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Costa Mesa Boy Scouts Troop 339 celebrates 60 years

Drummer Christian Redman leads the Boy Scouts of America Troop 339 color guard.
Drummer Christian Redman leads the Boy Scouts of America Troop 339 color guard during a reunion event at Presbyterian Church of the Covenant in Costa Mesa on Saturday.
(Kevin Chang / Staff Photographer)
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Costa Mesa-based Boy Scouts of America Troop 339 celebrated 60 years as an organization on Saturday.

Dozens of people, including Scouts, family members and troop alumni showed up for the event at Presbyterian Church of the Covenant, a Costa Mesa house of worship that was founded the same year as the troop.

For the record:

12:51 p.m. June 29, 2021For the record, this story has been updated to correct the title of Wendy Leece.

A camp site was set up on the lawn, which demonstrated a variety of knot-tying techniques. A makeshift flagpole was also set up, which had the strength to support one boy during a pullup.

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“In Scouts, you still work as a team. They divide you into patrols, but you become the leader,” Tom Devlin, 63, of Costa Mesa said. “Each Scout sort of progresses up, and leadership is taught in Boy Scouts, and it’s a trial by error. I know I made a few thousand errors as a Boy Scout, but I survived, and I thought it was so impressive that I got my kid involved.”

Klaus Gruenbeck, 91, a 62-year resident of Costa Mesa, has been with the troop practically from the beginning. There are now three generations of his family that have been in the Scouts.

No one could find fault with Gruenbeck’s manners, something he put great emphasis on at Saturday’s event. He got out of his seat to shake hands whenever someone came up to greet him.

Senior member Klaus Gruenbeck, 91, listens to speakers as he attends a reunion event for Boy Scouts of America Troop 339.
Senior member Klaus Gruenbeck, 91, listens to speakers as he attends a reunion event for the Boy Scouts of America Troop 339.
(Kevin Chang / Staff Photographer)

“Today, manners are very much missing,” Gruenbeck said. “It’s sad, but that’s what every parent actually has to do.

“Here, it’s a celebration of our 60 years as a troop, and I’m kind of a historian. I keep track of who’s becoming what.”

Bruce Buchanan, 14, who holds the Scout rank of second class, helped organize the event with his mother Ellen. Reaching out to a newspaper was part of the path to earning a communications merit badge. He shared that he wanted to reach the rank of Eagle Scout.

“If I apply for a job, it will go on my résumé, and it will actually help,” Bruce said of why his goal was important to him.

Bruce has been a Scout for two years. Eagle Scout Blake Bermudez, 19, a 2020 graduate of Costa Mesa High School, said that Bruce had secured a respectable number of badges in a short amount of time.

“Back in the day, they used to have merit badge days, where you would get to go a full day and earn as many badges as you can, but they don’t have those anymore,” Bermudez said. “It’s actually harder to earn badges now.”

Zach Quattrocchi leads a ceremonial prayer during a reunion event at Presbyterian Church of the Covenant in Costa Mesa.
Zach Quattrocchi leads a ceremonial prayer during a reunion event at Presbyterian Church of the Covenant in Costa Mesa on Saturday.
(Kevin Chang / Staff Photographer)

Joseph Hurley, 17, a junior at Newport Harbor, told a story of how he earned the aviation badge. A pilot took him on a flight out of John Wayne Airport, and the boys were invited to take over the controls once they were in the air.

Attendees shared in conversation and enjoyed food served by the young Scouts leading up to a presentation.

Scout Master Frank Quattrocchi was presented with a certificate recognizing the troop’s 60 years of service by Andrew DiGiovanna, a representative from U.S. Rep. Michelle Steel’s office.

Former Costa Mesa city councilwoman Wendy Leece also addressed the crowd, thanking the parents for supporting the Scouts on their journey.

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