History of Boy Scout Troop 254 

by Troop Historian Jonas Eklund

Lauderdale Troop 254 has dated way back to 1916, just two years after the Boy Scouts of America formed as a national organization in 1914.  The first Scoutmaster was Leonard Forst, and the troop’s address was listed at Madison School in St. Paul.  At that time, the troop’s number was known as "54".

Unfortunately the first troop did not last long.  Its charter lapsed after one year.  The troop was picked up again in 1921 and was sponsored by the YMCA,.  Merriam Park Baptist Church sponsored the troop for ten years starting in 1922, and Olivet Congregational Church sponsored it from 1932 to 1934.  Rosehill Men’s Club became the troop’s sponsor in 1934, and in 1936 the troop reverted to a community citizens-sponsored group.

In 1939, the Lauderdale Parent-Teacher Association (PTA)became the troop’s sponsor which lasted until 1945.  But in 1942, the troop failed to pay its rent to the PTA, and a report to the Council said that the PTA “had a poor understanding of its responsibilities” as a sponsor.  Evidently some PTA members thought that not enough of the boy scouts’ parents were also members of the PTA.  Eventually, troop 54 was shutdown.

However, a few years later on Oct. 9, 1945, a new application for troop charter was filed.The troop was assigned number 254 and has continued renewing its charter annually ever since.

By 2001, troop 254 had diminished to only a few scouts.  Warren Plaisance got involved, and he decided to use his forty-acre parcel of land across from Wild River State Park for the troop to use as a campsite.  He called it Camp 254.

In 2002, Warren became scoutmaster and began organizing camp outs and trips for the troop.  Some of the troop's trips have included Chicago, Green Bay, Winnipeg, and Colorado.  Some of the scout camps have included Tomahawk, Camp Phillipo, Fred C. Anderson Scout Camp, and Sea Base in the Bahamas.  Beginning in 2006, the troop began coordinating a fall Camporee, which involves all troops in the district.  Some scouts have also gone to the National Jamboree.  In 2007, Bob Wahlstedt became scoutmaster, and the troop continued to grow.  He served until 2012. Erik Swanson is our current scoutmaster.

Scoutmasters of Troop 254