Sir Robert Baden-Powell “Leave this world a little better than you found it.” – Baden-Powell’s Last Message (1945)
The Boy Scout movement was founded in England by Sir Robert Baden-Powell in 1908. As a military officer, he had noticed that soldiers in his regiment, while well educated in the classroom sense, were ill prepared for the field: “Tell one of them to ride out alone with a message on a dark night and ten to one he would lose his way.” Baden-Powell wanted to develop men who were more at ease in the world.
I wanted them to have courage, from confidence in themselves and from a sense of duty; I wanted them to have knowledge of how to cook their own grub; in short, I wanted each man to be an efficient all-round reliable individual.
With this realization, the scouting movement was born.
D. Howard Hitchcock, Hawaii's first homegrown artist to gain international recognition, was a Punahou School graduate.
It wasn’t long before scouting came to Hawaii through the efforts of Hawaii’s internationally renowned painter, D. Howard Hitchcock. According to Hitchcock:
About 1910 I went to California and saw boys in pairs and in small groups camping out as Boy Scouts but with no such organization back of them as now exists. Visiting such men as could be found who were interested, I obtained all the data then available with a series of photographs from the East illustrating [Boy Scout] activities and with these came back to Honolulu where I proceeded to organize a troop (now Troop 1) which at first consisted of one patrol.
Hitchcock’s first troop was known as the Rainbow Patrol because of the wide range of nationalities represented in its membership. The group included Hitchcock’s sons, Harvey and Dickson, as well as Dudley Pratt, Sam Wilder, Jr. (all four were grandsons of Laura Judd), Fred Waterhouse, Donald Young, Ronald von Holt, Ralph and Arthur Johnson, Frank and Anton Gravaco, Walter and Fred Vettlesen, and Elias Mitchell. In later years the patrol was renamed Troop 1 to codify its status as Hawaii’s original Boy Scout troop.
Picture of the Rainbow Patrol's supply toting Kit Cart c. 1912. The cart is now in the National Council BSA museum to which it was donated by the Aloha Council. Photo is from the album of Dr. Francis K. Sylva, Hawaii's first 1st class scout.
Throughout its existence, Troop 1 has been sponsored by Punahou School; today under the auspices of the Parent Faculty Association. With this stable backing, the Troop has been a long term resource to not only the students of Punahou, but to boys attending schools located all over the island of Oahu.
Blessed by a stable volunteer core, the Troop boasts a well-earned reputation for being one of the highest Eagle-producing troops in the state of Hawaii. In 2008, six boys earned the coveted badge.
The Troop also distinguishes itself by offering outstanding outdoor opportunities to its members. It is the only Hawaii-based troop to regularly schedule trips to Cimmaron New Mexico’s Philmont Scout Ranch. Known as “scouting’s ultimate adventure,” the ranch introduces scouts to a myriad of challenges, new skills, and memorable experiences. Other mainland travel has included treks to Minnesota’s Boundary Waters, Idaho’s Camp Bradley, as well as sites in the states of Alaska and Washington. Neighbor island treks are also regularly taken and have include hikes to Waipio-Waimanu, Haleakala, and the Napali coastline.
Clayton Pang has served as Troop 1′s Scoutmaster since 1992. In recognition of his distinguished service to youth and to the Boy Scout movement, Scoutmaster Pang was recognized as an outstanding scoutmaster and was awarded the Silver Beaver Award by the Aloha Council in 2004.
Click here to view a list of Troop 1 Scoutmasters.
Click here to view Troop One’s Clipping Service.
