Scouting America Troop 93 celebrated 100 years of service at VFW Post 2718, in Franklin Square, on April 12.
In attendance were past and present members of the troop, many of whom had earned the rank of Eagle Scout over the years.
The troop, which was founded in 1924, hosted a formal ceremony last June, but its leadership decided to have an informal dinner this year for current scouts and alumni, so members could meet and mingle.
Mike Priolo, 73, a committeeman for the troop, said that its leadership is central to its century-long legacy. The leadership, he said, comes from the Franklin Square community, and reflects the values of the close-knit town.
“It’s got a nice, old feeling of the way towns used to be,” Priolo said, “even though a lot has changed.”
Priolo joined Franklin Square Cub Scout Pack 93 in 1960, when he was 8, moved up to Troop 93 two years later, and became an Eagle Scout at age 14. He recalled that many of the troop leaders when he was young were World War II and Korean War veterans. In keeping with their military training, Priolo said, rules were strictly enforced and obeyed by the scouts.
“You were lined up in the VFW and you got commands like you were in the Army,” he recounted of the troop’s Monday night meetings.
The scouts would march in the VFW parking lot in preparation for the Memorial Day Parade, rehearsing every synchronized move, Priolo said, ensuring that everybody was squared off and lined up, eyes forward.
While things have loosened up a bit over the years, he said, troop leaders continue to instill high expectations for their scouts as a result of their own scouting experience.
Scoutmaster Bob Murawski, 67, said that most of those leaders have been involved in scouting for decades —Murawski himself for over 30 years. “We do have longevity,” he said.
Both of his sons, Robert and William Murawski, became Eagle Scouts, and even after they left scouting, he remained involved. Scouts enter the troop at age 10, and age out at 18.
“I watch them morph from a cocoon into a butterfly,” Murawski said.
Not only has the troop endured, but its values and lessons continue to impact the lives of its former scouts. “Leaders of the troop are teaching these boys skills that will last a lifetime,” Murawski said.
He said that scouting not only teaches scouts skills like camping, hunting, building a fire and first aid, but also life skills like communication and job preparation.
Robert Meisl, 17, is currently working on his Eagle Scout project, a training facility for dog handlers. When a chief and canine handler from the Bennington Police Department in Vermont, Paul Doucette, gave a presentation to the troop during a camping trip in 2022, Meisl decided to become a canine handler, too. Leaders like Doucette and Murawski are the reason why he is succeeding in scouting, Meisl said, and he has been inspired to pursue a career in canine handling.
“They always push me to do the best for everyone in the troop and for my future,” Meisl said.
Karin Meisl, Robert’s mother, also credits the troop’s leadership for the positive impact the program has had on her son. And, she added, the troop has given him a sense of camaraderie that is hard to come by these days.
“It built confidence,” Karin said. “His friends really kept him going, and they motivated and inspired him by keeping things fun and interesting.”
Daniel Jeremias, 20, who aged out of Troop 93 two years ago, said the troop’s leadership is heavily impacted by the scouts themselves. One of the best aspects of scouting, Jeremias said, is that the scouts are the ones who lead the meetings and make decisions for the troop.
“One of the things we say in scouting is that we’re youth led and guided by adults,” he said.
The scouts who came before him, Jeremias said, had a huge impact on his own scouting career. His father, Joseph Jeremias, became an Eagle Scout in 1985.
Daniel is no longer as involved in Troop 93, but remains the inductions chairperson for Buckskin Lodge 412—a local chapter of Scouting’s national honor society, Order of the Arrow—and a volunteer for the Scouting’s Theodore Roosevelt Council. And, he knows the troop is in good hands, he said, because he taught many of the older scouts everything they know.
Priolo said that it’s important for the scouts’ parents to stay involved in their children’s endeavors. “It’s a big dedication,” Priolo said. “You need the adults. The troop has to be active so you can keep the boys interested.”
As for Jeremias, the key to keeping Troop 93 thriving in Franklin Square is through the friendships and mentorship of fellow troop members, who are learning to be the adults that will inspire future generations of scouts.
