Super Troop 194- History

THE HISTORY OF SUPER TROOP 194

"SUPER" Troop 194, based in Louisville, KY, was first chartered in July 1954 and celebrated its 50^th anniversary in 2004 (based on information from the troop’s charter). It has been speculated that the original charter organization was St. Bartholomew Roman Catholic Church (2042 Buechel Bank Rd., est. 1941) or St. Raphael Roman Catholic Church (2141 Lancashire Ave., est. 1947), but that’s just a guess by the older generation of troop alumni. It was moved to St. Martha Roman Catholic Church (2820 Klondike Ln., est. 1961) about 1965. The first recorded Eagle Scout from the troop is James Drummond in 1967. The troop has produced 86 Eagle Scouts to date.

The troop has had several changes in size. It was once reported to be nearly 140 Scouts strong in the early to mid-1970s. According to one of the Eagle Scouts of the troop, the nickname “Super” was given to the troop because of it's size at that time. (Another reason that was hinted at was due to the skill of the Scouts in inter-troop competitions at district and council camp-o-rees.) In recent years, the troop has fluctuated in size between 15 and 20 Scouts. The troop’s membership has been mostly Catholic boys from the school and/or parish of St. Martha, but it has not exclusively been so. Members of all faiths are welcome to join the troop.

The troop has had a wide variety of camping experiences. Starting in the mid-1970’s, the troop began alternating their summer camp experiences between a Boy Scout council-sponsored camp and striking out on an excursion of their own. Following is a summary of those trips:

1976 Washington, D.C. (to celebrate the national bicentennial)

1977 Rough River Scout Reservation¹

1978 Florida

1979 ???

1980 Smoky Mts.

1981 ???

1982 Smoky Mts. / World’s Fair in Knoxville, TN

1983 Rough River Scout Reservation¹

1984 Blue River, IN (Camped at Stage Stop campground near Leavenworth, IN)

1985 Camp Covered Bridge²

1986 Air Force Museum, Dayton, OH / Indiana Dunes / Chicago, IL (camped at Glenview NAS, Evanston, IL)

1987 Boxwell Scout Reservation, Nashville, TN

1988-2000 Camp Crooked Creek³ (In 2000, just the first-year Scouts attended Camp Crooked Creek)

2000 and 2001 Camp Woodruff Scout Reservation, Blairsville, GA (Atlanta Area Council). In 2000, just the ‘experienced’ Scouts went. The following year, everyone went.

2002-2006 Camp Crooked Creek

2006 Smoky Mts. / Edisto Beach State Park, SC, Charleston Harbor, SC (spent the night on the USS Yorktown)

2007 Woodruff Scout Reservation, Blairsville, GA

2008 Grand Canyon

2008 Camp Crooked Creek, KY

2009 Camp Crooked Creek, KY

2010 Yosemite National Park, CA

2010 Camp Crooked Creek, KY

2011 Summit Lake, IN

2011 Camp Crooked Creek, KY

¹Old Kentucky Home Council, sold in mid-1980s

² Old Kentucky Home Council, sold in mid-1980s

³ Lincoln Heritage Council (Formed out of Old Kentucky Home Council and George Rogers Clark Council of Southern Indiana in 1992)

Note: This list – up to 1987 – can also be found on a plaque hanging in the troop shed, located behind the pastor’s garage. This plaque originally hung in the Dining Hall of Camp Covered Bridge. When the troop attended the last summer camp held at Camp Covered Bridge in 1985, this plaque was retrieved.

Stories told by older members of the troop’s Eagle Scout ranks also tell of going on camping trips with nothing more than a ground cloth, some fishing line and a couple of hooks, being obliged to “eat off the land” and make their own shelters for a weekend. This is considerably more primitive than what most of today’s Scouts would (and should) consider doing. Today’s camping equipment and supplies are much better (lighter, compact, and functional) then what was available to most Scouts in the past.

Also starting in the 1970’s, the troop has had a history of attending the annual Bishop Flaget Trail, an event sponsored by the Louisville Catholic Committee on Scouting. It was developed in 1947 as a way to familiarize Scouting youth with the history of the Catholic church in Kentucky and Southern Indiana. The “Trail” has visited several locations in and around the Archdiocese of Louisville, most notably St. Meinrad Seminary (St. Meinrad, IN), the Abbey of Gethsemani (Trappist, KY) and St. Joseph Proto-Cathedral (Bardstown, KY). The troop has also made an effort to participate in district camporees (spring and fall, when offered), the Klondike Derby (a district winter event), and council events such as the annual Scout-O-Rama (sponsored by the Louisville Rotary Club) and the triennial Patriot Games.

Past Scoutmasters (dates are approximate):

early 1970s	Mr. Bill Friehl
mid 1970s-1982	Mr. Ed Scharre/Mr. Joe Rich (alternated several times)
1982-1983	Mr. J. Brad Cecil
1984-1985	Mr. Jerry Hubbs
1985-1987	Mr. Drew McKinney
1987-1988	Mr. Doug Hensel, Sr.
1989-1994	Mr. Terry Haynes
1994-1998	Mr. Dan Bisig, Sr.
1999-2001	Mr. Mickey Higgins
2002-2005	Mr. John Scott
2006-2010	Mr. Dave Kinny
2011-	Mr. James Carlin

History courtesy of John Scott.

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If anyone has additional information to be added, please contact the troop’s webmaster Louis.

Send mail to Peter with questions, comments, or suggestions for or about this web site. Last modified: 12/29/11

Send mail to Peter with questions, comments, or suggestions for or about this web site.
Last modified: 12/29/11