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OREGON'S OLDEST Ashland Boy Scout Troop 112 turns 100 Celebration Saturday in Lithia Park Comment By John Darling For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By John Darling For the Tidings Posted Jul. 14, 2015 at 7:52 PM Updated Jul 14, 2015 at 7:53 PM By John Darling For the Tidings Posted Jul. 14, 2015 at 7:52 PM Updated Jul 14, 2015 at 7:53 PM » Social News The oldest Boy Scout Troop in Oregon — Troop 112 of Ashland — will celebrate its centennial with a big hot dog and burger gala in Lithia Park Saturday, accompanied by a review of historical memorabilia across the street in Pioneer Hall. Three longtime Boy Scout leaders of Troop 112 gathered Tuesday to review memories, including an annual three-week hike from Ashland to Lake of the Woods and back — something barely imaginable today — and to laud the rewards of Scouting: teamwork, self-sufficiency, leadership, “selfless service,” and "asking an adult for what you want.” “We became a boy-led troop. That’s how it worked. We have great parent participation, sometimes more parents than boys,” says Tim Hernandez, an assistant Scout Master, who moved here from Oakland when he was 10, found himself in a paradise of nature and made scouting central to his growing up. “I was coming of age in the mid-'60s, with drugs around and I didn’t get into any trouble. It kept me on the right path,” says Hernandez. When he retired from the Air Force in 1993, he came home and got involved as a Scout leader. “It’s a blast, watching kids grow to young adults,” he says. “So many come back and thank us.” Troop 112 Scout Master John Ourant has dug up the history of the Troop, finding Daily Tidings articles that pinpoint the Troop’s inception in February 1915, the first and oldest Boy Scout Troop in Oregon. It bore the name Troop #1, under Scout Master George B. Holley, and was joined by Ashland’s Troop #2 four years later, the second Troop in Oregon. The Tidings story said the town had 50 Scouts, “men of good character.” They merged in 1928. More Troops were created or renamed, so that Ashland had 112, 113, 115 and 117 in the 1920s and 1930s. Chaplain and former Scout Master Dennis Mellecker, an Eagle Scout, joined Troop 112 in the mid-1990s and shepherded his son through the ranks. “It taught selfless service, with the boys learning to become teachers and I felt like the student,” says Mellecker, noting that their service today includes painting curb numbers and collecting old Christmas trees and turning them into mulch. “My son learned to get up in adults’ faces and ask them for something,” he said. “You get to be a man by developing a dream. Once you can ask, hey, get out of the way! Scouting is not something we do, it’s something we become.” The men recounted an amazing array of adventures Scouts have embarked on over the decades, including sailing the Bahamas, canoeing in Boundary Waters of Minnesota, trail-building and camping at Philmont Scout Camp in New Mexico and learning winter survival and igloo building at the Snow Capades at Lake of the Woods. This skill, said Hernandez, saved the life of one Scout when his snowmobile died in an icy wilderness. Some 40 Ashland boys have become Eagle Scouts since 1993, when he joined Troop 112, said Hernandez — and the honor is so esteemed, he adds, that Air Force recruits would be give an extra stripe for it, out of boot camp. Another Eagle Scout from Troop 112, having earned a merit badge in finances and accounting, was able to rescue his fraternity at University of Oregon from a jungle of debt, says Hernandez. The centennial feast runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday in Lithia Park. Those bringing uniforms, merit badges and such accoutrements from their Scouting years will feast free of charge. For information, see troop112centennial.com or call 541-840-0677. John Darling is an Ashland freelance writer. Reach him at [email protected]. By John Darling For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By John Darling For the Tidings Posted Jul. 14, 2015 at 7:52 PM Updated Jul 14, 2015 at 7:53 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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