Boy Scouting started in the Grand Rapids Area in March 1913 when 7 local leaders started the Furniture City Council.

Due to Caledonia’s location in Southern Kent County, the Troop suffered through a certain amount of re-districting of Councils and the Districts within the Council.

The Furniture City Council name was changed to the Grand Valley Council in 1950 with the merger of the Allegan/Ottawa Council out of Holland. Duplicate Troop numbers within a Council was not permitted and the Grand Valley Council already had a Troop 2 out of Grand Haven. The Troop, which had been formerly known as Troop 2, became Troop 202 as a condition of the 1950 merger. The Council became the West Michigan Shores Council in Nov 1972. It was renamed the Gerald R Ford Council in 1996.

Prior to 1964 the Troop was Assigned to the South Kent District in the Council.

Jan 1964 the Troop was assigned to the Thornapple District out of Hastings

Nov 1972 the Troop was assigned to the Thornapple/Grand District (District 3) out of GR

May 1981 the Troop was assigned to Kent District out of Council

As of 1954, the Grand Valley Council Scouts had the following camps

Camp Lion: 40 acres NE of Comstock Park Served up to four Troops. Owned since 1925

Camp Shawondossee: 225 acres 15 miles north of Muskegon on N Shore of Buck Lake near Lake Michillider. Owned by Council since 1934. Served as the summer Camp for up to 225 scouts at a time. Camp sites at Shawondossee included: Ottawa, Kickapoo, Chippewa, Iroquois, Winnebago, Delaware, and Mohawk.

Camp Ottawa: 40 acres 7 miles east of Newago on the North Shore of Pettit Lake. This location was leased from Consumers Power Served 125 Scouts. Camp sites at Ottawa included: Mohawk Valley, Bonnie Highland, Oak Grove, Thunder Mountain, and Wilderness.

Camp Kirk: 40 acres on Lake Michigan north of Port Sheldon. Served 24 scouts. Owned since 1925.

Camp Taylor: 10 acres 3 miles east of Fennville next to Allegan State Forest. Served up to 18 scouts. Owned since 1946

In 1922, Herman Hale started the first Boy Scout Troop in Caledonia and served as its first Scoutmaster. At the time Scouting started in Caledonia, some locals thought of it as a para-military unit so after existing during the 1920’s that groups disbanded. We do not know its Troop Number. Mr. Hale had been a Captain in the Army during WW1 and was later re-commissioned a Major when WW2 broke out. Major Hale, as he was called by the Scouts, lived until his death in 1973 at 300 South Street at the end of Church Street. Major Hale was also the head of a local group of hunters called "The One Eyed Jack Rod & Gun Club" which included Jack Loring, Dobber Wenger, Alex Neil and others. They liked to hunt and would take the Scouts to Camp Lion. Major Hale had three sons, all of which were in scouting.

During the Jack Loring era, the 'One Eyed Jack & Gun Club' would take the Scouts to Jack Loring’s Cabin near Kiva, Michigan on the Whitefish River for their Summer Camp experience

Scouting was revived in Caledonia in October 1936 with scouting being a School Activity and the Scoutmasters being a series of Schoolteachers. The High School Annual specifically says the Troop was given a new number when the school took it over. The 1937 annual reveals teacher Mr Potts as the Scoutmaster. Math teacher Russell Therrien served as the last Teacher/Scoutmaster from 1946 to 1948 when sponsorship transferred to the United Brethren Church in 1949.

Year Scoutmaster

1936 - 37 Mr Potts

1938 - 39 Mr Woodrow Eber

1940 Mr Burgoyne

1941 Mr Al Finkbeiner

1942*

1943 Mr Henry Harvey

1944 Mr Scott

1945 ????

1946 - 48 Mr Russell Therrien

See pages from School Annuals for members and activities.

*No 1942 photo: Student Council minutes in Oct 41 show the Student Council offered student groups the right to sell ‘paddle pops’ for them but the Scouts withdrew from it in Nov 41. In Mar 1942, the Student Council required all groups to get a ‘Charter’ from them to be a registered activity to qualify for your activities photo in the annual. The Boy Scouts though they were sponsored by the PTA applied for the Charter but they and the Varsity Club’s charter was ‘postponed’. The Student Council approved the Charter in Apr 42 with an ‘as of’ date of Sep 42 so their photo did not get included in the 1942 annual.

This Troop also was reported as Troop II in the 1947 School Annual and in the South Kent Press in 1948. It is not known if this was supposed to be ‘eleven’ or a fancy ‘two’.

Jerry Steinfort organized the Scout Troop under the United Brethren Church in 1949 where he was a member. The Brethren Church, now the Township Library Building, remained the Sponsor until 1957. Mr Jerry Steinfort was the Scoutmaster during these years and Dobber Wenger was an Assistant Scoutmaster. A review of the ‘South Kent News’ during the Steinfort era reveals:

7/21/49 Troop went to see the local minor league team, the Chicks play baseball

9/1/49 Troop held a court of Honor and Steinfort moved the meeting day from Tuesday to Monday. August campout had to be canceled due to the Polio epidemic.

8/10/50 Scouts went with Assistant Scoutmasters Hugh Kegerreis and Leatherman to Copper Harbor visiting St Ignance, Big Spring and Thquanoman Falls.

12/50 The Troop was officially Troop 202. The new Committee Chair was Bob Campbell

12/28/50 Troop went on its Polar Bear to Camp Noonday in Yankee Springs.

The three small Brethren Church parishes of Byron, Caledonia, and Bowne were all being served by the same pastor. In 1957 the three churches merged, and established and built, a single church at 92nd and Kalamazoo. Thus, a new troop sponsor was sought.

The Caledonia United Methodist Church assumed the sponsorship of Troop 202 in the spring of 1958 with Gordon Bell as Scoutmaster and Jack Loring as Committee Chairman. That summer Ken Gackler, who had just received his own Eagle Rank in 1957 from Cascade Troop 334 became the Assistant Scoutmaster of Troop 202. Beginning in 1959, Ken served as Scoutmaster until 1978. Ray Nolan appears during all this time as an Assistant Scoutmaster of Troop 202 until he moved to Seattle in the 1970’s.

On Feb 8, 1960, a large celebration dinner was held in the Masonic Hall in Caledonia to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Scouting in America. In 1960 Jack Loring became the Troop Committee Chair, a post he held continuously until 1991.

# of Eagle

Years Scoutmaster Ranks

1949 - 57 Jerry Steinfort ?

1958 Gordon Bell 0

1959 -78 Ken Gackler 10

1979 - 85 Ronald Shook 5

1986 - 90 Jim VanderWoude 5

1991 - 92 Gary Champlin 1

1993 Butch Mursch 3

1994 - Present Frederick Fleischmann 5

As early as 1939 Troop 2 had a "Alaska Patrol" of Scouts in the Village of Alaska with Mr Gibbs of Caledonia Schools specifically assigned to it. In the early 50's, a separate Troop was organized by Gilbert Rich Sr under the Baptist Church, which lasted with 10-12 boys until the early 1960's, and then, after a short lapse, it was restarted by Mr Rich again under the Alaska Parents Club.

During the early 50's, Mr Jim Corter and then Gilbert Rich served as Scoutmaster. One old scout believed Gilbert Rich Jr. and Jim Kilmer were Eagle Scouts but that must be verified.

Grover Seating and Mr Benn and Bill Friske served as Assistant Scoutmasters during the 1950’s. Ronald Keatings son, Ralph Keating who was a Scout in this Troop was killed in Vietnam in 1967. Other Scouts were Leon & Jim Wisnieskis, Marc Fleischmann, Harry Lysdale, Gibb Rich Jr, Tom Fuller, Jim & Steve Kilmer, Grover Seating, Don Postema and DeBrie.

# of Eagle

Years Scoutmaster Ranks

1950-54? Jim Corter

1950-58 Gilbert Rich 2?

1958-60 Ronald Keating

1960-61 Ken Clausen

1959-60 Clair Waite 0

1960-63 William Lysdale 0

1963-64 John Barfess 0

A group of parents in the Village of Alaska started Troop 289 in Nov 1967 and began meeting at Kettle Lake Elementary School on Wednesdays. One Scout that began with Troop 289 became an Eagle Scout with Troop 202, Douglas Benn. Several boys transferred from this troop to troop 202 in Caledonia. This was largely due to difficulty advancing the scouts. This troop was dropped in Mar 72 and again in Mar 74 because of late renewals but reactived both times. The third time in 1978 it did not resume.

# of Eagle

Years Scoutmaster Ranks

No Troop 1964 - 1966

1967-71 Robert VanHeynengan

1972-73 Lawrence Colborn

1974-76 Erwin Hermann

1977-78 Dick Snyder

Another Scout Troop was started in 1975 and existed for three years. Troop 310 was sponsored by the Holy Family Catholic Church at the request of Ken Stanek, whose boys had been in Troop 202. Mr Dale Gipe (1975 -76) and Gary D Mitchell (1977-78) served as Scoutmasters. Rumor has it that it began over an alleged offense when Mr Stanek's son got Soap as a Christmas gift at the December 70 party. Gary Mitchell and his 3 sons were the only blacks in the Township.

Between Nov 1949 and 1954, the Dutton Legion sponsored Troop 220. It met in the Fire Barn and had about 20 scouts. Norris Field was their first Scoutmaster in 1949. Mr Field was the second Scoutmaster from 1950 – 51.

Exploring was adopted by the National Boy Scout Council in 1947 for ages 15-21. In 1949, this age range was lowered to 14-21. In 1948, Exploring took in the Separate Air Scout activities. The concept was that by age 14, the local Boy Scout Troop would transfer its older boys into an Explorer Post. The Explorer Post served to teach the older boys about various career fields. Until 1960, Scouts were allowed to obtain their Eagle Rank up to age 21 if they were associated with an Explorer Post. The age to obtain the Eagle rank was dropped to age 18 in 1960 where it remains.

Between 1947 and 1960 most Boy Scouts could effectively only advance to 1st Class in a scout troop. After becoming 1st Class, they had to become ‘Explorer Scouts’ for their Star, Life, and Eagle Ranks. Advancement suffered accordingly.

Complicating this locally was the Christian Reformed Church Synod adopted in 1952 a resolution of opposition to Scouting for its ‘Unionistic Tendencies." About this time both the Christian Reformed and the Baptist Churches started their own youth program for boys (Cadets and ???) based on the Scouting model.

Gibb Rich started the first Explorer Post in Caledonia Township. Post 2289 was organized in the early 1950’s for the scouts associated with Troop 289 in Alaska.

School Principle Millard Engle began the Caledonia Explorer Post, Post 2202 in Oct 1961 for the older boys age 14 with the following Explorer Advisors

1961 - 63 Keith Ward

1964 Frederick Tape

1965- Apr 68 Jerry Steinfort

Apr 68 - Apr 70 Don Babcock

Apr 70 - Apr 71 Leonard Cox

Wayne Rogers who began his scouting career with Troop 202 was the only Eagle Scout from this Explorer Post. He also received one palm. Ken Clemens, Eagle Scout from 202 transferred into this Post and received a palm in 1967.

This unit was dropped by the Council in July 1, 1971.

The Unit was restarted in May 1999 by Scoutmaster Frederick Fleischmann and Asst Scoutmaster Thomas Kohl with Ron Shook as Committee Chair. They began the Ranger Program in June 1999 as a Venture Crew Unit for 5 advanced scouts.

In 1933 the National Boy Scout Council adopted Cub Scouting for boys ages 9, 10, & 11. In 1949, this age range was reduced to 8,9 & 10 when the Explorer age rank dropped to 18.

Stan and Donna Stawski began Cub Scouting in 1947 with Pack 3002. The Pack number was changed to 3202 to match the affiliated Caledonia Scout Troop 202. By this time Pack 3002 had 13 dens and extended all the way to Alto. The Committee Chair in 1949 was William Ellis with S.J. Stawski as Cubmaster.

According to the South Kent Newspaper Cub Pack 3002 seems to have died about 1951 in Caledonia because the following year, the Caledonia PTA was petitioned by local parents to resume having a Pack

The announcement for the First South Kent District Appreciation Dinner on Nov 19, 1953 at Lee School showed that the Alaska Demonstration Club was sponsoring Pack 3289. The Demonstration Club and the later Alaska Friendship Club were created from an Extension program by Michigan State University that began as far back as the 1930’s. Ken Gackler may have the monthly minute books of the Alaska Demonstration Club.

Between 1968 and 1977 the Kettle Lake School sponsored Pack 3289. In 19XX, the Kettle Lake School re-started its Cub Pack, which was then designated Pack 3201. The Peace Reformed Church also sponsored a Cub Pack 3444 from Oct 1973 to 1978.

The training log for Fall 1950 shows that Cub Pack 3202 existed and the Mr Demarest was the Cubmaster. Pack 3202 sponsorship transferred to the United Methodist Church in 1958.

The Methodist Church took over the Caledonia Cub Pack and Boy Scout Troop at the suggestion of Mr Steinfort in 1958.

Name Eagle Board Date Troop/Post

Phillip Hale 1930’s? 2*

Carl Hale 1940’s? 2*

????? Preston 1940’s? 2*

Gibert L. Rich, Jr 1950’s 289*

James Kilmer 1950’s 289*

John Barfus Jr 1965 289*

Thomas Hodges Dec 1959 2202**

*Not on Troop Plaque

** Not on Troop Plaque, Confirmed from Council Records. May be a Scout from another District

Date Posted Court of Troop and/or

Eagle Board Honor Date Explorer Post

Kenneth Gackler (From Cascade Explorers) 1957 202/2334*

Thomas L Gordon 6 May 1962 202

Kenneth E. Clemens Dec 64 18 Jan 65 202

Larry D. Kaechele Dec 64 7 Feb 65 202

Wayne E. Rogers 12 Jun 1966 2202

Daniel L. Benn Dec 1968 16 Dec 1968 202

Brian J. Shook 18 June 1972 202

John "Chip" DeVries 4 Feb 1973 202

Mike Newell 4 Feb 1973 202

Theodore Cutler 4 Feb 1973 202

Douglas Benn 11 Dec 1973 289/202

Donald Passenger 8 Feb 1976 202

Todd Diefenbaker 8 Feb 1981 202

Dennis Shook 20 Sep 1981 202

Robert Johnston 18 Oct 1981 202

Steven P. Lentz 9 Nov 1986 202

James C. Nickelson 7 May 1989 202

John Striplin 10 Dec 1989 202

Todd VanderWoude 22 Apr 1989 202

Andrew Foster 5 May 1990 202

David K. Mack 20 July 1993 202

Dennis Rozell 25 July 1993 202

Jason Eakins 19 Sep 1993 202

Luke Champlin 7 Nov 1993 202

Jasen M. Johnson 20 Dec 94 XX Jan 1995 202

Eric L. Fleischmann 18 Apr 1995 1995 202

Steven Mursch 17 Oct 1995 1996 202

Jeffrey Foster 19 Nov 1996 1996 202

Rustin L. Manning 18 Mar 1997 1997 202

Ian W. Fleischmann 21 Oct 1997 1997 202

Mark Osgerby 11 Mar 1998 1998 202

Brian M Davis 20 Apr 1999 1999 202

George Schroeder 1960

Paul Campbell 1961-1963

George Rodgers 1964

John DeVries 1965-1966, 1976-1984

Arthur House 1967-1969

Richard Jensen 1970-1973

Edward Passenger 1974-1975

Ronald Shook 1985

Howard Gehl 1960

George Schroder 1961

Jack Loring 1962-1991

Ronald Shook 1991- Present

Herman Hale 1922-192X

(No Troop) 192X-1935

Mr Potts 1936 - 37

Woodrow Eber 1938 - 39

Mr Burgoyne 1940

Mr Al Finkbeiner 1941

???? 1942

Henry Harvey 1943

Mr Scott 1944

???? 1945

Russell Therrien 1946-1948

Jerry Steinfort 1949-1957

Gordon Bell 1958

Ken Gackler 1959-1978

Ronald Shook 1978-1985

Jim VanderWoude 1986-1990

Gary Champlin 1991-1992

Butch Mursch 1993

Fred Fleischmann 1994-Present

Ron Shook 1997, 1991-1994

Eugene Schiefla 1960

Herman Hale 1960-1983

Keith Ward 1960-1963

Harold Cavner 1960-1962

Henry Basarabski 1961-1962

Al Niles 1962-1963

William Yarrington 1962-1964

Donald Willyard 1962

Bill Argue 1962

Dean Bellgraph 1962

Lawrence Gehl 1963-1964

Frank Agrusa 1964

James Dustin 1964-1966

Gary Durkee 1964

George Burrows 1964

Frederick Tape 1964

Tom Gordon 1964-1966, 1970

Richard Terpstra 1964-1966

Jim Van Oost 1966-1968

Jerry Steinfort 1967

Ed Schiefa 1968-1973

Jay Shook 1970-1974

Gerald Durkee 1971-1972, 1974

Don Babcock 1972

Ron Pyper 1974-1976

Roy Hall 1974-1975

Jeff Aley 1975-1977

Kenneth Clemens 1975

Michael McCormick 1975

Ron Shook 1977-1978

Larry Finkbeiner 1979

Ken Gackler 1979-1985

Todd Diefenbaker 1983-1985

Dennis Shook 1983-1985

James Nickelson 1985

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

Antidotes

In 1964, Ken Gackler took 6 scouts to the Seattle Worlds Fair taking three weeks. They spent 5 days in Seattle, 3 at the Worlds Fair, one touring the Boeing Plant and one seeing Mr Nolan again. He could only get around with a cane but the boys presented him with a plaque for being "their firs Scoutmaster".

In 1970’s Ken Gackler, Roger Loring and ????????? went to Philmont.

Camp Roger Chafee was by Everert, Michigan

Camp Blackhawk was one of the several camps run by Owissippi near Camp Gerber.

In 1999 the troop under assistant scoutmaster Thomas Kohl took three boys (Kohls (2), West) to Philmont