Boy Scout Troop 370

Troop 370 was formed in October of 1987 and chartered in December of 1987 to Pax Christi Catholic Church in Eden Prairie, MN.  At the time, Eden Prairie was still an outer ring suburb with a significant area of the city still devoted to agriculture.  There was only one other Boy Scout Troop in the city at the time, and their ability to serve the youth of the growing community had become strained. 
 
Mike Zastera was the first Scoutmaster and the driving force behind the creation of Troop 370.  Mike had been a Scoutmaster in Richfield for many years with the Troop he grew up with, and upon moving to Eden Prairie, wanted to start a new Troop which reflected the traditions of Scouting that he had experienced both as a youth and as an adult leader.
 
The charter membership of Troop 370 consisted of 5 Scouts, all 11 years old, and 4 adult leaders including Mike.  Of this original group of Scouts and leaders, two are still active with Troop 370 including Mike Zastera, and one of the original Scouts, Aaron Nicklay.
 
Troop 370 had it's first camping experience in January of 1988, which set a level of commitment for the next 20 years of Troop operation that we would go camping every month except for December, and that winter camping would be a major part of our program.  Put into context with the norms for other troops at the time, these were both ambitious commitments not seen in very many other places.
 
The next two years were fairly rough for Troop 370, there was not a ready source of money for things like troop equipment, activities, or trips.  The Troop leadership and parents funded from their own pockets most of what was purchased or spent at the time, and a few donations from other Troops in the area kept the Troop equipped enough to run a camping program that would appear very primitive today.  Scouts and leaders typically slept in canvas baker tents with no floors and cooked over the fire on cookware that had been donated or purchased at garage sales.  We would not be able to afford a Troop trailer until the early nineties so all gear was hauled in personal vehicles to and from each campout and stored at Scouts and leaders homes.  Despite these challenges, the Troop only lost one Scout during this period of time, and then only because his family moved across the country, but we gained four more Scouts from the area.
 
In 1989, Troop 370 saw it's first Webelos den transition, with six members of one den and several members of a variety of other dens joining in March.  This group of Scouts, more than any other, would go on years later to set the example for what was expected of a Scout after his 18th birthday, and what level of commitment would be desired from our alumni.  Names like Brent Nicklay, Ryan Malotky, Bill Zastera, Brad Sundstrom, and many more were first added to the Troop roster in 1989 when they were 11 year old transitioning Webelos.  Many of this group are still active leaders either all year round or with the Voyager Bay camp effort each summer.  Most of them have returned when requested at one time or another, in order to staff particular high adventure trips over the past ten years.  They have fulfilled the challenge put forth by Mike Zastera that they should repay the investment of Scouting in them by investing their time and talents back into Scouting, a challenge still issued to older Scouts today.
 
Also in 1989, Troop 370 had assembled enough adult leader support and money to attend Many Point Scout Camp for a week during the summer.  This had not been possible up until this year and it was an educational experience for all who were able to attend as none of the Scouts had ever been exposed to an official summer camp experience before, and none had been on a Scout camping trip for more than a weekend.  Despite this, everyone came home with an increased level of excitement and a focused desire for MORE.
 
Over the five years between 1989 and 1994, Troop 370 grew both in membership and in experience as well as depth.  The first group of Scouts grew old enough to provide leadership to the younger Scouts and the parents and leaders organized a strong Troop Committee.  It is during this time that Troop 370 acquired new tents, stoves, camping gear, a trailer, and other items that had been out of reach prior to then.  The first high adventure trip was organized, a cross country skiing trek into the BWCA over Presidents Day weekend, and summer camp had moved to progressively more challenging parts of Many Point's program.  This period of time also set in place a number of other traditions that are still a big part of Troop 370's identity from our policy of never turning away any Scout and never kicking one out of the Troop, to our first Philmont Scout Ranch expedition, and our first several District Camporees where we took 90% or more of the awards in Scout Skills competition.
 
In 1993 Troop 370 also celebrated it's first and second Eagle Scouts, Ryan Malotky and Aaron Nicklay.  This accomplishment was one that took many years of effort during a tumultuous time and was truly the result of everyone in the Troop at the time, not just those two boys.  It was a victory that heralded a tradition of higher than average Eagle Scout achievement in Troop 370 that continues today.  Both Ryan and Aaron are still Assistant Scoutmasters today.
 
Perhaps the greatest turning point in Troop history, however, was July of 1994 following a week at Many Point Scout Summer Camp, when Troop 370's older youth and adults, as well as leaders and Scouts from Troop 339 in Richfield, Troop 347 in Eden Prairie, and Troop 123 in Edina first starting talking about re-opening Voyager Bay Scout Camp for the purpose of allowing those four troops the opportunity to operate their own summer camps.  Heralding back to a time in the sixties and before when Troops operated their own summer camps with staff from their parents and leaders, this group of Troops went to Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church in Eden Prairie to request permission to use Voyager Bay, a church owned property, after a 15 year period of non-use.  Permission was granted and in 1995, Voyager Bay was re-opened by volunteers, parents, leaders, and Scouts of the four troops for two separate weeks of summer camp.  Merit Badge classes were balanced with work parties to cut campsites back out of the wild, restore the ranges to operation, and re-build the parts of the camp's buildings and structures that had fallen into disrepair.
 
Although the work was hard, all of the troops were committed to making their own camp with their own program and staffed with their own volunteers because the quality of programming delivered to the Scouts could be guaranteed to be of the highest quality.  Over the next three years, operations at Voyager Bay would expand so that Troops 347, 123, and 370 were all operating one week of camp each.  Troop 370 would take a lead in improving the camp and bringing both manpower and materials to bear on the facilities so that currently, Voyager Bay hosts a wider variety of Merit Badge offerings than Many Point or Tomahawk Scout Camps.
 
In 1998, Mike Zastera stepped down from his position of Scoutmaster following more than 10 years of service to Troop 370.  Mike Kistner, who had joined the Troop in 1995 with the oldest of his two sons, stepped in to take the reigns and served Troop 370 as it's Scoutmaster for the next 5 years.  During this time, Troop 370 grew even more to an all time high of 60 Scouts, and then settled back to an average of 45 Scouts where we have stayed to this day. 
 
By this time, Dean Malotky, an Assistant Scoutmaster who had joined early in 1989, had taken up the position of High Adventure advisor, and under his leadership and tutelage, the Troop expanded it's High Adventure schedule from one every couple of years, to more than three a year and on trips ranging from Philmont in New Mexico, the Sea Base in the Florida Keys, Northern Tier in the BWCA, Isle Royale on Lake Superior, Joshua Tree in California, and many other locations around the country.
 
Following Mike Kistner's five years as Scoutmaster, Troop 370 once again transitioned Scoutmasters to our current Scoutmaster, Don Richard.  This record of leadership, three Scoutmasters and five troop committee chairmen over a 20 year history is another proud tradition of Troop 370, that our leadership is committed and invested in what they do and enjoy it enough to stay for many years, far beyond the national average for leadership tenure in an average Troop.
 
Twenty years in a few short paragraphs doesn't begin to do justice to the long tradition of excellence that is Troop 370, many more detailed parts of the story exist and if you should find yourself at a campout with Mike Zastera, Dean Malotky, or any of the other countless members of Troops 370, go ahead and ask them about the early years.  Along the way from five Scouts to forty five, there have been countless victories and setbacks, gains and losses, trials and celebrations.  Each has served in it's own way to make us better than we we were before at providing a Scouting program among the best you'll find anywhere in the nation.  We are a troop committed to making young boys grow into outstanding men of character, leadership, and integrity.  We are a Troop that welcomes the whole family, accepts all new recruits, and never asks any to leave.  We'd like to have you come and be a part of our Troop 370 family, so come on down to Pax Christi almost any Monday night.  We'll be upstairs by the gym and we'd be happy to get you signed up.