Troop 456 has over 70 years of proud history, filled with the Scouting legacies of hundreds of Scouts and Scouters, from those who established the foundation to the many members of today’s Troop 456 who continue our tradition.
The content that proceeds here is drawn from the Troop Archives, supplemented with input from past members of Troop 456. This brief history is a work in progress; we apologize for any omissions or errors, which are unintentional. Our Troop Historian welcomes any contributions (information, comments, stories, archival materials, etc.) to be added to our efforts on this page and in our Scout Room. Please feel free to contact the webmaster.
In the Beginning…
On October 12th, 1945, a group of men held a meeting to discuss their interest in establishing a Boy Scout Troop to benefit the youth of Saint Mark Parish and the surrounding communities. This group, instrumental in the formation of Troop 456, included:
- R.J. Allgeier
- Paul F. Kahler
- Harry Mengers
- T. Braden Silcott
- G.F. Roeder
- John C. O’Mara
- John C. Smith
- Rev. Thomas Farrell
On February 28, 1946, as a result of the efforts of the above individuals, Saint Mark Parish was granted a Charter by the Boy Scouts of America for the establishment of a Boy Scout Troop. RJ Allgeier became the first Scoutmaster and Braden Silcott the first Committee Chairman. The fledgling Troop 456 sported a roster of 32 Scouts:
H. Greenwalt G. Mastracci
D. Roth D. Lauman
T. Harman R. Leider
G. Urban F. Buchness
P. Braungart, Jr. J. Nunn
F. Dugan M. Seybold
T. Mueller E. Mohler
T. Flynn J. Kuhn
W. Stansbury R. Belt
F. Kirby R. Blume
J. Steuidl R. Mentor
R. Roeder J. Meyers
G. Cavey C. Peters
W. Hiskey T. Silcott, Jr.
D. Doughtery P. Kruger
J. McDonald M. Mueller
By 1947, the Troop grew to 36 Scouts, with 5 boys parting ways and 9 new Scouts joining the roster:
- W. Powell, Jr.
- G. Finn
- E Balderson
- J. Hemler
- D.L. Allgeier
- J. Kerby
- H. Greenwood
- J. Mueller
- R. Braungart
The Troop became very popular in those early years, growing by 1949 to a roster of 51 Scouts and 7 adult leaders.
Adult Leadership
A quality Scout Troop (or any organization) can only succeed with excellent leadership. Facilitating the Scouting program is a demanding challenge and a rewarding endeavor; excellent leadership translates into a strong program that offers Scouts the opportunity to develop into young men of strong character, apt responsibility, self-reliance, and a desire to contribute to their community and nation.
Troop 456 has been blessed with a history of dynamic, creative, and caring adult leadership through the years. Dozens of men and women have given freely of their time to help mold the youth of Troop 456 into young men prepared to lead others. Above all others, the Scoutmasters of Troop 456 have served generations of Scouts in Troop 456 and deserve our highest accolades:
- R. J. Allgeier | 1945-1955
- Francis R. Hargy | 1955-1960
- Charles T. Precht | 1960-1965
- William Kwedar | 1965-1966
- Roland Gray, Jr. | 1966-1969
- James Manning | 1969-1972
- Robert A. Johnson | 1972-1973
- Kirk A. Trieber | 1973-1976
- James Koller | 1976-1978
- Edward Piechowiak | 1978-1980
- Buddy Sinor | 1980-1985
- Jacque J. LeVasseur | 1985-1989
- Richard Byrne | 1989-1992
- Jacque J. LeVasseur | 1992-2005
- Brian Macari | 2005-2011
- P. Sean Burke | 2011-2015
- Joshua M. Knepper | 2015-2017
- John Hash | 2017-Present
Additionally, we give special mention to four Scouters who gave so much of themselves to the formation and continuation of our Troop:
- Harry Mengers
- Albert Haw
- Frank Radulski, Sr.
- George Heath
A Flock of Eagles
Troop 456 has held the honor of providing young Scouts the opportunity to develop skills and a moral philosophy that helps to enhance a Scout’s ability to recognize and reach his own potential. One need only look to the advancement accomplishments of the Scouts in Troop 456 to see the fruits of these opportunities.
Many Scouts have achieved various levels of rank in Troop 456; all are reflections of their accomplishments and a reflection of their growth and success in Scouting, especially considering the many demands on our youth. However, an impressive many of our Scouts have reached the pinnacle of Scouting, having achieved the rank of Eagle Scout. The rank is a testament not only to the extraordinary efforts of the Scout but also to the skills, experience, and character of the young man he has become. We proudly present the Eagle Scouts of Troop 456:
- Albert Bauman III 1961
- Brent Woodburn 1961
- Michael DeManss 1965
- William Nicklas 1965
- Joseph M. Bostwick 1965
- John Haw 1967
- Richard Gray 1968
- Paul Heath 1969
- Michael Dzimianski 1969
- Patrick Hipsley 1969
- Richard Bostwick 1969
- David Bostwick 1969
- Richard Walsh 1970
- Kenneth Eichelman 1971
- William Nunn 1971
- Thomas Gray 1972
- Patrick Farrell 1973
- Greg Fuchs 1974
- Howard Nicklas 1974
- Stephen DeManss 1974
- Michael Carey 1975
- Albert Haspert Jr. 1976
- Frank Radulski Jr. 1976
- Gustave McManus 1976
- John Kirby 1976
- Stephen Hessenauer 1976
- Paul Minehart 1976
- Charles Lohrfink 1977
- Thomas von Hagel 1977
- John Kemp 1983
- Bernard Bandelin 1983
- Peter Manning 1983
- Dan Lohrfink 1983
- John Reese Jr. 1983
- Tom Rothenhoeffer 1983
- Alesky Szachnowicz 1984
- James Sickle 1984
- Sean Fitzpatrick 1985
- Michael Havrilla 1987
- Dylan Murray 1989
- Jonathan Dietrich 1990
- Mark Furletti 1990
- Aaron Tomarchio 1991
- Kevin Dolan 1995
- Jacob Wilson 1995
- Charles Cheadle 1996
- Jacob Miller 1996
- Samuel Guida, Jr 1997
- Casey Miller 1997
- Ira Pfeifer 1997
- Clark LeCompte 1997
- Mark Miller 1998
- John Dugan 1998
- Matt Hook 1999
- Bobby Barrick 1999
- P. J. Schafer 1999
- Wayne O’Donnell 2000
- Frank Cannon 2000
- Daniel Miller 2000
- Daniel Koehler 2001
- Nicholas Barrick 2001
- John Keenan 2001
- James Oswald 2001
- Zachary Knight 2001
- Jason Servary 2001
- Sheldon Broedel 2001
- Andrew Hill 2002
- Justin Rest 2003
- Mark Machin 2003
- Joe Koehler 2004
- Justin Klein 2004
- Matt Gaither 2004
- Matthew Cannon 2004
- Eric Robillard 2004
- Bryan Schafer 2004
- Christian Macari 2004
- Jeremy Seidl 2004
- Kyle Keenan 2005
- James Koehler 2006
- Paul Koehler 2006
- Kyle Mitzel 2006
- William Rudrow 2006
- Bill Mengers Jr. 2006
- William Wheltle 2006
- Andrew Kukwa 2007
- Thomas Dugan 2007
- Chris Cimaglio 2007
- Vance Kovach Jr. 2007
- Josh Knepper 2007
- Alex Jones 2007
- Colin Keenan 2007
- Michael Macari 2008
- Ryan McCloskey 2008
- Greg Frisina 2008
- Eric McCloskey 2008
- Ryan Klein 2008
- Mike Neuman 2008
- Jacob Luco 2008
- Gavin Brinker-Cole 2008
- Andrew Scott 2008
- Andrew Phelps 2008
- Robert Hewins 2009
- Joseph Barrick 2009
- William Foy 2009
- Jake Jacob 2009
- Hamza Husain 2009
- Patrick Wheltle 2010
- Steven Kukwa 2010
- Tim Hufford 2010
- Bruce Donoghue 2010
- Patrick Finley 2011
- Jerrod Grill 2011
- Tommy O’Donnell 2011
- Mattia Ippolito 2011
- Chris Heppding 2011
- Tim Burke 2011
- Mike Duffy 2011
- Andrew Burton 2011
- Mitchell Parrish 2012
- Andrew Brown 2012
- William Luco 2012
- Jordan Flesher 2012
- Ryan Buckley 2013
- Daniel Noppenberger 2013
- Tyler Presslein 2013
- Zachary Jones 2013
- Daniel Finley 2013
- Mason Presslein 2013
- David Gambino 2013
- Sam Dailey 2013
- Ryan Seidl 2014
- Andrew Burke 2014
- Billy McDonald 2014
- Garrett Wack 2014
- Evan Flesher 2014
- Eric Fly 2014
- Andy Rudrow 2015
- Clayton Pilcher 2015
- Michael Haskell 2015
- Erik Vukcevich 2015
- David Gevarter 2015
- David Luco 2015
- Kevin Protzman 2015
- Joe Hash 2016
- Tobias Wack 2017
- Liam Fitzsimmons 2017
- Brian Protzman 2017
- Nolan O’Donnell 2017
- Thomas Demma 2018
We apologize for any errors or omissions; please contact the webmaster for corrections.