Boy Scout Troop 150
Oldest Troop in Fairfax County

By:  M. Callahan

Boy Scout Troop 150 getting ready to lead the Annandale Parade.

Eighty-seven years ago in 1928, the first meeting of Troop 150 was held in the Annandale Methodist Church.  This was the first Boy Scout Troop in Fairfax County.  The Troop consisted of ten boys including Omer Hirst, Edwin & Raymond Lynch and Dudley & John Webb.  The  first Scoutmaster, John W. Mercer, is buried in the church cemetery.

Initially, the Troop was sponsored by the Annandale Community League with Willie Sipes as President becoming the Committee Chairman. In 1940 “A Group of Citizens” chaired by Raymond Lynch sponsored the Troop.  In 1942 the Annandale Home Demonstration Club under the presidency of Eleanor Morrow sponsored the Troop.  In 1944 both the Methodist Church and the Baptist Church sponsored Troop 150. 

To their credit, Troop 150 has been part of many important events over it’s history. In 2005, the troop was invited by President Bush to perform a flag ceremony at the White House. 2010 was the 100th anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America when Troop 150 commemorated the anniversary by marching in the Centennial parade in Washington, DC, and by attending the NCAC Centennial Camporee, and visiting the 100th anniversary National Jamboree.  Annually, Troop 150 leads the Annandale Parade, so honored because they are the oldest troop in Fairfax County, and call Annandale home.Scouting for Food Drive

The Troop can regularly be seen cleaning-up the George Mason Regional Library & the old cemetery at the United Methodist Church.  Another impressive effort is their annual, Scout for Food, collecting each year enough to feed 500 people.  On the fun side, they have been white

water rafting, fishing and camping, hiking along the C&O Canal or Old Rag Mountain,  participating in a 5K Run or touring historic battlefields.

At the 65th Anniversary John Webb, one of the charter scouts, challenged the Troop to establish a Memorial Fund in memory of J. Walter Mercer. The interest from this fund is to be used to annually to support leadership development of deserving Scouts through an outdoor, mountain top, high adventure experience.

The longevity, strength and success of this thriving Troop has been due in large part to strong leadership and complete support of the chartering sponsor. The scoutmaster and committee chairman are ably assisted by a well trained assistant scoutmaster and an active committee.  Presently five former Troop 150 scouts, who achieved Eagle Scout rank, are serving the Troop leaders.

Information obtained for this article came from Troop 150 official history.

 

 Fall 2015

Boy Scout Troop 150 and their leaders

The 2015 National Scouting for Food campaign will occur this year on November 7 (bag distribution in our local neighborhoods) and November 14 (collection of those donations).  Scouting for Food (SFF) is our most important service project of the year in which our Scouts go neighborhood to neighborhood to collect food donations for our local area food bank. This is an extremely valuable “good turn” project that is of enormous help for the Annandale Christian Community for Action (ACCA) Food Bank - 7200 Columbia Pike, Annandale, VA.   Pack and Troop 150 provided 5,700 lbs. of food in 2014 to ACCA which provides supplemental groceries to Annandale and surrounding area families in need

 “Delivering food to families in need is the most rewarding service activity for my Scouts.  The smiles on those hungry kids’ faces when the donated food arrives are like my boys on Christmas morning!  That really drives home the importance of being there for people when they need a hand.”

Sign up: Occurs at 8:30am each morning of November 7 and 14 on the 1st floor of Annandale United Methodist Church (AUMC) – lower floor in the hallway next to the Day Care Center.

Participation: Open to all Pack and Troop Scouts.  Parents needed both weekends to drive teams of 2 Pack and 2 Troop Scouts to assigned SFF neighborhoods.

When: 8:30am. Saturday, November 7 and November 14, 2015

Where:  AUMC (Columbia Pike at Gallows Road)

For more information or to volunteer to help:  John Grutzik - John_Grutzik@saa.senate.gov  or Cell:  202-228-6054

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