I am again involved in Scouting and I always tell the Scouts in my den stories from when I was a Cub Scout and Boy Scout in Pack 111 and Troop 111.

I am married and have two children, a son, Matthew age 9, who is a Bear Scout with Pack 1160 in Herndon, VA, and a daughter, Emily age 6, who is a Daisy Girl Scout. I am the Den Leader for my son's Den as well as Pack Committee Chairman for Pack 1160. My wife, Deborah, is my Assistant Den Leader and is also my daughter's Girl Scout Leader. I am employed by Computer Associates International, a computer softward company. I am in the sales end of the company.

I was a member of Troop 111 from November 1965 through September 1968, when I earned my Eagle, and my family moved to Loudoun County. I do not remember exactly how many boys were involved in the Troop at the time, but I do remember being very active and going camping at least once a month. I can vividly remember my first campout with the Troop. It was in the winter of 1966, and we supposedly had reserved some shelters at Camp Roosevelt on the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. When we arrived at Camp Roosevelt, the shelters had already been occupied and we were given tents to camp in for the weekend. Since we were expecting to be in shelters that weekend, we were not quite prepared; I still cannot remember ever being as cold as I was that weekend.

I do not know exactly how, but we obtained permission to have a permanent place to camp ever month near Flint Hill, VA. I remember the fathers coming and helping to fix up the camp. We had a secret place for our campfire and a special password in order to enter the campfire area, based on our first campfire at the site.

We went to summer camp ever year. In 1966, we went to Camp Wilson and enjoyed Dining Hall camping and in 1967, we were Charter Campers at Camp Goshen, first at Camp Baird and the next year, 1968, at Camp Ross. The only type of camping at Camp Goshen at the time was Patrol Cooking. I remember working on the Pioneering Merit Badge at Camp Baird and building some bridges at the new camp and being part of the Order of the Arrow Initiation at Camp Ross in 1968.

The Troop was very active and the majority of the boys who were part of the Troop went to school at St. Agnes. I think there was one patrol of boys who did not go to St. Agnes School. Our Scoutmaster was Mr. Fike, and I think he had two sons that were in the Troop. Another leader, Mr. McCahill, arranged several Honor Guards for us to conduct and I remember meeting several politicians at the time, the most famous being then Vice-President Hubert Humphrey. We also participated in every Catholic Retreat that was sponsored by the Council. I still have most of my patches from those retreats. We also earned the Ad Altare Dei Award.

We met at Hannon Hall and stored all of our equipment there. We always met at Hannon Hall; it was the focal point whenever we left for an outing as a group. I had a great time as a Scout in Troop 111, which I'll never forget. I am looking forward to hearing more about your plans and the main event for the 50th Anniversary of Troop 111.

Sincerely,