For Boy Scouts,
Revived Troop 40
Bob Carey of West Windsor has no trouble jumping into a new community. He has lived here only since last June, but has already taken on a large project — reviving Boy Scout Troop 66 in the West Windsor area. The troop, dormant for 10 years, is chartered by the West Windsor Lions Club. “I’ve been scouting since I was a boy and I owe it to my great scoutmaster,” Carey says, who was active in a Boy Scout troop in Lexington, Massachusetts. “Now I want to give back to boys in the community.”
He was surprised to see how many boys were in Troop 40, the one active troop in West Windsor. In Lexington, when the troop became too large, they had split and each troop met on a different night of the week. Boy Scouts of America likes to see about 21 boys in a troop; Troop 40 has many more than that. “No matter how great the troop is, it’s hard to take so many in,” says Carey.
His plans include two patrols of six to eight boys with meetings on Thursday evenings. (Troop 40 meetings are on Monday evenings). There will be a monthly theme, camping, hiking, summer camp, leadership training, and a council area Camporee.
Carey was born and raised in the small town of Springville, Pennsylvania, on a 100-acre farm. His mother, two sisters, and brother are still there. His father is deceased. Years ago Carey built a cabin in the woods on the family property that he continues to share with his family on vacations.
He attended Penn State and, for the past six years, has been working from home in the field of holography, for a business based in California.
He met his future wife, Claire Cowart, when they both worked for Proctor & Gamble. She has been in the media industry for close to 18 years.
Their daughter, Olivia, 10, is a fourth grade student at Village School. She is a member of Girl Scout Junior Troop 1577. Their son, Ryan, a seventh grade student at Community Middle School, will be 13 on February 21.
The first Troop 66 meeting on Thursday, March 11, at 7:30 p.m. at Village School, is for any scout already in Boy Scouts. The March 18 meeting is for any new scout just bridging from Webelos. Weather permitting, the meetings will be held outside.
Troop 40 has been supportive and several of the members have chosen to be dual registered in both troops. “We will start with two patrols of 8 to 10 boys each,” Carey says. “We will be camping monthly and have several trips planned already that the boys will be taking charge of as soon as we start.”
As a boy, he was a Cub Scout, and then a Webelo. When he graduated to Boy Scouts, there were only three scouts in the troop. “I learned that ranks and merit badges don’t matter,” he says. “Ideals of scouting made my character.”
