‘Scouting is alive and well in Fitchburg’

FITCHBURG – A city-based Boy Scout troop went on an epic journey this summer along with a memorial hike that has become a meaningful annual tradition.

The troop takes a high adventure trip annually, which Troop 41 Scoutmaster Bill Hodges says a lot of troops don’t do. This year they traveled in a van together to Gettysburg National Park and Valley Forge National Park, both in Pennsylvania.

“Our scouts toured every battlefield, met with historians and reenactors, and followed the entire three plus days of battle during the Civil War and then went back to the beginning further down the road in Pennsylvania to the place where George Washington built the United States Army,” Bill said. “It was inspiring, informative, and fun for our scouts. Gettysburg represents the last great battle of our American Revolution and Valley Forge, all done during the 250th celebration of our independence.”

His wife Michelle Hodges is the cubmaster of their “little brother” Cub Scout Pack 41. Bill conveyed they “are a family of scouting” and that scouting “is all about celebrating our duty to God, country, and to ourselves.”

“We teach young people to live to a higher standard,” he said. “The mission in scouting is to help young people develop into good citizens and preparing them for the difficult decisions that lie ahead in adulthood. We do this by instilling in them the values of the scout oath and law, which prepare them for life.”

Troop 41 Fitchburg has been chartered since 1955 and along with Cub Scout Pack 41 is sponsored by Fitchburg Friends of Scouting. The Cub Scout Pack is coed for kids in grades K through five and the Boy Scouts troop is a male troop for kids aged 11 to 17.

“Our girls typically transition over at age 11 to a variety of troops in Leominster or Gardner,” Bill said. “Our hope is to launch a Fitchburg coed troop in our future.”

There have been over 2,000 young men and women who have gone through the city scouting program over the last 71 years, and the Hodges said they are very close to awarding their 26th Eagle Scout rank since the troop’s founding.

The Troop 41 program runs year-round, and they meet weekly at Rollstone Congregational Church at 199 Main St.

“We have backpacked and hiked thousands of miles and have camped thousands of nights in 71 years,” Bill said of the longtime scouting tradition in the city, adding that they enjoy providing age-appropriate activities for the scouts.

“[They] become great friends while enjoying adventures they can never attain in school or in sports,” he said of the troop that he describes as a “close knit family” who is an integral part of the city’s community fabric.

“You will see us at most flag ceremonies in Fitchburg, working alongside the veterans over the long Memorial Day weekend, planting flags on graves, on Veterans Day, Juneteenth, the Fourth of July, and numerous community events,” Bill shared of their scope.

“Our program teaches self-reliance, a love of the outdoors, teamwork, leadership, and how to work as part of a community,” he continued. “Setting goals and striving for achievement are hallmarks of scouting.”

Every year the troop also goes to Camp Wanocksett in Dublin, New Hampshire for a week of activities on the shores of Thorndike Pond in the shadow of Mount Monadnock and this summer they held their annual memorial hike to remember one of their scouts, Brandon Chicklis of Ashburnham, who was tragically murdered as a young man.

“Brandon went to the Philmont Scout Ranch with me in 2012, backpacking in the Sangre De Christo Mountains for ten days,” Bill said. “At the age of 20, Brandon was senselessly murdered, impacting our troop eternally. Brandon was an exceptional young man and very special to all who knew him and we believe that we are all his witness, so his memory lives forever.”

Brandon’s mother Trisha Edwards started a memorial fund to sponsor scouts to help them get to Camp Wanocksett in her son’s honor and this year she co-sponsored Troop 41’s Gettysburg trip and their week at Camp Wanocksett.

“Her belief is that as long as our scouts keep hiking, Brandon is still with us,” Bill said.

To qualify for the support, each of the scouts secures pledges and then attends the memorial hike mid-June, where a substantial number of people, family, friends, and scouts all hike up Mount Watatic in Ashby, the place where Brandon and their troop trained to get ready for Philmont. Memorial shirts are given to the hikers and the nonprofit memorial fund “is recharged to support scouting in Fitchburg for another year,” Bill communicated.

This year’s hike was “very successful,” surpassing it’s $2,000 goal, a feat he said typically happens every year.

Trisha said she is grateful she gets to honor her son this way with the annual memorial fundraiser hike in Brandon’s name that was first held in 2021.

“I have been hiking in memory of him on the weekend of his birthday since 2019,” she said. “The first two years when people heard what I did they said, ‘I wish I knew, I would have hiked with you.’ So, I made it into a fundraiser to help keep Brandon’s memory alive.”

She originally created the Brandon Chicklis Fund with money that family, friends, scouts, and the community donated in lieu of flowers for Brandon’s services, and the memorial hike supports the fund, which in turn helps the scouts afford to go to camp.

“I set up a GoFundMe every year with the date and time of the hike and share it on social media and whoever wants to donate can,” Trisha said. “Family, friends, current and former scouts, and the community join together and hike Mount Watatic in Brandon’s memory.

“We share stories about him and just remember,” she continued. “The hike is always around Brandon’s birthday, and it is a positive way that we can express our grief of missing him but still do some good in his memory. It is important to express our feelings and not just suppress them.”

She said the memorial hike for her son that typically raises between $1,000 to $3,000 annually has layers of meaning behind it.

“It keeps Brandon’s memory alive by giving us a set time to talk about him, it helps us express our grief, and it helps the scouts go to camp and create their own memories,” Trisha conveyed.

Bill reported that Troop 41 earned the Baden Powell Patrol Award and the John Coyle Troop Award this year for the 25th year in a row, “the only troop in our council to hold such a distinction.”

“The unit is entirely youth run,” he proudly said.

In addition, the Hodges want to make sure people know that everyone is welcome to join their troop that is “open to kids of various special needs.” They reported that their oldest special needs troop member is Thomas Padula, a 61-year-old Eagle Scout who “still has the hearing of a very amazing young boy” and that they are welcoming new members.

“Scouting is alive and well in Fitchburg,” Bill said.

Four open houses coming up will give people the opportunity to learn more about Troop 41 — Thursday, Sept. 17 from 4 to 6 p.m. at Crocker Elementary School and 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at both Reingold and McKay elementary schools, and Thursday, Sept. 24 from 4:30 to 6 p.m. at South Street Elementary. For more information call Michelle at 978-855-5606, email Bill at [email protected] or Michelle at [email protected], and visit beascout.scouting.org/units/12c3c3cc-2ea3-4af0-b7e2-89ce036aff43.