OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS #78 - The Lost Senior Patrol Leader

THE DI VINCI CODE, TROOP 26 STYLE
OR
"THE LOST SENIOR PATROL LEADER"

It's interesting what we remember. And after years and years, how much of it is accurate. I had the opportunity to ask myself that question last week. I hope you will find this story entertaining.

Last Monday night, we had the investiture ceremonies for my 75th Senior Patrol Leader. 75 young men have been elected by their peers to lead Troop 26. The ceremony went on without a hitch. We've done it the same way forever. Over thirty years. The ceremony revolves around a hard cover Boy Scout Handbook, a collection of posters with photographs of all our Senior Patrol Leaders, and more recently a Native American style prayer stick with the names of all our SPLs carved on it.

The handbook has been signed by each SPL as he took office. Neil Smith was the first back in 1969. He was SPL for an entire year. Then Bill Kirwin held the office for an entire year, 1970. then Mark Herhold was SPL for an entire year, 1971. Then we went to a "every six months election format" with two scouts serving as SPL each year.

At the close of the ceremony, I read the names out of the book. I tell the troop that I told Neil Smith, back when the book was brand new, that every time we elected a new SPL, every SPL's name would be read publicly so that their contribution to the troop could be honored.

As part of the ceremony, there are speaking parts for former SPLs who participate in the investiture ceremony. This year, Mark Herhold, Ronnie (now Ron) Mayfield, Chris Morehead, and Randy McGuire, along with three of our more current SPLs, read the speaking parts. It was a great way to honor Eagle Scout James Keilbarth, my 75th Senior Patrol Leader.

But here is where it gets interesting. After the ceremony was over, Mark Herhold tells me that he didn't serve as SPL for an entire year. I said that he did serve for a year. My proof..the book. Mark said the book was wrong. His proof..the SPL posters. "What about Mark Berry?" he asked. I was stunned. Mark Berry was a Senior Patrol Leader in 1971. His photos are right there on the posters. But his name was not in the book. The posters and the book didn't match up. And I had never noticed.

But it gets better. Mark reminded me that he had run for SPL at summer camp in 1970. But that he lost to Steve McCartney. Steve McCartney? I had absolutely no recollection of Steve McCartney being Senior Patrol Leader. He wasn't on the posters and his name wasn't in the book. But Mark was absolutely sure that he had lost to Steve McCartney at summer camp in 1970. "Remember, I gave such a bad speech and I had laryngitis because of all the cheers and yells we did."

Well, I did sort of remember that. But I still didn't remember Steve McCartney being Senior Patrol Leader. So we checked with Mark's mother. She also remembered him losing to Steve McCartney at summer camp. She remembered the laryngitis and the bad speech.

"Well, if he was SPL, why didn't he sign the book like everybody else?" I asked. Mark reminded me that "everybody else" didn't sign it. Mark Berry isn't in the book either. OK, now I'm getting defensive. I countered with this. "Well, I can remember Neil Smith signing the book. I remember telling him that every future SPL would sign the book on the night of their induction. I remember that conversation with Neil like it was yesterday."

Mark's mom told me that I was wrong. "That's impossible" she said. I asked why. "Because", she said, "the hard cover handbook came out at about the same time the skill awards for the scout belts came out, and that was right before the jamboree..in 1973." Neil was Senior Patrol Leader in 1969. He couldn't have signed a book that wasn't even produced yet. So I went to look at the handbook with all those signatures in it. Sure enough, it was copyrighted in 1972. Neil was SPL in 1969. Bill Kirwin in 1970. Mark Herhold and Mark Berry in 1971. Four boys who served "before" that book came out. They couldn't have possibly signed it the night of their investiture.

So how did all this get messed up in my head? I do remember my conversation with Neil, like it was yesterday. I do remember Mark Berry being SPL. He is on the posters but not in the book. His name is also not on the spirit stick. I still do not remember Steve McCartney being SPL. No name in the book, or on the posters, or on the spirit stick. What I thought was accurate...apparently isn't accurate.

So why not just let this all go away? Because I am a stickler for detail. I want things right. When I get up in front of the troop and say something, I want it to come from and honest interpretation of the facts. And my story about the history of the SPLs in Troop 26 is not accurate and hasn't been since the beginning. In my head, it was accurate. But it wasn't. I've been worried about this and thought about this ever since it happened. I even talked to Scott Lybarger about it on the Special Camporee this last weekend. Scott was an SPL in the early 80's. He couldn't remember anything ever having been said about the names on the poster or in the book being wrong. Rick Hayes, current Assistant Scoutmaster, was there in 1969. He couldn't remember Steve McCartney being elected.

Puzzling, huh?

Well, I have worked out in my mind how it happened. Let me share it with you and if anybody out there has a different version, let me hear from you.

I think Mark Herhold did run in 1970 against Steve McCartney. Mark remembers it. "Like it was yesterday". So I'm sure he did. And he lost. That part is right too. But I think they were both running against a third scout, Bill Kirwin, and they both lost. That is why Bill Kirwin had the job for an entire year, 1970. That makes sense to me.

Mark Berry did have one of the terms in 1971. His name and photos are on the poster in verification of that fact. So Mark was right, he didn't serve for an entire year as the book indicated. He only served half of 1971 with Mark Berry serving the other half.

The book! The book came out in 1972. It was the first hard cover handbook I had seen and I wanted to make it part of Troop 26 tradition somehow. I decided on the Senior Patrol Leaders Induction and how neat that would be. I did have Neil smith sign it and write the year he served, 1969, next to his name and I did tell him I would read the names at every induction. That part was accurate, except for the year it happened. He signed it in 1972, not in 1969. Bill Kirwin and Mark Herhold also signed it in 1972. Mark Berry didn't sign it because he and his family had already moved away from Tulsa and he was gone. He was on the posters but not in the book. Then the Spirit Stick was completed years later during the terms of Brett Paschal and Hunter Niemi. The SPL names were carved on it and the list of SPLs used on the stick was taken from the book, not the posters. That accounts for why Mark Berry's name is not on the stick.

OK. I think that's it. That explains most of what happened. For sure? I don't know. It's the only explanation that makes any sense right now. And we are talking about the first three or four years I was in the troop. What seemed like a good tradition to start, wasn't traditional yet. After thirty years, it is. But it wasn't back then. Maybe that's why I didn't remember it accurately. It still might not be accurate but it's the best I can do with the information I have and the memory I have to back it up.

I do want to mention that we added a new tradition to the ceremony last Monday. We presented James with a book of letters of congratulations from many of our past Senior Patrol Leaders. Included in the collection were letters from Mark Herhold (1971), Brent Barron (1972), Ronnie Mayfield (1973), Tim Wright (1973), Bob Miller (1974), Alan Dalton (1977), Scott Lybarger (1979), Thad Bibb (1982), Steve West (1982), Randy McGuire (1983), Ragon Linde (1985), David Snedden (1990), Preston Hanner (11992), Ryan White (1994), Chris Morehead (1996), Brett Paschal (1997), Hunter Niemi (1999), Don Zvacek (2001), Danny Harwell (2001), Reid Spears (2005), Daniel Rusco (2006), Andy Points (2006) and Zach Vetal (2007). Twenty three scouts who served this troop and remember how they felt when their name was called. "The new Senior Patrol Leader for the next six months is.....!" I've made that announcemntt seventy five times. And I am so appreciative all these former SPL's took the time to make that very important day even more special for James Keilbarth. In six months, I hope that many more of our former SPLs will participate in this new tradition. And James will have his first opportunity to participate in this new tradition by writing a letter to my 76th SPL.

Oh well. None of this matters. Well, to an old Scoutmaster, maybe it does a little. But in truth, it's a scout troop. Whatever happened in 1969 through 1972 really doesn't make any difference. It doesn't change the world. It didn't change the fate of nations. It's just a scout troop. The error doesn't affect the wonderful jobs that have been done by the boys whose names are on that stick, or in that book, and those photos are on those SPL posters. It was a wonderful tradition that has lasted for many, many years.

But it does matter in terms of tradition. We have built a wonderful tradition in Troop 26. All those young men are part of that tradition. Along with the scouts who voted for them. And I want that tradition to be as accurate as we can make it.

In closing, I want to add that I've been thinking a lot about memoirs and history books written by old men and women.. "as they remember it." History, as they remember it. Facts, as they remember them. Is that really accurate? It is something to ponder as I struggle this week to remember what happened back in 1969-70-71-and 72. Clearly, this is stuff that doesn't matter. But what about all the stuff that does matter? Is it possible that some of the things we believe to be accurate, really are not. I love history and I want my scouts to love history too. I've always felt that history, especially about conflicts and wars, were usually written by the winners. And the facts were probably slanted to favor the victorious. Look at what happened to Custer and Crazy Horse. Will we ever know the truth about that day at the Little Big Horn? And what about Pearl Harbor? And the Grassy Knoll. History is full of question marks.

And is it possible that there is a lost Troop 26 Senior Patrol Leader out there somewhere that an aging Scoutmaster just can't remember. Maybe. Just maybe there is.

This one was fun. I love mysteries. See you next week.

Bill

Opportunity Knocks #77 - 75: An Amazing Number

75. AN AMAZING NUMBER!!!

This coming Monday Troop 26 celebrates an amazing achievement. We will be inducting my 75th Senior Patrol Leader into office. 75 Senior Patrol Leaders. An uninterrupted chain of young men who have been elected by their peers to run Troop 26 since 1969. Neil Smith was my first SPL back in January of 1969, my first year as Scoutmaster. I remember getting that hardcover scout handbook for Neil's ceremony. It was brand new and stiff when you opened it up. At the close of the ceremony we had Neil sign that book. One name graced the slick white paper in the front of the handbook. It seemed like a good thing to do. I also promised Neil that every time we elected a new Senior Patrol Leader, his name would be read in front of the troop and that his service to the troop would never be forgotten.

A year later, we added a second name. Bill Kirwin. And a year later a third signature graced the pages of the handbook. Mark Herhold. A tradition in its infancy. In 1972 we made the decision that a year was too long for a scout to serve as SPL. Six months seem more appropriate. So we started electing a new SPL every six months. Brent Barron and Kent Shelby split 1972.

And now the book is old. The pages are not stiff anymore. The pages are not pristine and white as they once were because seventy four hands have signed seventy four signatures on those hallowed pages. Some, if not all, of those hands were sweating with anticipation. The young scout who stood in front of their troop, pen in hand, each promising with their signature that they would do their best and give six months out of their childhood to lead a troop of young men. Young men with ideas and dreams and plans.

On Monday night, September 10, 2007, Eagle Scout James Keilbarth will be signing his name in the book. He ran for office against several other truly outstanding young Eagle Scouts, each one willing to serve and offering themselves for the troop's consideration. And James was chosen. He will sign that book on Monday night while a troop bears witness to his achievement. His parents will be watching. His two younger brothers will be watching. All the leaders will be watching. Many former SPLs will be participating in the ceremony. They will be remembering the day they signed the book. Some recently and some in the distant past.

I am amazed that we have continued this ceremony seventy five times. In my course as Scoutmaster, I have seen troops rise and fall. I have seen Scoutmasters get trained and hang around for four or five years and then pass their troop on to someone else. Traditions can't survive with that kind of constant turnover. Troop 26 has been so lucky to have leaders who believe in the traditions and stay to see those traditions continue. I look over at our adult leaders and I see Ray Yarroll and Tony Wright and John Points and Wayne White and Greg Rusco. Dick Shelton and Rick Hayes are in the back of the room at the advancement table. And James Smith, Steve Fennema and Jeff Hartung are over by the door. And there is JJ Jorishie talking to leaders about another trip to the Northern Tier. There's Dennis Zvacek at the Help Desk and Robert Yerton and Josh and Jason Hayes. And over on the other side are Weldon Levacy and Ted Giovi and Doc Yob. How many SPL Induction ceremonies have they seen?

Most Scoutmasters have to start over when they get on board. I didn't have to. The previous Scoutmaster, Bud Kunze, stayed with me to give advice and encouragement to a young Scoutmaster who sometimes didn't listen. Bud is in the back of the room too. And Bud remembers that night when Neil Smith put the first signature in the book. In fact, Bud remembers Senior Patrol Leaders who served before 1969. While the tradition of signing the book started in 1969, the tradition of SPLs goes back way before I got there.

All will be watching James write his name in the book on Monday.

I think back over the seventy four young men who signed the handbook and I wonder where they are today. I've lost track of many of them but I still keep in touch with quite a few. Mark Herhold is in Houston now working for an oil company. Ragon Linde is in Oregon. Robert smith is a heart surgeon. Brent Barron is in South Carolina. Tim Wright is in Austin. Ron Mayfield is in Owasso. Joel Stinnett is a businessman here in Tulsa. Scott Lybarger is in Alabama. Scott will be attending this years Special Camporee and he's bringing his own son, Kyle, who is currently registered with a troop in Alabama. Thad Bibb is in Bagdad. Steve West is in Australia. Ryan White is in Liechtenstein. Michael Lasker is in California. David Snedden is now a teacher. Stephen Snedden is still in California pursuing an acting career. Don Hull as at Oklahoma University and Reid Spears is at Notre Dame. Alex Points is at TCU. Chris Morehead is working at a bank here in Tulsa. Jonathan Walker is serving his country in the Army. Chris Wright and Jonathan Holloman are here in Tulsa and their dads are still active in the troop. Randy McGuire is still the troop 26 Treasurer. Matt Carney still comes to meetings whenever he can. Daniel Rusco, Andy Points and Zach Vetal are still active. I wish I knew where they all were. But if they are reading this, they know that on Monday night, I will be reading their names and I'll be thinking of their contribution. These scouts and their brother SPLs have taken their places in schools and professions and organizations and communities around the world. And I know for certain that as they look back on their childhood, one moment will always stand out.

The night they signed the book.

Please join me in congratulating Eagle Scout James Keilbarth on his election as my 75th Senior Patrol Leader. On Monday night he will pick up a pen and open a time worn Boy Scout handbook. He will see a list of seventy four signatures. He will reverently write his name at the bottom of the list. The tradition continues.