Troop 414 was founded in 1970 by the late Reverend James Scotland, pastor of the Bedford Presbyterian Church at the time. Reverend Scotland is himself Distinguished Eagle Scout, and his oldest son was the troop’s first Eagle.
The troop’s local and state-wide reputation is built on the commitment of strong adult leadership. In addition to our Scoutmaster, we are very fortunate to have over a dozen active Assistant Scoutmasters, and our Troop Committee comprises nearly twenty registered parents each year.
But the real engine that drives Troop 414 is the boys! Our membership has risen and fallen through the years in synch with the town’s demographics. Currently we are experiencing unprecedented growth, and have over 80 registered scouts in seven patrols.
We have always believed strongly that “outing” is the largest part of “scouting”. The troop camps 12 months a year in a wide variety of environments: in New Hampshire, throughout New England, and sometimes even further afield. Each camp-out has a program theme, some of which include: advancement, hiking, a re-creation of Baden Powell’s Mafeking story, a parent and son weekend, and winter wilderness survival. For over 25 years, our annual high adventure highlight was to trek all our gear across a half mile of ice and build an encampment for four days and three nights on an island in the middle of New Hampshire’s largest lake, Winnipesaukee--during February school vacation week. Ironically, the only years we couldn’t make the crossing were those when it was “too warm for winter camping”!
Troop 414 participates in two summer camp programs. We offer one week of resident camping at Hidden Valley Scout Reservation, a Daniel Webster Council-owned property within the Griswold Scout Reservation in Gilmanton Iron Works, New Hampshire. We also offer a week of resident summer camping at Camp Wah-Tut-Ca in Northwood, New Hampshire, a program of the Massachusetts-based Yankee Clipper Council. This tradition is built on one of the greatest benefits of the Scouting program -- good friends, made in the woods.
Almost twenty years ago, Troop 414 built a handicapped-access campsite, called Griffiin Woods, within the property of Bedford’s Camp Allen, an Easter Seals-owned camp which serves physically-, intellectually-, and developmentally-disabled youth. It now serves as our “home court” campsite, and we spend at least a couple of weekends there each year to maintain the site as a troop community service. Camp Allen has also been the beneficiary of many Eagle Scout Leadership Service projects, developed by Eagle candidates from both our troop and the other troop in town.
Troop 414 promotes the many national high-adventure opportunities offered by BSA: Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimmaron, New Mexico; BSA Sea Base located on Summerland Key, Florida and Great Abaco Island, Bahamas; and Northern Tier High Adventure Base, located near Lake Superior on the Canadian border. We also encourage our scouts to participate in council contingents to National and World Scout Jamborees.
We have, in the past, also sponsored troop travel adventures to destinations including New York City; Gettysburg, Pennsylvania; Washington, D.C.; Montreal, Quebec; and the Berkshires region of Massachusetts.
We are definitely a troop on-the-go! We always welcome boys aged 11-17 to join us on the great family adventure that makes us what we are--
Troop 414, Boy Scouts of America.