By Jane McClure
A century of camping, community service, spaghetti dinners and the marching Hi-Lex Gnomes are all part of St. Columba Scout Troop 13’s history. The troop hosts a centennial celebration and reunion 1-4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 14 at the former St. Columba School, 1330 Blair Ave. Troop memorabilia will be on display and light refreshments served.
A flag ceremony is at 2 p.m., followed by guest speakers, camp stories and open mic time so that former scouts, their leaders, families and friends can share memories. Everyone is welcome to attend.
Since 1924, more than 100 Troop 13 scouts have achieved Life rank, with 60 becoming Eagle Scouts.
The founding of what is formally Troop 9013 came just a decade after St. Columba Catholic Church opened its doors in September 1914. The St. Columba grade school opened in 1922, just two years before the troop began.
The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) organization was just 14 years old when Troop 13 was organized, getting its start in 1910.
Faith-based institutions typically sponsored Cub Scout packs and Boy Scout troops. The BSA provided sponsoring institutions with resources including leader training materials and camping opportunities.
Former Troop 13 members and leaders have sons and grandsons who have gone on to be scouts. They are parents and grandparents of Eagle Scouts. They note that scouting gave them experience they have carried throughout their lives. They speak of lifelong friendships, camaraderie and shared values they practice every day.
They also note the many changes the troop has faced. The closing of St. Columba School in 2004 meant an end to what was a troop feeder program.
Another change has been who can be in scouting, as girls could become scouts starting in 2017.
Gary Gorman grew up in the Midway. He was a member of the troop during his school days, as a Cub Scout, Boy Scout and later took part in Explorer Scouts. He graduated from Wilson High School in 1960.
Some of his favorite memories are of the Tomahawk Camp, near Rice lake, Wis. He learned how to swim and paddle a canoe, and took part in other activities. He also has fond memories of a Boundary Waters trip and camping near the St. Croix River.
Al Madison has been a leader for scouts of all ages for 37 years, and was encouraged to get involved through a fellow member of the St. Paul Police Department reserves. He’s worked with almost 40 young people who became Eagle Scouts, including his son Brian.
One of Madison’s favorite and special memories is of a ceremony for two Eagle Scouts, both of whom gifted him with mentor pins.
HI-LEX GNOMES
Bill Wald has served as the troop-church liaison for many years, He is part of the story of the Hi-Lex Gnomes. Scouts don the gnomes every year during the St. Paul Winter Carnival Grand Day Parade.
Hi-Lex Bleach Company began in St. Paul in 1927. The company initially made large gnomes or bleach drops out of chicken wire and paper machine, and then plaster of Paris, to wear in parade. Those gnomes fell apart after a decade, Wald said, and were replaced with fiberglass creations.
Hi-Lex workers carried the gnomes, known as the Hi-Lex Drips, until deciding “we don’t have that many pairs of legs,” said Wald. In 1948, Troop 48 was contacted to see if boys would take on Winter Carnival marching duties for a small stipend. The gnomes and scouts are now the oldest continuous marching unit in the parade.
Another longstanding tradition is the spaghetti dinner, which is 65 years old. Another tradition Wald cited is that of placing 400 flags at Calvary Cemetery to mark graves of veterans from the Civil War through the current day.
All three men said they especially appreciate the values they learned working with Troop 13. Gorman said the experience of being in scouting is something he maintains today at age 82.
“I got so much out of it as a boy and I’ve always worked to pass that along,” he said. His experiences instilled a lifelong commitment to community services.
“One of our mottos was to do a good deed every day and I have always remembered that,” he said.
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