<\/p>\n

As we stood in line to fill up on Bodacious Barbecue and the trimmings, vaguely familiar faces walked by, most wearing name tags. These were men with whom I went camping, on hikes, and spent weeks at Camp Pirtle, run back then by my grandfather. He was field director for the East Texas Area Council. Practically the first thing my grandfather did after we rolled into Longview in June 1968 from Allenstown, N.H. was enlist me in Troop 201. My brother Scott followed a year later, and little brother Gregg \u2014 nine years younger than me \u2014 joined when he turned 11.<\/p>\n

Only Gregg achieved becoming an Eagle Scout, continuing the Borders tradition begun by our dad. Gregg\u2019s son, Matt, is the third-generation Eagle Scout in our family. It would not surprise me if his son, Peter, now six months old, continues the streak. I hope I\u2019m around to attend his Eagle ceremony.<\/p>\n

I made it to the rank of Life, the level below Eagle. My interest waned when I got a car and a part-time job at the newspaper. A classmate and I were talking the other day. He stopped at Life as well. We both regret not earning our Eagle badges.
\nThank goodness for the nametags most of us were wearing. I haven\u2019t seen some of these guys in nearly a half-century. They sure have gotten old, unlike me. (That\u2019s a joke.)<\/p>\n

After lunch, we waited about an hour before the activities resumed, leaving plenty of time to stroll through the Troop 201 cabin, which is filled with memorabilia from a century of scouting. Hanging from the rafters were various banners of patrols \u2014 a sub-unit of the troop. Gregg pointed out the Cherokee Patrol banner, painted on leather parchment. We immediately recognized it as one of my artist dad\u2019s works, crafted in pen, ink and watercolor. His style was unmistakable.<\/p>\n

Gov. Gregg Abbott, a fellow member of the Lion Patrol with Scott and me, arrived in time to pull out the capsule\u2019s content with a piece of half-century old twine that was wrapped around the manila envelopes inside the 6-foot steel capsule. Abbott\u2019s older brother, another Gary, was also in our patrol. The anniversary program contained a copy of an ad from 1969, which contained a group photo of the troop and a list of members. Apparently I was librarian for the Lion Patrol. I have no memory of that, nor do I remember Gregg Abbott from Troop 201. I recall him being on Scott\u2019s Little League team that year, however. <\/p>\n

No doubt, the capsule\u2019s design and the order of the contents placed inside was orchestrated by V.G. Rollins, the longtime Scoutmaster and engineer. Those who were privileged to be in the troop under his leadership venerated Mr. Rollins, who died last summer. That includes my brothers and me. <\/p>\n

One can cram a lot of stuff into a capsule of that size. About halfway through emptying it, the governor was allowed to stop hauling stuff out \u2014 a News-Journal edition from 1967, a Boy Scout Handbook signed by Gov. John Connally \u2014 who attended that ceremony \u2014 plans for the flagpole base in which the capsule is buried. Abbott showed us what would be sealed in the capsule to be opened in another 50 years, including a new Scout handbook signed by him, along with other memorabilia.<\/p>\n

Troop 201\u2019s membership dwindled down to nearly zero last year, but it\u2019s back up to nearly 20 members, thanks to the efforts of Ken Raney and other members of the Troop 201 Alumni Foundation. I hope the troop continues to teach young boys the principles and skills of scouting well into this century, and that they will return in a half-century for the sesquicentennial celebration.<\/p>\n

I am likely not going to make that one, since I would be 111. But I\u2019ll be there in spirit. <\/p>\n

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