Rolling Meadows Boy Scout troop signs off after nearly 70 years

Chartered in 1955, Rolling Meadows-based Boy Scout Troop 168 officially disbanded last weekend with a final court of honor recognizing not only its five most recent Eagle Scouts but the 63 from across its history.

The bittersweet occasion brought out representatives of the past 47 of the troop’s 69 years for both the ceremony itself and to hobnob at a reception afterward.

“I thought it was really great to hear the history and how important this was to them then,” said Kevin Thompson, the committee chair whose youngest son has the distinction of being the last active member of the troop.

He said there were earlier times when the membership was as low as five, as it recently was again, but this was the first time Troop 168 fell below that required minimum to be rechartered.

“It’s becoming a more common story than I would like,” Thompson added.

Though not every community like Rolling Meadows has been able to sustain its own troop, the opportunities for Scouting are not drying up, he said. There is a healthy-sized troop in Palatine that actually took part in Rolling Meadows’ Fourth of July parade, and a venturing crew in Schaumburg that his son has now joined.

A venturing crew is a bit different from a troop in that the gatherings and activities are usually related to specifically defined interests of the membership, he said.

Furthermore, an interested group of kids in the future could decide to restart a troop in Rolling Meadows, and even apply for the same number if they were aware of the history.

“This doesn’t have to be the end for Rolling Meadows,” he said.

Joseph La Monica, now of Algonquin, was involved with the troop through his sons from the late ‘70s to the late ‘80s. He experienced its vastly different opportunity for kids than what he’d known from his own youth in inner-city Chicago.

“I hated to see that it was being disbanded,” he said. “To me, it meant a whole lot. Both of my sons became Eagle Scouts and then Scoutmasters. I’m very proud of both of them. And all three of my grandsons are Eagle Scouts.”

La Monica said today’s kids are being encouraged to make career decisions in high school when many haven’t been exposed to enough skills and tasks to make an informed choice. Scouting can be a path to those experiences, he added.

“It teaches independence,” he said. “How to take care of themselves and others.”

While Troop 168 had about 20 members at a time during his involvement, his disappointment at hearing of the disbanding was countered by learning that the Palatine troop currently has about four times that many.

“I don’t think Scouting is dying by any means,” he added. “I don’t feel that it’s in jeopardy … yet.”

Nancy Hardman, who’s since moved to Wauconda, was Scoutmaster of Troop 168 from 1998 to 2010. At the beginning, she saw getting a sufficient number of kids and parents as her chief tasks.

“My goal was to get it to 50 years, and I succeeded in doing that,” she said. “The hardest thing about kids’ activities is a lack of parental involvement.”

Even though her own sons didn’t become Eagle Scouts, it was their introduction to other skilled activities like robotics that drew them away from that goal. But she said the problem-solving and life skills that were taught were invaluable.

“Both my boys today say they learned so much,” Hardman said. “The boys learn a lot about leadership and survival skills.”

Her own best friends are ones she met through the troop. And so it meant a lot to her to attend the final court of honor for the Scouts.

“I just wish all the boys well,” Hardman said.