093_HR0334
LRB093 11681 KEF 15288 r
1 HOUSE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, Boy Scout Troop 31 in Oswego was formed in
3 January of 1927 under the sponsorship of the PTA (Parent
4 Teacher Association); and
5 WHEREAS, The first Scoutmaster was John L. Clayton, who
6 was also the Superintendent of Schools in Oswego; the first
7 scouts that were registered were: William Brown, Howard
8 Clayton, John Collins, Harlan Collins, Robert Henley, Will
9 Lamb, Melvin Parkhurst, Franklin Pearce, Harlan Peshia,
10 Stanley Peterson, Allan Schlapp, Gerald Seaton, Norman
11 Whitney, and Merrill Wolfe; and
12 WHEREAS, The sponsorship of the troop continued under the
13 PTA and the High School until 1933 when Maurice Hachlin
14 became the Scoutmaster and the American Legion became the
15 sponsor; in 1934, Mr. Harold Manning became the Scoutmaster,
16 and he continued in this role until 1937 when Mr. Norm Hulsne
17 assumed the role of Scoutmaster until 1939, when once again
18 the PTA became the sponsor, and Mr. Ford Lippold became the
19 Scoutmaster; in 1942, Mr. John Luttich became the Scoutmaster
20 and continued in this capacity until December of 1945; in
21 January of 1946, Mr. Richard Young (Eagle Scout) fresh from
22 the Marine Corps became the new Scoutmaster, a position he
23 held until 1950; in 1951, Mr. Lippold again became the
24 Scoutmaster until December of 1956; and
25 WHEREAS, In January of 1957, Mr. George Akerlow became
26 the new Scoutmaster and the sponsorship was once again picked
27 up by the PTA and the High School; in 1960, Mr. Howard
28 Dannenburg assumed the Scoutmaster position which he held
29 until 1969; in 1965, the troop had grown so much that it was
30 necessary for a new troop to be formed with some of the older
31 scouts helping to form the nucleus of boys Troop 63 under the
32 sponsorship of the American Legion; in 1967, the sponsorship
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1 of the troop was assumed by the Oswego Presbyterian Church
2 and continues to the present day; in 1970, Mr. Charles Schalz
3 became the 12th Scoutmaster; in 1973, Mr. Del LaGow became
4 Scoutmaster and continued in this role until December of
5 1983, at that time Mr. Howard Wesley became Scoutmaster
6 through 1986, at which time Mr. LaGow once again became
7 Scoutmaster and continued until 1993; Mr. Greg Lambke became
8 the new Scoutmaster in 1994 and continued until 1997; in
9 1998, Mr. LaGow assumed the Scoutmaster position on an
10 interim basis, and in 1999 Mr. Neal Schilling became the
11 Scoutmaster and continued in this position through 2001; and
12 WHEREAS, Since the Troop's formation, they have averaged
13 an Eagle Scout every one and one half years; in 1929, Mr.
14 Merrill Wolfe and Mr. Harlan Peshia became the first Eagle
15 Scouts in the troop; and
16 WHEREAS, The young men of Troop 31 have gone on to
17 distinguish themselves in all walks of life; there are
18 schoolteachers, businessmen, two United States Navy Academy
19 graduates, a career officer in the United States Army, a
20 Chief Judge of the Circuit Court, a States Attorney, a
21 Pharmacist, three Police Officers, an author and noted
22 naturalist, lawyers in environmental law and national forest
23 rangers; and almost 85 percent of all Scouts that have gone
24 through Troop 31 have gone on to higher education in some
25 form; therefore, be it
26 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
27 NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
28 we commemorate 75 years of scouting in Oswego and the
29 contributions the scouts' of Troop 31 have made to their
30 community over the years; and be it further
31 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
32 presented to the Scoutmaster of Boy Scout Troop 31.