Scouts will be prepared for fun

The 75th anniversary of Canfield's Boy Scout troop -- the second-oldest in Mahoning County -- will be marked with a celebration July 7.
By IAN HILL
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
CANFIELD -- Where in the world is Richard McMillen?
That's what Mike Kupec would like to know. Kupec is trying to track down McMillen and seven other former members of Boy Scout Troop 25 in Canfield to ask them if they will participate in the troop's 75th anniversary celebration.
Each of the eight earned the rank of Eagle Scout, the top rank in Boy Scouts, between 1938 and 1967.
"If we can find them, we'd love to at least get in touch with them," said Kupec, a member of the Troop 25 committee and the chairman of the anniversary celebration.
When, where: More than 30 of the troop's 131 Eagle Scouts are set to participate in the celebration, which will be at 1 p.m. July 7 at Camp Stambaugh in Canfield. The celebration will include such activities such as rope-making and outdoor cooking, and a ceremonial bonfire at 7 p.m. will mark the anniversary.
Kupec said he expects between 300 and 400 people to attend. He said around 700 Scouts have been members of Troop 25 since it was established in 1926.
The Eagle Scouts that Kupec is trying to locate include Edward Osbourne, who was named an Eagle in 1938; William Barrow, 1954; Pat Bremner and Richard K. Johnson, both 1955; Robert and Richard James, both 1957; Richard McMillen, 1958; and William McDonough, 1967.
Kupec has little information about the missing Eagle Scouts. A Vindicator article from Oct. 21, 1958, said McMillen had been an assistant patrol leader, summer camp leader and troop scribe when he was named an Eagle Scout. It also said that he was an honor student at Canfield High School and a member of Canfield Methodist Church.
Kupec said he has been using the Internet and speaking with longtime Canfield residents in an effort to track down McMillen and the other Eagle Scouts.
He noted that Troop 25 Eagle Scouts are planning to travel from their homes in Florida, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Colorado to attend.
"Many of them haven't been here for 20, 30, or 40 years," Kupec said, adding that Troop 25 is the second-oldest Boy Scout troop in Mahoning County. He said a troop in Poland was established about a year before Troop 25.
Seventeen Scouts were members of Troop 25 in its first year, records show.
Members today: Today, the troop has 49 members, including Andrew Lewandowski, 15, a Canfield High School student who will be named an Eagle Scout on July 8. Lewandowski said he became involved with scouting by joining the Tiger Cubs, a division of Scouting for 7-year-old boys.
He said that through scouting he has learned survival, leadership and communication skills that he has found useful in school. In addition, Lewandowski said, he thinks Scouting will give him an advantage when he applies to colleges.
"I just always found it fun, I found it interesting; I found it useful," Lewandowski said.
Doug Kupec, Mike's son, said Scouting taught him responsibility as well as leadership and planning skills. Doug, 22, was named an Eagle Scout in 1996. He will be a senior at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland this fall.
"You learn how to be independent and how to work with other people at the same time, which is a big part of college," Doug said of Scouting.
He added that it's "impressive when a troop can stay around for 75 years and stay as prominent as Troop 25 in Canfield."
Lewandowski, meanwhile, said the July 7 celebration will be "a point you can say, 'Look how long we've lasted with a good program.'"
Cub Scout pack: The celebration also will mark the 65th anniversary of Cub Scout Pack 25 in Canfield. The Cub Scout Pack is the oldest pack in Mahoning County.
For the two anniversaries, the Canfield post office has created two commemorative postmarks. The postmarks will be available July 4.
hill@vindy.com