In 1910, based on an English program, newspaperman William Dickenson Boyce founded The Boy Scouts of America (BSA). With a mission to promote and encourage leadership and independence in boys aged 11-17 years, scouting in America took off. Since its founding, the Boy Scouts have molded leaders in all walks of life. Five U.S. presidents were boy scouts: John F. Kennedy, Gerald Ford, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama. Of the 12 Americans who walked on the moon, 11 were boy scouts. In addition, John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart, Hank Aaron, Nolan Ryan, Martin Luther King Jr, Steven Spielberg, Bill Gates, Michael Jordan, Harrison Ford, and Dr. Seuss were also scouts.
In November 1919, Milford formed Boy Scout Troop 1. The Great War had just ended, the Volstead Act ushered in prohibition, and with it the Roaring Twenties and significant societal change. Since that first troop was founded, time has moved on, but the core tenants of scouting remain. According to Troop 1 scoutmaster Mark Krom, “The Boy Scouts have always been about guiding and building kids up, teaching them to be independent so they can go on and succeed in the real world and be self-sufficient.” It’s the little things, Krom insists, that make a big difference. “We teach them to cook but we also emphasize that after you cook, you have to clean up. No one wants to clean up, but like everything else in life, you have to take the good with the bad. Life isn’t always about just doing the fun stuff.”
Milford once had as many as 12 Boy Scout troops, but with the ascendency of year-round league sports and a vast array of after school and summer camp options, the number of Milford troops has shrunk to four. Sadly, much of the history of Milford Troop 1 was lost when the council office in Hamden was damaged by a flood 35 years ago and most of the records were destroyed. As a result, much of Troop 1’s past is handed down as oral history, like the fact that Krom took over as scoutmaster 40 years ago from Winthrop Smith Sr. whose father, Winthrop “Pink” Smith was, in 1925,the first member of Troop 1 to earn the rank of Eagle Scout. In the 100 years of the troop’s existence, 148 of its scouts have made Eagle Scout. That’s an impressive number considering only 4 percent of scouts achieve that level.
Throughout the years, Troop 1 has supported Milford and its people in thousands of ways, with community service that runs the gamut of good works. Back before recycling was widespread, they ran regular paper recycling drives. They served dinners for victims of Hurricane Sandy, have collected food and clothing for the needy, and sent care packages to soldiers serving overseas. The scouts work on beautifying the town and keeping its parks, beaches, and woods clean. They built an information kiosk at the community gardens, planted trees in Eisenhower Park, and built bat and duck houses. Each year the Troop repairs headstones that are damaged or knocked over in Milford cemetery.
Of course, being a scout is not all work and no play. “I’ve done more traveling with the Boy Scouts than I have in my private life,” says Krom. “We try to camp at least twice a month, we do the overnight trips to the Navy vessels in Fall River, we go to Nantucket every four years or so, we’ve traveled to the national Jamboree, we’ve even visited the FBI in Washington. But the kids really like the wilderness survival training and first aid courses. Even learning knots; you never know when you have to make a good knot, whether your boating or at work. I can’t tell you many times I’ve put different knots to use.”
Recent—some might say controversial—changes to scouting include the fact that girls are now allowed to join the Boy Scouts. Since the Cub Scouts began accepting girls in 2017, over 77,000 have joined the program. This year, girls were officially allowed to join the once male-only Boy Scouts. Troop 1 doesn’t have any girls yet, but Krom understands the attraction to females. “The Girl Scouts has always offered what some might call ‘traditional’ female activities. But today, plenty of girls say, ‘I don’t want to sell cookies or sew. I want to go camping and do other things.’ And now they have the ability to do that.”
The mission of service Troop 1 instills in its scouts often continues long after their scouting days are over. According to Krom, many one-time scouts continue to serve their community and their country as they’ve grown. “If you call the fire department or the police in Milford there’s a good chance there will be a few of our scouts there. We’ve had troop members go on to graduate from the Naval Academy in Annapolis and West Point.”
Happily, the Golden Anniversary of Milford Troop 1 will provide an opportunity for many past scouts to honor a century of service. The reunion planned for this November will pay tribute to 100 years of history and celebrate a bright future.
Happy Anniversary Troop 1!
