General Information

Decades of Service to Moraga
Since 1961

Overview

2011 marks the Silver Anniversary of Troop 212! Happy 50^th Birthday, 212!!

Troop 212 is a community troop sponsored by Moraga Valley Presbyterian Church. The Troop has been charted since 1951; it was organized in Moraga in 1961 by Tom "Pop" Clarke, Scoutmaster Emeritus. The Troop meets every Tuesday night from 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the "Scout Hut", the little red-and-white building located across Moraga Way from the Moraga Fire Station.

There are currently more than 75 boys, ages 11 to 18, actively participating in the Troop. Our Committee Chairman is Eric "Viking" Andresen. The Scoutmaster is Rainer "Rhino" Del Valle, who is assisted by 11 trained Assistant Scoutmasters. Viking and Rhino appreciate the continued guidance provided by our Scoutmaster Emeritus, Tom "Mac" McIntosh, who retired as Scoutmaster in November 2008 after 34 years of service to the Troop; and our Committee Chairman Emeritus, Burton "Admiral B" Benson, who retired from the Committee Chairman position in December 2009 after more than 21 years.

The Troop sponsors a variety of outdoor activities, with an outing occurring every month except December. Weekend outings include campouts, short hikes, water-skiing, snow skiing and snow camping. Every summer the Troop spends a week at Camp Timberwolf, located on Lower Bucks Lake northeast of Oroville. Week-long high adventure activities include backpack treks in the Grand Canyon, in the High Sierras, at Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico, in Alaska and the Yukon Territory, and at the Quetico Canoe Base in Northern Minnesota. We also do a "mini-Trek" every summer which is a 2 or 3 night backpack trip that is focused on teaching new scouts the essentials of backpacking and camping. Bike treks are also an almost-annual event with week-long rides across Germany, Canada, Oregon and other magnificent countryside. All of these treks are led by trained and experienced adult trek leaders.

The Troop's motto is "Advancement, Spirit, Attendance." The Troop operates a boy-lead program in accordance with rules of conduct that are consistent with what one expects from Boy Scouts. The purposes of the Troop's programs are to teach camping, backpacking, and related skills, and to enjoy the out-of-doors and the fellowship of scouting. The goals of the Troop's programs are to teach and develop leadership skills, to help boys grow and develop into responsible young men and good citizens, and to develop a wholesome respect for and reverence toward God.

If you would like information regarding scouting in general or Troop 212 in particular, contact the scoutmaster.

History

In 1961, Tom "Pop" Clarke, a resident of Moraga, a holder of the Eagle Award like his father and, ultimately, himself the father of two Eagles, became aware of the need for a quality scouting program in the community. He obtained the sponsorship of the Moraga Merchants Association, obtained the Troop 212 charter, which had been held by an inactive organization in San Leandro since 1951, and started meeting in the old Moraga School. Thus, Troop 212's decades of excellence in scouting were begun.

In the time that Troop 212 has been in Moraga, it has had only four scoutmasters: Pop Clark from 1961 to 1974, John "Zim" Zimmerlin during 1970, Tom "Mac" McIntosh from 1974 through 2008, and now Rainer "Rhino" Del Valle, a Troop 212 Eagle and one of the rookie scouts at the beginning of Mac's scoutmaster tenure. It is this stability of dedicated leadership that has contributed so much to the high quality of the Troop's program and its fine traditions.

The Troop has enjoyed the services of at least 40 dedicated men who have served as assistant scoutmasters. Currently, there are eleven assistants. These men are Gary "Kodak" Cole, Dan "Cush" Cushing, Robert "DiMar" DiMartino, Dan "DJ" Gannett, Rick "Hap" Hazard, Jerry "JJ" Johnson, John "Tahoe" Leonard, Gary "Mario!" Kaprielian, Dick "Doctor T" Terry, Don "Hopalong" Stephens, and Nelson "Nellie" Wilkerson. Scoutmaster Emeritus, Tom "Mac" McIntosh, and our Emeritus Chairman, Burt "Admiral B" Benson, are still quite heavily involved in the Troop, as well.

Almost 700 Moraga, Lafayette and Orinda boys have participated in the Troop. Of these, more than 350 have earned the rank of Eagle, the highest award that a scout can earn in scouting. This means that almost 50% of the boys who have entered the Troop have earned the Eagle Award; this compares to a national average of less than 4%. Quite an accomplishment!

The Troop has conducted weekly meetings in the same place for more than four decades; the little red and white building across Moraga Way from the Moraga Fire Station, which is referred to as "the Hut" or "the Scout Hut." This property is owned by the Russell Bruzzone family, who have very generously permitted the Troop to use it rent-free during all these years. In November 2010 the Troop officially named the Hut in memory of Russell Bruzzone -- it is now formally known as "The Russell J. Bruzzone Memorial Scout Hut."

The Troop's program has and continues to consist of monthly camping outings, Sierra wilderness camps, high Sierra backpack treks, special BSA high adventure treks to Philmont, New Mexico, the Florida Keys, and the Northern Tier wilderness between Canada and Minnesota; week-long backpack treks in the Grand Canyon, Alaska, New Mexico and other exciting locations around the world; bike treks to Oregon, Germany, and the Canadian Rockies; and canoe treks to Utah and the Yukon Territory of Canada. Other activities are organized and sponsored by the Troop's boy-run honor camping society, the Troop 212 Mountaineers. Training emphasis is on citizenship, leadership, the virtues expressed in the Scout Oath and Law, and on all types of scouting skills, including first aid, cooking, camping, hiking, knots, lashings, pioneering and proper use of knife and ax.

Service to the community is an integral part of scouting and Troop 212. Every year the Troop provides Eagle Scout candidates who perform service projects for the churches, schools, and parks department; and our scouts participate in community service to the town and other community organizations in the Moraga area.

The Troop is sponsored by Moraga Valley Presbyterian Church, which has provided sponsorship and use of facilities for more than 40 years.

Assistant Scoutmaster Roll Call

Eric Andresen1 Hank Bierman3 Bo Bocheff3 Al Clark  Steve Clark2 Gary Cole1 Bruce Cunningham  Dan Cushing1 Brint Deighton  Rainer Del Valle1,2 Robert DiMartino1 Bill Edwards  Dan Gannett1 Steve Hansen

Bob Hayes  Rick Hazard1 Bill Horsfall  Larry Jacobs2 Jerry Johnson1 Gary Kaprielian1 Matt Kimball2 Brian Lawrence  John Leonard1 Bill Loomis3 Glenn Martin Bruce McIntosh2 Tom McIntosh1 Al Meade3

Bob Merson  Jim Mitchell  Jerry Patchen II2 Duane Rasmussen  Paul Schraeder  Don Stephens1 Dr. Dick Terry1 Gene Turner  Dr. Robert Walcott  Nat Weber  Marv Wiegman  Nelson Wilkerson1 Zim Zimmerlin3

1Currently in service

2Former Troop 212 Eagle

3Deceased