ROSEN MEMORIAL SCOUT UNIT ON THE MOVE
By Joseph Venturelli
This interview was printed in the Home Reporter and Sunset News April 13, 1973

In 1924, Boy Scout Troop 298 was chartered in Park Slope. Several years later a man by the name of Joseph Rosen volunteered his services to the troop. Little did he know at that time how his actions were to change the lives of many children. He dedicated his life to scouting and to his community. Quite a few of those children are still with us today, not as scouters but as their leaders. So dedicated was Joseph Rosen that in 1964, a couple of years after his death, the Joseph J. Rosen Memorial was formed. At the dedication ceremony Andre Testa, president, said "We will never forget Joe Rosen and I will try to live up to those high standards of scouting that he taught."
Today, almost ten years later, something has happened to Troop 298, something even greater than even Joe Rosen's wildest dreams. Troop 298 is now the parent unit of the J.J.R.M. In those early days it was something just to hold thirty or forty scouts together with an active program. Today Andre Testa with the help of his corporate officers now must set up a program for almost 500 Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts and Camp Fire Girls.

Scout Division Advancement
"Our scout division has exceeded my greatest expectations", said Donald Larsen, Executive Vice President "Over the years I have seen, developed and advanced six Eagle Scouts and countless Life Scouts. Today we have four active Eagle Scouts and twelve active Life Scouts. ', When I say active, I mean active, these are the boys who hold this division together.' The retention of our imputes far exceeds, the average length of service than any other unit. "This is what I take the most pride in." Our scouts want to remain in scouting. 'They know they have a direct responsibility to their community.
The week-end of February 16, our scouts went on an overnight hike to Camp Pouch on Staten Island. That one week-end had all four seasons thrown at us. Rain, sleet, hale and wind were all we could handle, and handle they did.

CAMP FIRE GIRLS
"Our Camp Fire Division is a model unit of Camp Fire Girls," said Mrs. Sally Musso, Senior Vice President. "You can't imagine the feeling of satisfaction I get when I see our teenage girls working as Den Mothers in our Cub Division. Responsibility like this is met by our girls as a challenge to their ability. This is part of being a Camp Fire Girl. You won't find this in any other organization but ours. Almost all our teenage leaders have been with us since they were seven years old when they joined our Blue Bird Division. They have grown to love children just as I love them" said Sally. "Without love there can't be understanding. I think that's what makes it all work so well"

CUB DIVISION
"One of, the biggest disappointments I have had in scouting is that I was never a Cub Scout myself " was a comment made by Joseph Venturelli, Vice President at a recent Bobcat ceremony. I was in scouting for ten years as a boy. I joined the Joseph Rosen a little over three years ago. It a big job being responsible for over 170 Cubs Scouts. Without the full program we offer children between 8 and 10 our division would dwindle very fast. It must work because each week children are joining us in all our branches.

Naturally we can't meet in one place at one time not to say we don't do just that on special occasions. We do meet on two different evenings, Tuesday and Fridays. Tuesday night we meet in Redeemer Church on 83rd street between Seventh and Tenth Avenues and the same evening we meet at St. John's Lutheran Church on 85 th Street between 16 th and 17 th Avenues. Both meetings start at 7:30 PM this includes our Cub Scouts they meet every week in the Den Mothers homes as so many Cub Units do. It is our belief that not much can be accomplished by having six or seven boy meeting in a home once a week and then meeting as a group once a month
On Friday evening we meet at P.S. 97 on Stillwell Ave. between Highlawn and Avenue S. This is where the parent unit meets. This is where it all started almost ten years ago. In January 1972 the J.J.R.M was asked to sponsor the Scout unit at the Redeemer Church. At that time they had a count of ten scouts and we were fearful of losing their charter. Less than seven months later we had a total of 110 Scouts and Camp Fire Girls in attendance. "We know what children want and we make sure they get it" were the words of Andre Testa last year at a PTA meeting when there was a threat of the school closing their doors to evening activities .We have today 28 Scout charters and 18 Camp Fire units' charters under one sponsorship.
In the past ten years we have almost 600 scouts attend summer camp. We work in perfect harmony between all divisions. One case in point is the organization called the Order of the Arrow. This is an organization formed many years ago for the scouts. To become a member of this scout division a scout must be chosen by his peers. He must first achieve the rank of first class scout. In no way would any adult interfere with their choice. It was their suggestion that the same type of organization be formed for the Camp Fire Units. A few years ago the Sisterhood of the Rose was formed using the same high standards as the Order of the Arrow. Each year a dinner is held by them. A few weeks ago their annual dinner was held at Romano's Restaurant on 72nd St. and 13th Ave. They had an attendance of over 55, there for a great evening of enjoyment.

It may sound impossible to understand why we want to expand to even greater heights but we do. Our leaders are devoted to children if they weren't they couldn't spend so much of their free time with them. It's People like Mat and Florence Tobin's, the Bob Curets, the Doris Giuffres that make it all work. With 500 children all our leaders could never be mentioned by name but even then it would never pay back what these people have done for their community and for your children. On the Corporate Board alone we have a total of over 140 years of scouting experience to offer your children. Our board consists of 10 adults. That's a high average of years for any organization. Our board is now working very closely with a group of teachers in one of our areas developing a program for the counseling of our scouts and camp fire girls for their college entrance exams. In this way we can further the current levels of involvement in our communities

This interview was printed in the Home Reporter and Sunset News April 13, 1973