Frank Heiss and Scouting: The Golden Age – Part 3: Changing Lives

As much as Dad saw importance in the scouting program, I firmly believe he always had a higher purpose in supporting this program. To him, scouting was more than merit badges, camping, hiking, and advancement. To Dad, scouting provided him the context, for over 18 years, to positively impact the lives of the boys in his charge. 

I also believe Dad saw scouting as more than “the activity arm or the Aaronic Priesthood.” He saw it as a way to instill core gospel principles into the lives members and non-members alike. Perhaps his greatest work was done by creating a program that excited his member scouts to willingly invite their non-member friends. 

At one point, Troop 106 was almost half member and half non-member. True, this was in California and not in Utah. So there was a much greater pool of non-member boys to include. But to have so many community members attending Mutual each week, being made aware of the youth activities, interacting with adult youth leaders and, perhaps more important, the LDS girls yielded nothing but positive results.

Frank Heiss and Scouting: The Golden Age – Part 2: Creating a Troop

So, Dad was now Scout Master of Troop 106. Now what?

He had never been Scout Master before. It is easy to know exactly how to do something, like being Scout Master, until you face the abyss of actually being in charge. The transition from theory to reality can be a challenge. But Dad did have one thing to his advantage – there was no legacy of scouting in the Fremont 3^rd Ward.

This made things easier because expectations were low and there was no one’s shadow that dictated his course. Dad was free to experiment. His first troop became his laboratory. But, where to start?

The first thing he had to do was create order from chaos. The boys had no concept of what a scout troop should be and how it should act. They had no idea why needed a uniform. They did not understand the trail to Eagle. So that is where he started – the basics.