The Troop Rouser (Song) begins with the line "O, We are the 61 Patrols," and goes on "All for one and one for All." Like brothers our patrols could be extremely competitive with each other, but we were always one troop. At its height Troop 861 had a total of 48 scouts divided into four patrols of ten scouts each and a leadership patrol of eight scouts. The first patrol of Troop 861 was the Crow Patrol, soon to be followed by the Thunderbirds, Flaming Arrows, Black Panthers, and the 8-Balls or Jr. Leaders. Many of these patrols still live on in today's Troop 861. Attend a meeting and you just might see the Crows standing in the same spot as they did so many years ago.
The Crow Patrol:
The Crow Patrol was the first patrol in Troop 861, in fact the patrol competed in its first She-Ko-Fa Camporee before the troop even had its charter.
Crow patrol - July 1966 - Summer Camp - Camp Rokilio.
Larry Jackson, Brett Becker, & Eric Iliff of the Crow Patrol practice
cooking usinga reflector oven during a campout
at Maywood Environmental Park,June 1985.
The Thunderbird Patrol:
The Thunderbirds was the second patrol formed in the fast growing Troop 61.
Thunderbird patrol - June 1986 - Troop 861 25th Anniversary.
Chris Nemeth, Chris Langemauk, Mike Gorges, Pete Danielsen, Matt Sterkel,
Fred Orsted, Eric Nelson, John Raftery, Chris Richards, and Chris Krause.
The Flaming Arrow Patrol:
Troop 861's third patrol was the Flaming Arrows. The F.A.'s may have been the third patrol formed, but that didn't stop them from becoming Troop 861's first BSA Honor Patrol.
Flaming Arrow patrol - June 1986 - Troop 861 25th Anniversary.
Jeff Dorsey, Mark Billings, Mike Brandt, Beau Stricker, George Young,
Trevor Shaw, Jason Pursain, Tim Gorges, Bill Richards, and Tait Fors.
The Black Panther Patrol:
Though the Black Panthers or B.P.s were the last regular scout patrol formed, they have the distinction of having the most Scouts that have become Scoutmaster of Troop 861; Mark Safranski, Steve Connell, and Rick Seidemann.
Shawn Spellich, Tyler McGrane, Tim Hobbs, David Jackson, & Tony Koran
of the Black Panther Patrol test out the monkey bridge
they constructed at Maywood Environmental Park in June 1985.
The 8-Ball Patrol (Junior Leaders):
To help perform the numerous duties needed to effectively run a large Boy Scout troop, a patrol of older Scouts was formed. These Scouts served as the Senior Patrol Leaders, Assistant Senior Patrol Leaders, instructors, quartermasters, etc. They carried out camp inspections, oversaw and ran troop competitions, etc. In essence, Troop 861 was theirs to run and they were effective doing so.
Junior Leaders - July 1966 - Summer Camp - Camp Rokilio.
Junior Leaders - July 1982 - Summer Camp - Camp Rokilio.
The Pathfinder Patrol (Adult Staff):
Know for many years as just the "Adult Patrol" or "Adult Leaders", this patrol has been renamed the Pathfinder Patrol.
Pathfinder patrol - June 2014 - Summer Camp - Bear Paw Scout Camp.
Adam Lorenz, Mark Baake, Dave Jackson, Rick Seidemann,
Mike Carey, Jeff See, and Dan Plopper.
