OXFORD – Participating in “Celebrating 100 Years of Scouting,” Oxford Cub Scout Pack 65 planted a ceremonial anniversary tree at the United Methodist Church on June 17. Local dignitaries, Pack 65 members and their Cub Master celebrated the once-in-a-lifetime BSA milestone while making local history.

The honorable Village of Oxford Mayor Terry Stark, Oxford Village Tree Board members Dale Johnson, John Godfrey, and Jeanie Petersen, as well as Pastor John Martin of the United Methodist Church were on hand to help dedicate a young red oak tree to the community of Oxford. Cub Scouts Kurt Knoll, Bryan Huggins, Mark Drewniak, Jr, Nicholas Hubbert, Jacob Camiel, and James Micelli and their families attended the celebration.

Pack 65 Cub Master Ed Audas led off the celebration with a speech describing the start of Boy Scouts. Audas said, “Just over 100 years ago, a Chicago businessman named William D. Boyce got lost in London, England, in a heavy fog. During Boyce’s misfortune, he bumped into a young Boy Scout who successfully led him to his appointment, and thus started in motion a series of events that brought the Boy Scouting program to the United States in 1910.”

As inspiration to the boys, the Cub Master gave credit to two Oxford Eagle Scouts who recently completed community improvement projects. One was Bryant LaTourette, who constructed cupboards at the Town Pool for the swimmers to store their clothes in and the other was Ryan Moore, who dismantled and then rebuilt the bleachers at the Oxford Blackhawks Stadium.