My scouting experiences are some of the best things that ever happened to me.  I began my Scouting in Simi Valley, California in February, 1964.  I was just a few months shy of my 14th birthday when I joined Troop 602.  I had wanted to be a Scout for some time, but it took longer than I thought to convince my parents to let me join Troop 602.  Their reluctance was due to the way they always supported the activities of their children.  My dad probably couldn't figure out how to make the time to be there whenever we needed him.  (He was pretty much carrying the local Little League at that time.)

Anyway, since my friends had nearly a 3 year head start, I had some catching up to do.  So I took off at full speed, making my first 3 ranks in the minimum time allowed.  That summer, I attended my first Scout Summer Camp as a First Class Scout at Camp Whitsett, above Kernville, California.  I met people there that I still remember.  Then I slowed down some, taking 4 months to make Star rank.  Not long after that, Troop 602 lost its chartering organization and we re-organized into Troop 623, sponsored by the Rotary Club.  This was probably the best thing that could have happened to the Troop.  The Rotary Club's support allowed the troop to grow from 25 or so scouts to almost 70, with 7 active Eagles, when I left scouting.

At the Ventura County Council Spring Camporee in 1965, I was tapped out for Order of the Arrow with Topa Topa Lodge #291 and attended my Ordeal a few weeks later at Camp Three Falls.  I made Life in the late spring of 1965. In the summer of '65 I went to Summer Camp at Camp Three Falls near Gorman, CA and went on my first 50-miler in Kings Canyon Nat'l Park. We did the Rae Lakes loop in 6 days with a layover at Round Lake, the first of the Rae Lakes.  I learned an important lesson about downhill backpacking on that trip.  We walked about 15 miles from 9500 to 6000 feet to get out on the last day and my knees suffered for at least a week after that.  The bad part was that "Hell Week" for High School football started 3 days after we got back.

Along in here, I made Life and was elected SPL of our troop.  The Rotary Club told us (did I mention how great they were to us?) that they would foot the bill to send two boys every summer to Philmont.  I managed to get one of the slots through Troop competition for the summer of 1966.  Our two Crews travelled to Philmont on a train.  This trip was a great adventure for me and Philmont left its mark on me (I saw the Arrowhead!).  That summer was a busy one for me.  I did a 50-miler at Philmont in July, two weeks at Three Falls (one in Troop Summer Camp and one on Staff for a Council JLT training session), made my Eagle, and went on our Troop 50-miler in Kings Canyon.

I continued with Troop 623 as a JASM and continued earning merit badges, getting a Bronze Palm for my Eagle early in 1967.  Announcements were made that Ventura County Council had 5 slots for the upcoming World Jamboree in August of 1967.  We approached the Rotary Club to see if they would sponsor one of us if we won one of the slots that the council offered.  They said "Yes!" ( boy they were a great outfit).  Well, five of us entered the Council competition to try for a slot.  Out of the five available slots for the entire Council, three of them went to our troop! We also won the alternate spot and the other Scout ended going on Youth Staff!  Well, that was the first time I saw those Rotary guys hesitate for a second.  Then they straightened their shoulders and started helping us raise the money we needed.  Their scout budget demands for the year had just been increased about $3500, but they pulled it off.  During our shakedown camps, I was selected as one of the Patrol Leaders of Troop 28 from Region 12.  That was one of the grandest experiences of my life, in or out of scouting.

After returning from the Jamboree, I remained active for another six months or so as a JASM for Troop 623.  Preparation for graduation from High School and getting ready for college began to take up most of my time, causing me to leave Scouting.  This hiatus lasted for almost 25 years.

When my son, Ben, became old enough for Scouts, we signed up in one of the two local troops in our community.  This troop, Troop 97 of Mariposa, California, was a LDS chartered troop.  We chose this troop, although not members of the LDS Church, due to contacts we had within the troop.  I became an Assistant Scoutmaster while Ben advanced through the ranks and troop offices.  Due to problems with LDS policy regarding the role of the boys when they reach the age of 14, (I wanted him to remain in the Scouting branch of BSA), we transferred to the other Troop in the area, Troop 94, chartered by the United Methodist Church.  This is where we are now; I am an ASM and Ben is a Life Scout and has served numerous terms in various leadership positions in the troop.  He served as the Senior Patrol Leader of one of the three Yosemite Area Council Troops, Troop 620 (the famous Blue Troop), at the 1997 National Jamboree at Fort A. P. Hill in Virginia in 1997.  He is very active in the Order of the Arrow. He was the Last Lodge Chief of Yo-Se-Mite Lodge 278, and is currently the Vice-Chief of Toloma Lodge 64, and is Serving as a Vice-Chief on the Section level.  He also plays the part of Allowat Sakima in the Brotherhood ceremonies for our Lodge.  This ceremony team has won back-to-back competitions at our W3B Section Conclaves. He has been to Philmont twice (once on OA Trail Crew), The National OA Conference, National Leadership Seminar, and is currently finishing up his Eagle.

Becoming active again in Scouting as an adult has given me an entirely new and different outlook on Scouting.  The troop I now belong to with my son is an exemplary unit.  Under the guidance of Paul Lockwood, our Scoutmaster, and the other adult leaders and committee members, I have jumped back in with both feet.  For example, since the fall of 1995, I have attended Scoutmaster Fundamentals, attended the 1995,1996,1997 and 1998 Section W3B Conclaves with my son and other Lodge Brothers, been on numerous troop outings, been selected as 2nd ASM of one of the three Council troops attending the 1997 National Jamboree (I served in this capacity for almost a year and a half until circumstance forced me to step down), become the Wawona Chapter adviser of Yo-Se-Mite Lodge and now the new Toloma Lodge 64, and returned to Philmont as an advisor on our Troop's trek (almost 30 years to the day since my Trek as a youth).  In the Fall of 1996, I completed the practical part of Wood Badge Training as a member of the Buffalos amd completed my ticket and received my beads in the fall of 1998.  I have become involved with training and have been on staff of our last two Scoutmastership Fundamentals courses, serving as SPL on the last one.  I am looking forward to furthering my Scouting experiences, giving back to the boys some of the great experiences I had as a Scout.