#34 - Our Scouting Troop & Pack

Back in 1985, the Boy Scouts of St. Austin’s Troop 34 came together for sports, crafts and service activities. The 17 boys of the Scout Troop came from all over Austin. Scoutmaster Tim Graham and Assistant Scoutmaster Steve Stovall directed the troop’s many different projects.

Past service projects include cleaning up the area around Town Lake (now Lady Bird Lake) and the school grounds, and ushering at UT football games. The Scout activities were geared to developing leadership skills, with a senior patrol leader guiding each meeting. In the mid 1980s, Troop 34 camped 10 days and nights each year. There were also activities the Scouts could complete for their merit badges. Parents were required to attend one monthly meeting, and they also got a newsletter of scouting activities.

For a time, Pack 34 lay dormant until revived in the 90s through the efforts of Phillip Eastman and Paula Pratte. Fast forward to 2021 with two groups of Scouts that St. Austin’s sponsors. Derek Giesler, Cubmaster in 2020, explains they operate separately. Cub Scout Pack 34 is for grades K – 5 and Boy Scout Troop 34 is for grades 6 – 12.

The Cub Scout Pack gathers about once a month. They have done a weekend camping trip, a fishing and swimming trip, and worked with model rockets. In March they will participate in the Pinewood Derby, a long-standing tradition dating back to the Scouts’ founding. One big change in this Pack is that girls are accepted, with four girls in the Pack now.

The Boy Scouts meet weekly on the Blacktop. Future activities include a mountain biking trip, a 5-day backpacking trip over spring break, and a week-long campout in Colorado this summer. Last year, two scouts in Troop 34 earned their Eagle Scout rank. Denver Lamberth is 2021 Cubmaster and Keith Ziegleman is Scoutmaster