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As the Boy Scouts of America celebrates 100 years of existence in 2010, Wells County can claim its own scout of merit. Dick Marshall has been registered as a Boy Scout for 74 years.
Marshall, 84, grew up in Bluffton. His father, Homer Marshall, was a scoutmaster. As there were no Cub Scout troops in the area, Dick Marshall used to trail after his father and older brother Kenneth to scout meetings until he was 10 years old and could join the Boy Scouts. In 1936 he joined the American Legion Troop 141 in Bluffton.
One of Marshall’s earliest memories of scouting occurred in 1936 when his troop, under the direction of scoutmaster Lee Wahman, built a cabin north of Bluffton on the Paul Scott property. It was made primarily of old telephone poles. “We used the building as a place to meet,” he said Marshall earned merit badges but not the now-revered Eagle Scout badge. “The organization didn’t push the Eagle Scout badge as an accomplishment as it does today,” he said.
In 1965 Marshall started Troop 148 at Presbyterian Church in Bluffton. Marshall was the troop’s scoutmaster for seven years and estimates 200 boys -- an average of 30 boys per year -- learned about scouting from him. “We had all different personalities,” he said. “The boys learned how to get along with each other. I never had a boy quit Boy Scouts because he didn’t like it.”
There were six Boy Scout troops in Bluffton at that time. Marshall encouraged the boys to think creatively, such as when his troop cooked chicken on bedsprings during an outing at the Wells County 4-H Park. “You put the uncooked chicken on one bedspring, cook it, then place another bedspring on top and flip it,” Marshall explained.
Marshall may not have earned the Eagle Scout badge, but his son Patrick, who was a Boy Scout, earned his in 1968. Patrick, who graduated from Bluffton High School in 1971, has served as Assistant Scout Master in the Fort Wayne area.
Despite his status as an octogenarian, Marshall stays busy with Boy Scouts as a volunteer serving as district commissioner for the Wabash Valley District. This includes Wells, Adams, Jay, and Huntington counties.
On July 4, Marshall plans to attend a week-long Boy Scout camp at Chief Little Turtle near Angola on Long Lake. Marshall has attended Boy Scout camp in the Fort Wayne area for 43 years. Originally, the camp was located at Big Island, north of Fort Wayne. Camp Big Island closed in 1967. Two years later, Camp Chief Little Turtle opened for scouts and Marshall has made attending it an annual event.
“I like the companionship of the scouts at the camp,” he said. “They are there because they want to be.” In the past he has also participated in winter camping with the scouts.
For his efforts and dedication to scouting Marshall has received every district award, including the Silver Beaver Award, the organization’s highest honor. This is given to individuals for dedication to the Boy Scout organization. Marshall was given the award in 1969 by the Anthony Wayne Council in Fort Wayne.
Marshall continues to be involved with Boy Scouts because of his beliefs in its purpose. “I think everyone should contribute to the cause of helping youth,” he said. “Boy Scouts teaches boys how to get along with others. A boy may come in shy, but he will soon be working with other boys. If a boy comes in with a problem, someone will straighten him out.”