A boyhood hike RETRACED

Fifty years ago, members of Boy Scout Troop 10 marched 30 miles to Marshfield. On Sunday, they followed the route again. By Steve Koehler News-Leader Gene Meyer had a simple idea. He’d have his Boys Scout troop from St. Agnes Church earn a national merit badge by marching from Springfield to Camp Arrowhead near Marshfield, more than 30 miles away. “I thought it would be a good experience for them,” he said. But it turned about to be much more than that. When the 36 members of Troop 10, who ranged in age from 11 to 14, completed the hike 50 years ago, they got much more than a badge the boys could sew onto their uniform for their sweat and aching muscles. They had experienced a watershed moment in their lives that the men still wear prominently on their heart to this day, and scoutmaster Meyer earned the undying respect and love of his scouts. “There was something special about him. This weekend is not about the trail. It’s about Gene,” said Pat Logue, who now lives in Sunrise Beach and was a member of the troop.

Logue and about 30 other troop members returned to Springfield this weekend to relive and remember those half-century-old moments when the troop headed out on a hot July afternoon and traveled the winding, hilly back roads of Greene and Webster counties to arrive in camp two days later. This weekend, however, with 50 years of wear and tear on their bodies, and especially their legs, the men rode buses that followed the route they took. The men, now scattered across the country in California, Florida and New Jersey, are leaders of industry, lawyers, doctors and educators.

Steve Schneider, who operates a New York Life Insurance office in Springfield, called Meyer “the gold standard of scoutmasters.” “A hike like that at the time was pretty much unheard of,” he said.

Meyer said he was amazed that the reunion had turned into celebration of his work as scoutmaster. All of the troops wore dark green T-shirts that read “A Tribute to Gene Meyer” written in gold on them. Link to full article