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After World War 11, Mr. Melacarro developed a piece of land in Cranston, Rhode Island adjacent to many State Institutions, bounded by Sockanosset Road on the South, Pontiac Avenue on the East, Reservoir Avenue on the West and Lawnacre Drive on the North. He called this development Garden City. It consisted of a group of one family homes, several appartment houses, and a shopping center. The majority of homes were bought by the average middle class American with a young family. The shopping center had all types of markets, banks, drug stores and department stores. It also had Garden City School, an elementary school that catered to children from kindergarten to grade six. A Garden City Tenants' Association was formed and among their goals was to establish recreational organizations for the children. Hence, in 1955 a Boy Scout Troop was established and called Troop 10 Garden City. ThePresident of this association was Ralph Nicks and the first Institutional Representative to the Troop was Gerard Brodeur, and Edwin DeGroat was elected Committee Chairman. James Burke was the first Scoutmaster and the troop meetings were held at Garden City School on Thursday evenings. The troop was in the Cranston District of the Narragansett Counci, BSA and unfortunately there was already a Troop 10 Cranston, confusion followed. The troop then decided by popular vote to call the troop, Troop 66 Garden City, inspired by a TV program of that era, "Route 66". The first neckerchief was designed by Eagle Scout Kenneth Maloney and current neckerchief by Eagle Scout Paul Supple. In 1965 to 1968. The Garden City Merchants' Association acted as the sponsor, and when that organization disbanded, the Cranston Rotary Club took over as the troop's sponsor. The Rotary Club was recently honored for having completed 30 years of sponsorship. From 1968 to now the insitutional representative has been Raymond Butterfield, a Cranston businessman, a Cranston Rotarian, and some time latter the father of an Eagle Scout from Troop 66. The first Yawgoog campsite, was in Sandy Beach Division in Camp Baden Powell, which is now used for the Yawgoog Provisional Camp. Then it moved to the Three Point Division in Camp Muskateer. Soil erosion forced this camp to be closed. The Medicine Bow Division, Camp Netop was the next choice and the Troop still camps there the first week of August each summer. During the sixties, the Narragansett Council opened a camp at Buck Hill in the north western section of R.I. devoted to outpost camping and wilderness survival and at that time the troop would camp at Buck Hill for one week, and then be transported by bus on Sunday afternoon for another week of "hotel camping". Buck hill had no mess hall. Each Patrol cooked their own food. They drew provisions from the commissarry and cooked by Patrol. The tents had no bunks; it was primitive living, and a great experience. Two week camping lasted until 1980. In that entire period the troop membership averaged forty-five boys and we went to camp with 99% of the troop. The Troop grew because of a good program and good leadership. Among the early movers and shakers was a gentlemen named Bill Sherman, an engineer by profession and a devoted Scouter. Bill served on our committee and wore all kind of hats. He served on almost every sub-committee from camping to advancement. John Maloney, another great leader was the advancement chairman who later became the District Advancement Chairman. It was under his guidance that Troop 66 was certified to hold their own Eagle Boards of Review. Ted Hirsch, another devoted leader, was the second Scoutmaster and later became the District Chairman. Ted was followed by Phil St. Onge as Scoutmaster and had that position for one year. Stan Turco, an Eagle Scout, followed Phil St. Onge. Stan moved into Garden City from Providence where he had been a Scoumaster of Troop 50 for eleven years, and when Phil St. Onge resigned in 1963, Stan was asked to take over. He held the Scoutmaster's position officially until 1968 when he was asked to take the Chairmanship of the Cranston District. He stayed active on the comittee and continued to take the troop to Yawgoog and Buck Hill each summer until 1975. He eventually became Council President and still serves on the Narragansett Council and the Region 1 Board of Directors. He left the troop in the late seventies and recently came back when his grandson joined. He currently serves as the Public Relations Chairman.<\P> Tom Pitt assumed the Scoutmaster position for one year and Frank Fitzpatrick then Committee Chairman filled the position from 1969 to 1972. He was followed by Gordon Palumbo who served until 1975. Dan Adler followed until 1978. When he left, Dave Sherman, who was then the District Camping Chairman, also assumed the role as Scoutmaster. In 1986 Tony Haigh took the position and served until 1998. This year Buzz Greenhalgh was sworn in as our newest Scoutmaster. The 50's produced six Eagle Scouts. This was a great record for a new Troop. During the sixties and seventies the Eagle Badge was pinned on fifty seven young men. Donald Upham, Assistant Scoutmaster in the seventies was an excellent role model for the boys. He believed in taking any training course available and made it possible for boys to attain leadership skills. He was a great camper and taught scouts to tan their own leather from raw skins. He also was a great promoter of Scout Spirit, encouraging the Troop to cheer for other troops. During the same period, there were many men who gave of themselves for the benefit of the Troop but to name just a few men who contributed greatly to the success of Troop 66 acting as Assistant Scoutmasters or Committeemen were: Paul Hurley, Frank Fitzpatrick, Frank Gallogly, Keith Brill, Ted Hirsch, Sid Shapiro, Jerry Fish, Sam Perelman, John Harootunian, Paul Supple, Larry Caron, Norval Garnet, Ken Adler, Dan Adler, Bill Cloxton, Gordon Palumbo, Ken Maloney, and Ted Hirsch. There were others, but this writers old mind has been dimmed. The Troop has attended all the Camporees, Bean Hole Bakes, and Klondike Derbys throughout the years and has earned many awards. The best reward is the track records our graduates have accomplished for themselves and the community. At this time, Troop 66 has produced : 1-Council President District Awards such as the George Bucklin Medal, The Award of Merit, and the Scouter Awards have been given to several members of the Troop over the years. Troop 66 earned the Quality Plus Award for Excellence in Camping at Yawgoog from 1964-1968 Some Highlights: ཉ 1964 First time to climb Mt. Monadnock 1998-1999 SCOUT SEASON Troop 66, in September went to a camporee at Norwich University, Northfield, Vermont with 1200 other scouts from all over New England and Canada. The scouts participated in many activities and competitions. We saw military training exercises, a very large bonfire, and lots of lightning. In October, we hiked up Mount Monadnock, the 2nd most hiked mountain in the world. We probably walked and climbed 6.5 miles. It was warm at the bottom and cold and winding at the top. It was the most beautiful weekend of the year. Everybody cooked their own meals and slept well. We learned that if you are planning to make breakfast you should reinspect your pack before leaving home. We Scouted for Food months ago and are participating in other service projects requiring the troop to assist in preparing food baskets for Thanksgiving. We had a great weekend November 12-14, at Buck Hill in northwest Rhode Island. We cooked turkeys on tri-pods, making pies in Dutch ovens and made a 40 foot monkey bridge. Next month will be at camp-out in Massachusetts with Troop 1139. On Thursday, November 19, 1998 the Troop is meeting at 311 Doric Avenue, Cranston to help CCAP assemble 300 food baskets. We will also be collecting orders for our Annual Wreath sale. Wreath's are $12.00 each. We will also be there Friday night at 6:30PM, and Saturday morning. On December 11, we went to Richardson's saw mill in Uxbridge, MA. It is a 500 acre farm used for growing horse corn, hay, cutting wood, hosting scout troop 1139, their guests and burning wood. We had more turkey on tripods, with all the fixin's, chili for lunch and eggs and sausage for breakfast. The scouts did patrol cooking, ran a map course, built catapults, had a shaved ice fight(no snow yet), sent up rockets, played man hunt(what else is new)and 2 scouts from 1139 made Tenderfoot. The Scouts from both Troops built a very large wood teepee structure, about 15 feet high. They carried about 9 truck loads of cut lumber to the site. The wooden teepee was accidently ignited and turned the night into day. Flames leaped 30 feet high and kept the surronding area warm until morning. In January we went to Camp Caranna in Cumberland and enjoyed a winter in the mud. February was great fun. Beanhole Bake and Klondike Derby was wonderful. The lack of snow made the sled race tough going but a good time was had by all. The beans were tasty. A bit dry and not as salty as last years. Labeling of condiments is a learned trait. In March we went to the Blue Hills in Stoughton, Massachusetts, staying at Sayre BSA Camp. We traveled to Lynn Woods, Lynn, Massachusetts and undiscovered Park where we went on the Pirate Trail. We also saw the first Iron Foundry in the United States built in Saugus in 1640. The Scouts Did It. 100 Eagles and now on to 200! Over 140 Scouts, Scouters, Friends and family turned out to celebrate our 100 Eagles. Updated August 16, 2000 |
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