Scouting through the years in Rye

A HISTORY OF SCOUTING IN RYE

by Mr. Bill Langham

There are few troops in the United States with such a long period of active service. Troop 2, Rye's veteran troop, has had a long and active existence for over 100 years. Among the oldest Boy Scout troops in the country, Troop 2 was organized at Milton School in 1916 and has been meeting every week since the winter of 1917. The Presbyterian Church in Rye has held Troop 2’s Charter since April 1922.

Troop 2 and the other Scout troops in Rye were frequently mentioned in the Rye Chronicle, a weekly newspaper published from 1907 until 1979. The Rye Free Reading Room has original copies of the Chronicle in its historical collection. Scanned copies are available online at the Fulton County Postcard Collection. These sources combined with archival material from the Rye Historical Society’s Knapp House provided resource material for the following description of Troop 2 founding.

Rye's oldest active troop and one of the oldest troops in Siwanoy Council, was organized in 1916 at Milton School. Weyman Walker was appointed Scoutmaster and under his leadership, it became one of the best and most active troops in the Council. It set up its own camp on Palmer's property, Post Road, Rye, and built itself a trek-cart which was taken on hikes and to rallies, including a jamboree in White Plains, to which a team of scouts pulled it, filled with all their essential equipment. Mrs. Walker, Scoutmaster Walker’s wife, sewed the first troop flag, the organization being too poor to buy one. In every Council Rally Contest, Troop 2 brought honor to itself and to Rye. 

Though a young troop during World War I, it received recognition for the work it did in selling Liberty Bonds. Many of Rye's foremost business men still boast of "our rallies in the Town Park" and "how we used to lick them all at inter-town rallies”.

Some of its early Scoutmasters were Weyman Walker, A. Duance Doty, Lawrence Cornwall, Harold F. Pond, George W. Herron, Peter E. Rogers, Frederick Atherton Jr. Jack Moxhay and George O'Connor, Jr., one of the original scouts of Troop 2. Meetings were held Wednesday evenings at 7:30 o'clock at Milton School. (Rye Chronicle February 5, 1937)

Meetings have moved to Tuesday nights at Rye Prebyterian Church. Troop 2 has current membership of over three-dozen young men. It has had as many as 50 or 60 during its existence. Troop 2 has always been the leading troop in Rye. Over the years there have been as many as 5 troops and a Scout Ship in town with, at various times, Church of the Resurrection, Midland School and Osborn School among the sponsoring organizations. As time has passed, the scout units in Rye have consolidated and Troop 2 is the sole surviving troop, providing action and adventure for boys since its founding in 1916.

Almost a hundred boys from Troop 2 have earned Scouting’s highest achievement, Eagle Scout. Service projects can be found throughout the City of Rye - planned, managed, and directed by outstanding young men from Troop 2. Projects can be found from sea-level at the Marshlands and Edith G Read Wildlife Sanctuary, to the summit at Rye Nature, at Disbrow Field, Milton School and the Performing Arts Center at Rye High. Community Synagogue, Christ’s Church, Resurrection and Rye Presbyterian have all benefited from Eagle-scout managed projects.

Over the years, Rye Scouts have sold Liberty Bonds as described above. They also collected scrap metal and tin foil during the Second World War. In the 1950’s when the Atomic Bomb race was at its peak, scouts, with signed permission slips from their parents, served as communications runners in the town’s Civil Defense Corps. More recently Troop 2 Scouts have participated in brook clean-up days, Earth Day activities, making and delivering food for SuperStorm Sandy’s victims, preparing and serving Santa’s Breakfast for hundreds of families in neighboring Port Chester at Don Bosco Community Center. Troop 2 Scouts even provided the push for a cerebral palsy kids’ wheelchair basketball game. 

Troop 2 maintains an active outdoor program. Rye scouts hike year round, camp out throughout the school-year, attend summer camp, experience wilderness backpacking treks in places like the Sierra Mountains in California and the Presidential Range in New Hampshire. A group from Rye went canoeing for a week on the Boundary Waters Wilderness Area between Minnesota and Canada and trekked Denali in Alaska. Weekend hikes on the Appalachian Trail inspired at least two scouts to attempt the entire 2190 miles of the AT from Georgia to Maine! Troop 2 scouts have snowshoed in the High Peaks of the Adirondacks in winter and attended National Jamborees at the Summit Bechtel Reserve in West Virginia. Rye Scouts have traveled to the United Kingdom to celebrate 100 years of scouting at the World Scout Jamboree in 2007. Jack Moxhay, one the original Eagle Scouts in Troop 2, attended the 3rd World Scout Jamboree at Birkenhead, England in 1929.

Troop 2 continued to meet virtually uninterrupted during the Covid Pandemic year of 2020-21 using Zoom online meeting software. Scouts learned new scout skills, advanced in rank, held virtual backyard campouts, earned merit badges and continued in true Scouting Spirit to be prepared - for anything that life throws their way.