Messiah Lutheran church was formed with a core of the members from the old Central Lutheran Church, which was on East Mifllin Street. It was a small church that was struggling. It was decided to move to the outskirts of the city and start a new church. With that, Messiah Lutheran Church was born. A house on Martha Lane was purchased and the work of forming a congregation was begun. The pastor hire
d by this new group was Donavan Palmquist. Our family had moved into the area about that time. Pastor Palmquist made a visit to our new house and we came to know him and his work. After several visits, he had asked if a program for the young boys in the neighborhood would be a good idea. So the seed had been sown. It took many months to put the idea to work: We needed to contact Boy Scouts and learn the requirements in order to be a sponsoring organization. Then the requirements for the chartering. When all that was done, it was time to start putting all the pieces together. We needed a responsible organization that would furnish a meeting place and support the program. That we had. Then we needed three adults to take on the task of recruiting five boys and select a leader. All of that took several months. Everything was coming together. A charter was fmally signed and issued in October of 1961. The church donated five dollars of their small cash flow. It was understood that if we wanted a Troop, we would have to earn it. Now that is a mission for us to undertake. We had no funds, no equipment, five boys, three adults, and a place to meet. Another thing that was never thought of, the adults need some training. Good fortune looked kindly upon us. Troops 149, 101,201, adopted our floundering troop and helped us with the tasks at hand. They helped us to find fund raising ideas, and training. We were off to the races. Now it was necessary to have something for the boys to do. The first campout was in February of'62 at Castle Rock. Every one that wanted to go would have to furnish hi own equipment. A real "rag tag" unit we were. The ranger at camp made sure that we had a goodly supply of wood for warmth. We had put together some cooking equipment from the homes of the boys. Food was purchased from a grocer who wanted for our success. Family camping stuff showed up and we made that first outing, and learned many things. One week-end each month was set aside for a camping experience, the other week -ends were for fund raising events. It was necessary for every family to be totally dedicated to the program. Again, luck was on our side. No grumbling from the parents, but just a lot of work. We delivered circulars, sold wreaths, planted trees, and many other tasks to gain a few funds. As the monies came in we purchased troop equipment, cooking and tenting. An Army squad tent had been given to the unit, poles donated by a business man, had kept us out of the weather and a place to sleep, on our outings. For carrying our personal gear, we had to back-pack everything. A man from Milwaukee Schools had found a supply of oak that could be used for making back- packs. He cut the pieces for us and sent them over to us. We assembled them. Found some webbing for nothing for the newly made pieces. A bunch of seat belts were donated for the shoulder straps, enough for each boy. We were now in . Second Heaven, with our self made packs. So now, were a unit that could make our monthly camp-out goal. Not in luxury, but in a manner with some comfort. The troop had now become one large family of dedicated people. We had one goal in mind, have the unit succeed. Who were some of these people, you may ask. People who would devote almost all their spare time to working for the unit? Joseph Hartman, Bill Roehm, Orville Hall, Alex Derrer, Walt Nelson, Al Wagner, John Brown Den Erickson, Bob Johnson, Don Begon, Don Strand., Ernie Mills the Adams family. There were many others that were parents or just supporters of our undertaking. Many business also chipped in. Because of a unit from the Air Force was stationed at Truax, we had the input of the Armed forces also. At the end of about twelve years we had an inventory of about $10,000.00. Not a bad return on a five dollar investment. Thousands of hours of volunteer time had been donated to working. Then there was training and carrying out the program. Surely, some things were left behind, but, all in all, a good time was had by all. We learned what working together could accomplish. Scoutmasters are the ones that try to coordinate everything and make for a smooth running outfit. The past Scoutmasters were myself: Al Wagner, Bob Johnson, Dick Schwedosky, Phil Rose, Joe Baumann, to name a few. The more recent ones others will remember. Some of us have gone on to other parts of the Scouting program, others have retired, but still support.
