Ortega Scout Troop 26 celebrates centennial

The year was 1924. Calvin Coolidge was president, the Charleston was the popular dance craze and a new museum of contemporary art was opening in Jacksonville.

That same year, Boy Scout Troop 26 was chartered in Jacksonville, beginning at a local church before moving soon after to  St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Ortega. The troop has been based there ever since.

To celebrate its 100th anniversary, Troop 26 held a centennial dinner at St. Mark’s Youth Center in the spring, offering an opportunity for both current scouts and alumni to celebrate and reminisce over the activities, experiences and values the Scouts have instilled in generations of Jacksonville youth. So integral to the local community is the troop, in fact, that its ranks today include scouts whose older brothers, fathers and even grandfathers were a part of Troop 26.

For example, the troop’s most recent Eagle Scout candidate, William Allen V, is a fourth-generation Troop 26 scout. In addition to his brother who is also currently a scout, Allen’s grandfather was an Eagle Scout member of the troop, and his father, great-grandfather and great-uncle all served as scoutmasters.

Former scoutmaster Matt Morgan, meanwhile, attained his Eagle Scout as a Troop 26 scout. His father also served as a troop leader, his brother participated in the troop with him, and his son Luke later went on to earn his Eagle through Troop 26.

Current Scoutmaster T.J. Laquidara – a police officer with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office – was himself a troop member as a youth, earning the prestigious Eagle Scout designation.

“It has been an honor to be scoutmaster of Troop 26 and to be involved in the troop now for over 16 years,” Laquidara said. “It has made a tremendous impact on my life.”