A half century of scouting: Boy Scout Troop 320 celebrates 50th anniversary

Members of Boy Scout Troop 320 formed a semicircle just after 7 o’clock one Monday evening in late July. The boys, bedecked in matching tan and green uniforms, stood in a field next to the scout hut behind Mountain Brook Presbyterian Church and recited the Pledge of Allegiance as an American flag ascended the pole they were facing. Hands covered every heart.

Troop 320 has repeated this opening ritual, which is followed by the recitation of the Boy Scout Oath, at its weekly meetings since its inception long ago. This year, the troop is celebrating its 50th anniversary.

“It’s obviously a milestone,” said Frank Tynes, the troop’s scoutmaster since 2014. “It’s given us an opportunity to give thanks to those who came before us and built this troop.”

The 75 boys, ages 11 to 17, who currently call Troop 320 home are writing the next chapter of its storied history. The troop has produced 286 Eagle Scouts, the highest rank in scouting, since it formed in 1969 as the fourth troop in Mountain Brook’s city limits.

It joined Troop 53 at St. Peter’s Anglican Church, Troop 63 at Canterbury United Methodist Church and Troop 86 at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church.

Troop 320 has gathered at Mountain Brook Presbyterian for as long as it has existed.

“It’s just a great place,” Tynes said. “The church has been very hospitable to us throughout our history, and we are very grateful to them.”

Tynes, whose son Wilson is in the troop, is the 13th scoutmaster to lead Troop 320. He succeeded Russell Byrne, who succeeded Dr. Howard Day, who succeeded Walter Rush. Jr., the longest-tenured scoutmaster the troop has ever had. He held the position from 1994 to 2006 after serving as an assistant scoutmaster for more than a decade. All five of Rush’s sons became Eagle Scouts, and he has one grandson who is part of the troop today.

Rush said he believes in scouting because it teaches love of country, respect for the flag, leadership and character.

“We’re not there to make Eagle Scouts,” he said. “We’re there to make the best possible husbands and fathers for the next generation.”

Rush said he has former scouts approach him at restaurants to thank him for the guidance he provided and to share memories from the past.

He also said that Troop 320 alumni have gone on to excel professionally, becoming military officers, fighter pilots, doctors and lawyers.

Rush was ready to cross paths with a number of his former scouts at the troop’s 50th anniversary celebration Aug. 25. Kelly Higgins planned the event, which was held at the church, and mailed close to 400 invitations to previous troop members. She flipped through the pages of old troop rosters to find the addresses for all scouts who had earned Life or Eagle status since 1969.

“It was an adventure,” said Higgins, whose son Jack is a troop member. “That was like a two and a half month ordeal just trying to get the mailing list together.”

The celebration was open to current scouts and their families, along with Mountain Brook Presbyterian church members. It featured a barbecue cookout, games, scouting demonstrations and an array of old troop photos.

“We have inherited this scout troop from those before us who built it,” Tynes said. “... It’s a great program that has benefited so many boys.”

That list of beneficiaries includes Hagen Livingston, the troop’s senior patrol leader, and Charles Skinner, the assistant senior patrol leader.

Livingston joined the troop in fifth grade and is now a junior at Mountain Brook High School; Skinner is a sophomore who takes online classes through MBHS and joined the troop last year.

“I’ve definitely learned to appreciate nature much more,” Livingston said. “Today, it’s kind of hard to do that.”

Livingston said he spent about a month camping this summer with the troop. He went hiking at Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico and scuba diving in St. Croix.

Troop 320 takes big trips over the summer and monthly expeditions on weekends during the school year. Scouts go rock climbing, caving, rafting, hiking and canoeing, among other activities.

“To be a part of something that has gotten so close to perfecting the way scouting should be, and being able to leave my mark and participate in something that great, is truly an honor and spectacular,” Skinner said.

Skinner joined the scouts to follow in the footsteps of his father, an Eagle Scout, and said he has learned independence and leadership through the program. He identified the troop’s unity as its defining trait.

“When we’re outside of the troop, we’re still friends,” he said, “no matter what age it is, no matter what we’re doing.”

Livingston, meanwhile, said the troop’s positive spirit is what distinguishes it. His involvement has given him “unforgettable experiences.”

“It’s been awesome,” he said, “and I’m happy to be part of it.”