Our Chartered Organization
Cohasset Scouts BSA is proud to be chartered (sponsored) by the Cohasset Rotary Club. The BSA and Rotary International share a dedication to service and leadership development.
Community Service
Cohasset scouting provides all manner of service to the local community. We annually support the Cohasset Race by the Sea, sponsored by the Cohasset Rotary Club. Troop 28’s Eagle Scouts have completed projects all over town, including – the map, trail improvements and kiosks in Wheelwright Park, improvements at the Recycling Transfer Station, signage and equipment storage for the Cohasset Police Department and the Town, improvements to George Ingram Park, the Cohasset Food Pantry, Holley Hill Farm, innovative playground equipment at the South Shore Community Center Nursery School, new signage at 60 Elm Street and support for troops serving overseas. The Troop provides “victims” for emergency management exercises and places flags on the graves of veterans prior to Memorial Day. Service is part of the DNA of scouting in Cohasset.
History of Troop 28
Troop 28 was founded in 1912 as “Troop 1 Cohasset”. In 1915, the Reverend Fredrick Stanley came to Cohasset as the minister of the Second Congregational Church and became the Scoutmaster of the fledgling troop. Reverend Stanley proved to be a force of nature in the Scouting movement in our area. In addition to running the Troop for 22 years, in 1918 he founded the first Boy Scout camp in the Old Colony Council (the group of troops in our area) at Oldham Pond in Pembroke, brought a group of eight Cohasset scouts to first World Scouting Jamboree in London in 1920 and was the first local recipient of the BSA’s Silver Beaver Award for outstanding volunteer service to scouting.
The Troop initially met in the Second Congregational Church. When it outgrew that space, the Troop met in the cafeteria of the old Osgood School, now the main reading room of the Paul Pratt Memorial Library.
Reverend Stanley retired as Scoutmaster in 1937 and was shortly after succeeded by Arthur Lehr, Jr. Mr. Lehr served as scoutmaster for 30 years, leading countless camping trips both locally and several contingents to National Jamborees. In 1968, he founded a scouting Explorers unit in Cohasset, which specialized in emergency response. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Explorer Scouts were an integral part of the Town’s emergency medical response team. In the 1950s, Troop 1 was renumbered Troop 28, our current identity.
Mr. Lehr was succeeded as Scoutmaster by Nelson Pratt (1968 – 1982) and others, including two stints by Merle Brown in the 1980s and 1990s. During this time, the Troop shared its meeting space in the basement of the old Osgood School with the Cohasset Police Department’s shooting range. During that era, the Troop also acquired a six-acre campground between Wheelwright Park and the Barnes Wildlife Sanctuary that was later named for Mr. Lehr.
The Troop continued to thrive under Scoutmasters Phil Lehr (1998 – 2004) and Rich Quebec (2004-2012). The Troop moved to its current location in the lower level of the Deer Hill School adjacent to the Cohasset Emergency Response facility. The Troop presented a special exhibit of Troop memorabilia at the Cohasset Historical Society to mark the 100th Anniversary of Scouting in the United States in 2010. Scouts in Troop 28 attended the Centennial National Jamboree at Fort A.P. Hill in Virginia in 2010 and the first National Jamboree at the BSA’s new “Summit” site in 2013. Three groups of Troop 28 have taken treks at the Philmont Scout Reservation in New Mexico in 2009, 2013 and 2015. The Troop also helped to found a related Venturing unit, Crew 18 Cohasset, to provide scouting opportunities to young men and young women ages 14 to 21.
As it enters its second century, Troop 28 has a robust membership and is nearing 135 Eagle Scouts. More importantly, Troop 28 continues to provide opportunities for fun and adventure for scouts in Cohasset.
History of Troop 48
Scouts BSA Troop 48 was started in Spring, 2019, when the Boy Scouts of America opened the Troop-level scouting program to girls. Girls aged 11 to 18 now have their own Troop where they can follow the same program as their male counterparts: camping; hiking; participating in community service; earning merit badges; and advancing through the seven ranks from “Scout” to “Eagle Scout”. Because female Troops are not yet in every town, Troop 48 has scouts from Cohasset, Scituate, and Hingham, but it is open to scouts from all towns—scouts do not have to join the Troop in their town; they join the Troop that “fits”. Troop 48 scouts have attended a week of summer camp at Camp Squanto in Plymouth, and have camped in the Blue Hills in Milton, at the Cape Cod Rail Trail, and right in Wheelwright Park in Cohasset. Scouts have also attended day trips to Tree Tops Zip line and rope climbing, rock-climbing at Granite Quarries, ice skating, and ice-climbing. Despite Troop 48 being the “younger” Troop in Cohasset, the scouts are showing that they can do everything that the scouts in Troop 28 can do! It is only a matter of time until you start to hear about Troop 48’s first female Eagle Scouts!