Welcome to the Troop 30 website. Troop 30 is frequently called one of the best troops in Stanford District, and we have fun living up to that claim. We have had over twenty Eagle Scouts in the last four years, and we advance a new one just about every week. At Troop 30 we stress that the events and meetings are scout-led. There are approximately 70 scouts in the troop and around 20 adult leaders. In our troop leadership structure, we have the Senior Patrol Leader (SPL) and the Scoutmaster at the top. The SPL works with the Assistant Senior Patrol Leaders who in turn work with the Patrol Leaders. The Scoutmaster is in charge of delegating and organizing all of the adult troop leadership, and working with the Troop Parents Committee, to direct the course for the troop to move in. Our entire troop communicates via email. There is also a strong expectation that all adults take on some degree of participation in the troop. These two parts are what make Troop 30 great.

At Troop 30 we are known for going on a lot of treks and outings. Some of the major ones include the Klondike Derby snow camping, snow camping at Camp Oljato, District Camporees, Scout O' Rama, Rim of the Bay hikes, cave rappelling, river rafting, canoeing, kayaking, 50 Milers and many other camp-outs, backpacking treks, and activities. Every summer, Troop 30 also attends two weeks of camp at Camp Oljato at 7000' elevation on Huntington Lake in the Sierras. We went to Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico in 2003 and will again in 2007, a 60-mile canoe trip on the Lewis and Clark Trail on the Missouri River in South Dakota in 2001, and plan to go on many other high adventure trips. We went on a sailing trip around the San Juan Islands.

The troop meets every Wednesday from 7:30 to 8:30 at Christ Episcopal Church, 1040 Border Road in Los Altos, California. Troop 30 is part of the Stanford District in the Pacific Skyline Council.

Does your Troop have a special interest area? No, we strive to do a variety of activities which recognizes and accommodates the schedules of the Scouts.

What is your style of Troop operation? We establish a preliminary annual calendar of activities at the beginning of each Scouting year. During the year the Scouts, under the coaching and guidance of an adult leader, plan and carry-out the identified activities. Scouts are assigned to patrols but the majority of activities are conducted as an entire Troop.

Do you meet year round? Regular Troop meetings are scheduled from September through mid-July. The Troop attends Camp Oljato for two weeks in late July - early August. Planning meetings for the next year occur during August.

Do you have separate Patrol meetings / outings? Yes. Specific patrol meeting and patrol outings are scheduled.

Packs your Troop draws from: We welcome Scouts from any Pack. Typically Scouts have come from Pack 33, Pack 77, Pack 80 and Pack 103.

Schools your Troop draws from: Almond, Loyola, Oak, St. Simon, Pinewood, Graham, Blach, and Eagan. Also, Los Altos, Mountain View, St. Francis, Palo Alto, Homestead, and Gunn High Schools.

Do you have a Webelos night(s)? Yes, these are usually during the months of December - February. They are held on regular Troop meeting nights and times. Special arrangements can be made by contacting the Scoutmaster.

Do you accept new boys / Webelos year round? Yes.

Do new Scouts meet during their 1st summer? Yes, new Scouts are expected to participate in Troop meetings and activities after joining the Troop.

Do new Scouts go with the Troop to Summer Camp? Yes, new Scouts are encouraged to attend at least one week of the two weeks. Parents/guardians are also encouraged to attend to expose them to Boy Scouting and Camp Oljato.

Are there any requirements for a new boy before he can go camping with your Troop? No specific requirements are established. The decision would be based upon the specific hike/camping trip, the ability of the Scout and the comfort level of the Scout leader and the Scout parents/guardians.

Are there any special requirements you have for new Scouts? No. One parent/guardian is expected to register as an adult leader and to provide support to the Troop.

My involvement in Scouting began in 1971. Our oldest son, Gus joined Pack 36 at Springer School . When Gus completed his Arrow of Light requirements, Warren Snow and two Troop 30 senior Scouts participated in the Webelos Bridge Ceremony that inducted Gus into Scouting. That was my introduction to Troop 30, and was in 1974. So, I have been active in Scouting since 1971 and a member of Troop 30 since 1974.

Troop 30 has been blessed with excellent scoutmasters, from its inception to the present. Good scoutmasters attract high caliber adults, help them to become trained in the ways of scouting, help them to become uniformed leaders and provide leadership not only for the boys, but the adults, as well. We are all indebted to our Scoutmasters. They set the pace and the tone of what the troop does. They make the program happen. We have also been blessed by some of the finest troop committee Chairmen and oh, so many exceptional parents.

The names of all 12 Troop 30’s scoutmasters are displayed on a plaque, in the troop room. I was not personally familiar with four of the earlier Scoutmasters. I have known and worked with the other 8. They all impressed me by their devotion to the troop and the energy they brought to their job. All served the troop remarkably well. 

This troop has had a great past. I thought it would interesting to the adults of the troop, especially new parents to tell you something about two of its Scoutmasters and the building of the scout room.

First Scoutmaster: Bill Fowler-Scoutmaster for 12 years.

Troop 30 was founded in 1957, I understand by Bill Fowler. He was its first Scoutmaster and served the troop for its first 7 years. Of the 12 Scoutmasters, he was the only one that served for two periods of time. In later years, when he retired, he became the seventh Scoutmaster for an additional 5-year period. He was completely dedicated to Scouting. He served the troop selflessly until illness affected him in the last year of his life.

Bill was an amazing person. He had the rank of Eagle Scout, and also, the rank of Quartermaster. For those unfamiliar with Quartermaster rank, it is the highest rank in the BSA Sea Scout program. It is equivalent to Eagle Scout. I have heard it said that it is even more difficult to attain than is the Eagle Scout rank. Young men and young women age 14 and up to 21 may participate in the Sea Scouts. The Pacific Skyline Council has a very active Sea Scout program. Currently it has four Sea Scout ships, one of which, Ship 33 earned the honor of being this year’s National Flagship.  There are 600 Sea Scout ships in the United States so you can see that is a significant honor. Scouts, if you want to be involved with ships and nautical things there is another world of opportunity-Sea Scouts.

Bill Fowler was a mechanical engineer and a World War II Army veteran. His knowledge of Scouting was exceptional. He was truly a knot expert. Bill shared his Scouting knowledge with not only Troop 30, but also the Stanford Area Council, where he served as a trainer in adult and youth leadership programs and scoutcraft skills. When changes occurred in the merit badge system, Bill was charged with getting that information out to all of the troops in the Council. He did that at Roundtables and by organizing special seminars for advancement chairmen. He served in many training roles for the Council over the year. He was a member of the training staff that taught me the basic fundamentals of scouting. We used to call it Troop 101. It is now known as Boy Scout Leader Basic training.  We both served as Scoutmasters for the one-week Junior Leadership training sessions held at Boulder Creek.

Sixth Scoutmaster Warren Snow-Scoutmaster for 17 years.

Warren Snow, the Scoutmaster with the longest tenure was another outstanding person. He became Scoutmaster a year after he joined the troop. He was a man of legendary stature.  A superb Scoutmaster, his outdoor skills were awesome. We all marveled at his knowledge of plants and animals. He was from Pennsylvania and loved to spend his time in the woods there. As a teenager, he loved his early morning squirrel hunts and was an expert rifleman. A trip through a forest with him was an education. He loved to help Scouts.

Warren never lost his temper, even under the most difficult of circumstances. Instead of chastising a Scout, Warren would counsel him. In effect, he turned what would have been a reprimand into a learning situation. Few Scouts failed to learn from him. Although I tried very hard to emulate this skill of Warren ’s, I feel that I never learned to use his technique as successfully. It has something to do with temper control.

Warren was physically very strong. He was a gymnast as a young man. Few could keep up with him on the trail. He was always out in front. The strongest boys of the troop could barely maintain his pace. Of course, he didn’t have to worry about the other end of the troop. He knew that I would be there encouraging the younger and less fit Scouts and sometimes adults.

These two Scoutmasters set the tone and the pace for the growth of Troop 30. We are all indebted to them for their energy, leadership and foresight.

Building The Troop Room

When we joined Troop 30, the troop met in a small basement room under the front of the classroom section of Christ Episcopal Church. The room was about 20’ deep by 30’ wide. With 40 boys and adult leaders, it was a squeeze. The room contained all of the troop members and most of our equipment. Some of the equipment was stored in member’s homes.

A basement space was available under the main church that could possibly be used as a scout room. We investigated and started planning to go about making it suitable for Scouts. It was considerably larger than the area we were using. It was pitch dark, had two entrance doors, an uneven dirt floor, and unfinished concrete walls and ceilings.

We have always maintained excellent relations with our sponsor, Christ Episcopal Church. Approval for use of the space was obtained from the church ministerial and vestry staffs.

An arrangement was made that the Scouts could have the space if we could make it habitable. It would be ours to manage and use, without a fee, in perpetuity. Also, our equipment could be stored in one of the adjacent furnace rooms.

On approval, the troop went in to action. Plans were drawn of the area.

We had a great deal of help from outside sources. Twenty companies made contributions of materials. Some helped in the construction. Their names are listed on a plaque also in the Troop room. The amount of concrete and reinforcing steel required for the floor was astounding. Virtually all of the troop and a number of adults and Troop 30 Eagle Scouts contributed to the effort.

They did an amazing amount of work picking up construction debris and cleaning out the cardboard remains of the concrete forms for the ceiling. Sound deadening tiles and lighting were added and the concrete was painted.

One outstanding event was the appearance on a Saturday morning of an Army truck convoy with a detachment of soldiers, about thirty strong, in fatigues. They came to help with the construction. They were a reserve unit under the command of Jim Springer, an Army Reserve Officer and one of our Assistant Scoutmasters. They were there to do a service project for the community. A lot of work was accomplished on that weekend.

I could go on for a long time about the earlier years, the start of 50 Mile Backpacks and other adventures the Troop had. As you do today, we had a very active year-round program. We did at least one outing a month, and often two, rain or shine. We have always supported the Council’s activities such as Roundtables, Camporees, the Mountain Man Rendezvous, fund-raising efforts, maintenance of the camps and leadership training. That is important because the Council is an important resource to the troops.

There is a saying, “You can’t take the outing out of Scouting”, and it is true. Our program is based on the great out-of-doors. Scouting is fun with a purpose. If it isn’t fun, it isn’t Scouting.

Learning in the great out-of-doors was the essence of the innovative program Lord Baden Powell, British General, the founder of the present day Scouting program designed for his commands. The number of young men that were war casualties in the British Army distressed the Boer War “Hero of Mafeking”. They simply had never learned to care for themselves. He set out to change that with a scout program he developed. The effect was immediate and stunning.  Casualties went down. Performance went up. Baden-Powell was a hero in more than one sense. His work and methods continue worldwide, among millions of youth, today.