Our History
The History of Pack and Troop 2103
Pack and Troop 2103 were born from two different directions by two different groups. It was an amazing journey during which God’s hand can be seen at every turn.
First, the Troop. Troop 103 has been around for many years, chartered to First Christian Church. In 1993, the Troop had grown to a size that was hard to manage. Scoutmaster John Linn was discussing the problem with one of his leaders and suggested that the Troop split. He told that leader that his own church could use a Scouting program and suggested he contact them at Trinity and see if they would be interested. If they were, he suggested that the families currently at Troop 103 that attended Trinity could move to the new Troop and start up along with some of the other families from Troop 103. The leader asked who would be the Scoutmaster? Well, John just smiled and told Schuyler “you.” And with that, Schuyler Wiersum found himself with a new Troop and a new job. He did contact Trinity and he and John met with Pastor Jerry and Pastor Lenny. They enthusiastically told them to go ahead. The pastors told Schuyler and John that they felt this would be a fantastic outreach program for the church body. Schuyler was joined by Trinity members Gordon McGuire and his son Kris, along with Mike Ford and his boys Kevin and Billy and a few other families from other churches. Our first Troop Committee Chairman was Tom Jenkins. Joining the crew was Paul Ladwig who was an Asst. Scoutmaster, then later Troop Committee Chair and remains today as an Asst. Scoutmaster. We came together in Fellowship Hall with a table, some chairs, and a white board and began to plan what would be the most successful Scouting program in Lompoc. But wait, isn’t there a Cub Scout program in here?
Yep, and this is how it happened. The Ladwig family was involved at Pack 62 chartered to the Methodist Men’s Club in Lompoc. Things there were going badly with great division among the adults. Paul had been asked to be the Cubmaster at his first meeting and a year later was trying to hold it all together. After a year he had been through so much that he had decided to quit, effective in May of 1993. He had no idea what to do and had no idea if he and his wife should keep their son Chris there or transfer to another Pack. Paul visited the office of our Scout professional, Jerry Sakamoto, looking for guidance. The Scout professional asked Paul if he still attended Trinity.
When Paul told him he did, the Scout professional told him that another person from Trinity had been there the day before to pick up the forms to start a Troop. He said the person’s name was Schuyler something and maybe he should check with him about starting a Pack as well. Paul thought, “Well, God doesn’t need to drop a house on me” and knew the direction to go. He had no idea who Schuyler was, but they needed to talk. The next night was choir rehearsal and Paul went in his red Scouting jacket. As he walked into the music room a person at the other end of Paul’s row leaned forward and said, “I need to talk to you.” It was Schuyler and talk they did. They continue to talk to this day and remain close friends despite the 1,000 miles that separate them. Paul gathered up all his courage and approached Lenny Harris after church to ask about starting a Pack. The courage was not needed as Lenny thought it was a great idea and asked what they needed from the church to get started. Paul, his wife Ann, and sons Chris and Eric were joined by Don Gunn (our first Committee Chair) and son BJ, Dave and Marsha Tapert and sons, John and James, all from Pack 62. They started out on faith and Pack 2103 is now the only Cub Scout program within the City of Lompoc. Other Packs have come and gone, but Pack 2103 is still here and doing great.
Now we had a Pack and Troop, but what unit number do we use? Paul suggested 693 as we chartered in June of 1993. But Schuyler won out. He said that we would not have started without the encouragement and help of Troop 103. So, we ended up as 2103 to honor their help. A ceremony was held at First Christian Church to celebrate the start of 2103. John Linn put the first Troop neckerchief on Schuyler and the second on Paul. Paul retains his and it is a cherished memento.
Many adults and boys have been through our doors since. Fellowship Hall went away so we could welcome the Community Life Center. The Troop built the church a new BBQ for it’s new building. In 1996 Schuyler and Paul attended the advanced Scout Leader program called Wood Badge. That training brought many positive changes to our program and many of our leaders have followed them and took on the Wood Badge challenge. In August of 2009 changes at Trinity sent us looking for a new home. First Southern Baptist Church took us in and made us feel at home. And their we are still.
Both the Pack and Troop have participated in many outreach/aid events and projects. The units have annually supported the local food bank, helped set up and clean up for a variety of church events (including the annual Harvest Bazaar), packed and delivered Holiday baskets to needy families, fund-raised to purchase goats through Worldvision for poor families, participated in the Samaritan’s Purse project by putting together Christmas boxes, and cleaned up local beaches to name just a few things. Eagle projects by our scouts have been completed at Trinity (BBQ, Chris Ladwig), La Purisima Mission State Park, the Convalescent Care Center, several elementary schools, and a number of local parks. The boys have served by doing everything from graffiti removal and repair & replacement of playground equipment to fixing and donating wheelchairs to those in need. The local and extended community is well-aware of the servant attitude of our scouts.
Other units have come and gone. But our Scouts are still there. Still strong. Still making sure that a Scout is Reverent. Still making sure they follow the Scout Oath and Law. And that the boys that God leads to us have the best leaders and program possible to make them the best husbands, fathers, and leaders that they can be.
Pack and Troop 2103 were born from two different directions by two different groups. It was an amazing journey during which God’s hand can be seen at every turn.
First, the Troop. Troop 103 has been around for many years, chartered to First Christian Church. In 1993, the Troop had grown to a size that was hard to manage. Scoutmaster John Linn was discussing the problem with one of his leaders and suggested that the Troop split. He told that leader that his own church could use a Scouting program and suggested he contact them at Trinity and see if they would be interested. If they were, he suggested that the families currently at Troop 103 that attended Trinity could move to the new Troop and start up along with some of the other families from Troop 103. The leader asked who would be the Scoutmaster? Well, John just smiled and told Schuyler “you.” And with that, Schuyler Wiersum found himself with a new Troop and a new job. He did contact Trinity and he and John met with Pastor Jerry and Pastor Lenny. They enthusiastically told them to go ahead. The pastors told Schuyler and John that they felt this would be a fantastic outreach program for the church body. Schuyler was joined by Trinity members Gordon McGuire and his son Kris, along with Mike Ford and his boys Kevin and Billy and a few other families from other churches. Our first Troop Committee Chairman was Tom Jenkins. Joining the crew was Paul Ladwig who was an Asst. Scoutmaster, then later Troop Committee Chair and remains today as an Asst. Scoutmaster. We came together in Fellowship Hall with a table, some chairs, and a white board and began to plan what would be the most successful Scouting program in Lompoc. But wait, isn’t there a Cub Scout program in here?
Yep, and this is how it happened. The Ladwig family was involved at Pack 62 chartered to the Methodist Men’s Club in Lompoc. Things there were going badly with great division among the adults. Paul had been asked to be the Cubmaster at his first meeting and a year later was trying to hold it all together. After a year he had been through so much that he had decided to quit, effective in May of 1993. He had no idea what to do and had no idea if he and his wife should keep their son Chris there or transfer to another Pack. Paul visited the office of our Scout professional, Jerry Sakamoto, looking for guidance. The Scout professional asked Paul if he still attended Trinity.
When Paul told him he did, the Scout professional told him that another person from Trinity had been there the day before to pick up the forms to start a Troop. He said the person’s name was Schuyler something and maybe he should check with him about starting a Pack as well. Paul thought, “Well, God doesn’t need to drop a house on me” and knew the direction to go. He had no idea who Schuyler was, but they needed to talk. The next night was choir rehearsal and Paul went in his red Scouting jacket. As he walked into the music room a person at the other end of Paul’s row leaned forward and said, “I need to talk to you.” It was Schuyler and talk they did. They continue to talk to this day and remain close friends despite the 1,000 miles that separate them. Paul gathered up all his courage and approached Lenny Harris after church to ask about starting a Pack. The courage was not needed as Lenny thought it was a great idea and asked what they needed from the church to get started. Paul, his wife Ann, and sons Chris and Eric were joined by Don Gunn (our first Committee Chair) and son BJ, Dave and Marsha Tapert and sons, John and James, all from Pack 62. They started out on faith and Pack 2103 is now the only Cub Scout program within the City of Lompoc. Other Packs have come and gone, but Pack 2103 is still here and doing great.
Now we had a Pack and Troop, but what unit number do we use? Paul suggested 693 as we chartered in June of 1993. But Schuyler won out. He said that we would not have started without the encouragement and help of Troop 103. So, we ended up as 2103 to honor their help. A ceremony was held at First Christian Church to celebrate the start of 2103. John Linn put the first Troop neckerchief on Schuyler and the second on Paul. Paul retains his and it is a cherished memento.
Many adults and boys have been through our doors since. Fellowship Hall went away so we could welcome the Community Life Center. The Troop built the church a new BBQ for it’s new building. In 1996 Schuyler and Paul attended the advanced Scout Leader program called Wood Badge. That training brought many positive changes to our program and many of our leaders have followed them and took on the Wood Badge challenge. In August of 2009 changes at Trinity sent us looking for a new home. First Southern Baptist Church took us in and made us feel at home. And their we are still.
Both the Pack and Troop have participated in many outreach/aid events and projects. The units have annually supported the local food bank, helped set up and clean up for a variety of church events (including the annual Harvest Bazaar), packed and delivered Holiday baskets to needy families, fund-raised to purchase goats through Worldvision for poor families, participated in the Samaritan’s Purse project by putting together Christmas boxes, and cleaned up local beaches to name just a few things. Eagle projects by our scouts have been completed at Trinity (BBQ, Chris Ladwig), La Purisima Mission State Park, the Convalescent Care Center, several elementary schools, and a number of local parks. The boys have served by doing everything from graffiti removal and repair & replacement of playground equipment to fixing and donating wheelchairs to those in need. The local and extended community is well-aware of the servant attitude of our scouts.
Other units have come and gone. But our Scouts are still there. Still strong. Still making sure that a Scout is Reverent. Still making sure they follow the Scout Oath and Law. And that the boys that God leads to us have the best leaders and program possible to make them the best husbands, fathers, and leaders that they can be.
