Members and leaders of Haddonfield’s Boy Scout Troop 44 get ready to celebrate the anniversary on Sept. 22.
The Boy Scouts of America was formed in 1910 to prepare young men to make ethical and moral choices by teaching them the values of the Scout Oath and Law, which include “doing one’s best, doing one’s duty to God and country, obeying the Scout Law, helping others at all times, and keeping oneself physically strong.”
At the First Baptist Church of Haddonfield on Kings Highway, those values have been taught and instilled in young men over the years by the many leaders of Haddonfield Boy Scout Troop 64, which will celebrate its 100th anniversary on Sunday.
“It is amazing and rare for one troop to be sponsored by the same organization in the same space for 100 years,” Scoutmaster Kirk Earney said before a meeting on Sept. 9. His son Nathan, is an Eagle Scout, and his other son Aidan is working to become a Star Scout.
“I have followed them through Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts, starting out as a Cubmaster,” Earney recalled. “The Scout Oath and Law helps develop them into great human beings, builds character and teaches them to do what’s right.”
“We are very excited,” said Committee Chairperson Walt Sandell III, adding that the troop’s anniversary celebration will take place at 1 p.m. in the church. For regular meetings, the troop meets in the “Scout Room,” located in the church basement.
His son Walter Sandell IV, who is about to become a Life Scout, noted, “It’s pretty cool celebrating 100 years. We are older than most troops.”
“We have been talking about this for five years,” explained troop Treasurer Gregory King, who is happy for all the youngsters who have become Cub and Boy Scouts. “The time is here and it feels good.”
“We encourage the Boy Scouts,” offered Dr. Moses Chandran, the church’s charter representative and a deacon there for 14 years. “I became an Eagle Scout years ago, and it changed by life and built character.”
“We are proud to be a mainstay of history here in Haddonfield,” Pastor Ryan Miller said. “We are a bridge between the past and the present.”
“One hundred years is a long time, man,” observed Assistant Scoutmaster Chris Trott, adding that the troop has a good mix of people helping to make it successful. “Not many troops make it that long.”
The anniversary celebration has been several months in the planning, according to Scoutmaster Earney, who proudly displayed a new flag for the troop that denotes its 100 years in existence and is used for Scouting events and to mark sites on camping trips.
All those who spoke of the anniversary praised the efforts of the late Dr. Chuck Benson and Bill Carr, calling them “dedicated leaders” who kept the troop going from the 1970s through the ’90s.
The First Baptist Church has been the host and sponsor of Troop 64 for all its years, and it is a lot older than the Scouts, having celebrated its 200th anniversary in 2018. According to its website, the church was organized in June of 1818 with 10 constituent members, and as early as September the same year, a collection was taken for the poor on the occasions of the Lord’s Supper. The practice continues today as the monthly Fellowship Offering.
“After a few months, the congregation decided that it was time to build the new Baptist Church its own meeting house,” the website notes. “This was erected on the main street, a little distance from the center of the village. The first service was held there on Nov. 29, 1818. The area behind the meeting house was used as a cemetery, and is the site of the Baptist Cemetery today.”
The current church at 124 E. Kings Highway was built in 1886, Miller said, with stones from the original moved one by one to the new site. The original church wall is inside the current church.
On Sept. 22 a Boy Scout troop that is 100 years old will celebrate its anniversary in a church community that is more than 200 years old.
