Troop 31 History Page
Troop 31 was organized by 46 year old Charles P. Coates, a member of Court Street United Methodist Church in June of 1918. An application for charter was made on October 1, 1918, and the charter was issued on October 31, 1918. It was sponsored by Court Street Methodist Episcopal Church and met in the church basement on Wednesday nights. Howard A. Field was minister. Mr. Coates, the first Scoutmaster was employed by the Post Office and was a letter carrier. His previous experience with boys was in Sunday School. He was interested in Scouting "because of his interest in boys and men of tomorrow." H.H. Darby, age 40 was Assistant Scoutmaster and John J. Walker, Charles A. Holland, and Willard Varty were the Troop Committee members. The earliest Council records indicate that Flint had a population of 80,000. C.S. Mott was Mayor and A.N. Cody, Superintendent of Schools. During World War I, Troop 31's members served as messengers for the War Board, selling Liberty Loan Bonds and collecting War Savings stamps, according to our troop records. One of our first members was Harding C.S. Mott, a member of the famous Mott Family in Flint, Michigan. Two extremely dedicated leaders impacted a large part of the 1940's - 1980's. Norman A.J. Asselstine served as Scoutmaster for nearly 40 years and remained as active as possible until his death on March 30, 1997. Known as "Mr. A," his gentle touch and caring words inspired a generation of Scouts. Another leader, Mr. Robert Bigler served as Committee Chairman for some 50 years. Known as "Mr. B," his dedicated service to the troop inspired hundreds of Scouts to do their best. Mr. Bigler was the oldest and longest registered member of the Tall Pine Council upon his January 23, 2004 death. In 1990 a Camping and Uniform Fund was named after Asselstine, Bigler and Coates. It is officially called the ABC Fund. This fund has helped dozens of Scouts get to camp in the past 12 years. In 2001-2002 a new Scout building was built to house the outdoor camping equipment for the troop. It proudly bears the name of the Asselstine/Bigler Scout Center and serves as a reminder of the outstanding leadership and devotion these two men gave to Troop 31. More than 1,000 Scouts have gone through the troop since 1918. Troop 31 has had 20 Scoutmasters and 66 Eagle Scouts in the 92 year history of the troop. Troop 31 is one of the oldest troops in the country. Only 200 troops out of over 40,000+ units are older than Troop 31.
A picture of our first Scoutmaster and founder - Charles P. Coates
Scoutmaster from 1918 - 1922
10-2008 Flint Journal Article on our 90th Anniversary
4-24-1993 Flint Journal Article on our 75th Anniversary
1994 Suburban News Article on our 1994 Philmont Trip