By Khalida Sarwari
It’s not uncommon nowadays for a downpour to result in the cancellation of a day’s plans, but Michael Miller remembers a time when he was a Boy Scout packing his bags for a trip and he and his friends could count on the outing to go on as scheduled–rain or shine.
Miller, an engineer from Saratoga, was a member of Troop 508, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this month. He has fond memories of his time in the troop between 1967 and 1972.
“I remember one particularly rainy weekend we went out to Año Nuevo,” he recalled. “I remember it being so rainy that when we set up our camps many of the tents blew down and we ended up staying the night at the farmer’s barn out in the Brussels sprout fields. I think it turned out to be one of the more memorable weekends for many of the boys.”
Miller served as an assistant scoutmaster for the troop between 2000 and 2008 and his son, Ian, was also a member and went on to become an Eagle Scout. Miller’s father, Hank, was a scoutmaster when he was a member.
“To me, it’s about passing down skills from men to boys, helping the boys become men,” Miller said.
According to assistant scoutmaster Dianne France, since Troop 508 was founded on Dec. 1, 1965, 108 of its scouts have been awarded the Eagle Scout rank. While it is currently chartered at Saratoga Presbyterian Church, the troop has previously been based at Redwood Middle School and Saratoga High School.
“Our troop provides opportunities for our scouts to acquire practical skills, practice leadership skills, experience camping and perform service projects,” she said. “We engage in a variety of camping experiences. Typical trips are weekend camping or backpacking at Point Reyes, Yosemite and the local state and county parks.”
Troop 508 also attends the Boy Scout summer camps, with the most popular activity being wilderness survival camp which teaches scouts survival skills.
Under the leadership of current scoutmaster, Roy Lagemann, who has two boys of his own in the troop, scouts have performed service projects to help the community, including food harvesting and collections, along with projects for the local schools, preschools, churches and community service organizations, France said.
The 50th anniversary celebration takes place at Wildwood Park on Aug. 23 with a barbecue picnic and court of honor ceremony, which is open to the general public. The troop will be receiving a commendation from the city on that day. Mayor Howard Miller is expected to be in attendance.
All former members and leaders of Troop 508 are invited to the celebration and are encouraged to RSVP by emailing Miller at mycaljon@gmail.com.
