Boy Scouts finally camp out on Fox Island

One year after forming, Troop 27 gains momentum

Paige Richmond

of the Gateway

Grant Toepfer hadn’t thought much about joining the Boy Scouts before last year. He lives on Fox Island, and for a long time, the nearest Boy Scouts troop wasn’t really an option. For one, the meetings were held too far away — all the way in downtown Gig Harbor — for the 12-year-old to attend regularly. Plus, Toepfer didn’t know any of the kids in that troop, since all of his friends lived on Fox Island, too.

So when he found out last fall that there was a troop starting in his own neighborhood, Toepfer jumped at the chance.

“I’ve learned tons of things already from Boy Scouts,” he said, citing his newfound ability to use a compass and perform First Aid as examples.

Toepfer has his Scoutmaster, John Ohlson, to thank for those opportunities.

Ohlson, a longtime island resident and president of the Fox Island Community Recreation Association (FICRA), was the driving force behind getting Boy Scouts of America Troop 27 off the ground.

Now, one year after it started, the troop boasts 17 members who just attended their first summer camp, Camp Hohobas.

Toepfer is now one the troop’s senior patrol leaders, and Ohlson said he’s “doing the best job so far.”

But things weren’t always so easy for Troop 27.

As Ohlson explains it, he spent the past four years trying to start a Boy Scout troop on Fox Island — and it was an uphill battle.

Originally, Ohlson — whose son, Alex, is in Troop 27 — assumed he’d have an easy time recruiting kids to join the new troop. Many Fox Islanders were part of Cub Scout Pack 202, based at Voyager Elementary School.

Cub Scouts are available to boys as young as first grade, and most Cub Scouts move into Boy Scouts, which boys ages 10 to 18 can join.

It seemed logical to Ohlson that the boys in Pack 202 would want to stick with a Fox Island-based Boy Scouts troop. In fact, when Ohlson first proposed the idea last June, he said there was “a good showing among the students in Cub Scouts who would be interested in moving along to Boy Scouts.”

Things didn’t pan out that way.

Some of the Pack 202 members wanted to join Boy Scouts Troop 212 because it was sponsored by their church, Chapel Hill Presbyterian in Gig Harbor. Others just weren’t planning to stick with scouting past Cub Scouts.

By September, Ohlson’s 16 committed scouts had dwindled to four — and he needed six members to receive the club’s charter.

Rather than give up, Ohlson got to work recruiting new scouts. He asked Toepfer and his mom, Maggie, at a local birthday party if Toepfer would be interested in joining; he also posted notices in FICRA’s newsletter, since the organization was sponsoring Troop 27.

It worked. By November, he had recruited enough scouts.

The troop still had a few hurdles to overcome in the process, such as borrowing adult leaders from Pack 202 and going without an assistant Scoutmaster for the first six months.

But slowly, during the past year, the troop has grown to 17 scouts and filled all the adult committee member positions.

Ohlson said he’s excited about the support he’s received, and he’s surprised that so many new recruits wanted to join.

“A long time ago, scouting was kind of a nerdy thing to do, when I was growing up,” he said.

Ohlson’s own experience in Boy Scouts is one reason why he fought for the Fox Island troop. An Eagle Scout himself, he felt guilty when the troop he joined while growing up in Tacoma disbanded after nearly 45 years of existence.

Even though it had been years since Ohlson was a member, he still thought he “probably could have stepped up back in the day, sparked up more interest and kept it going.”

He decided to put his energy into starting the Fox Island troop, giving it the same number as his childhood organization: No. 27.

Maggie Toepfer thinks Ohlson’s dedication — as well as the community spirit on Fox Island — is why this Troop 27 won’t suffer the same fate. Both she and Ohlson agree there weren’t many activities to keep kids occupied on Fox Island before the Boy Scouts; now, the younger population has a constructive outlet.

And that makes Maggie Toepfer proud.

“What I always hope,” she said, “is that my children have a sense of community and the ability to give back to their community.”

Troop 27 meeting times

Boy Scout Troop 27 will hold its next meeting at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Nichols Community Center, 690 9th Ave. on Fox Island.

The troop will also host an information booth at the FICRA Fair Saturday at the same location. Visit www.troop27bsa.com for more information.

Reach Reporter and Columnist Paige Richmond at 253-853-9243 or by e-mail at paige.richmond@gateline.com.