Four Men

Pete LaCortiglia

Quinn Agersea

Duane Hotchkiss

Al Martin

Unless you were born and raised in the town of Saugus, MA...you know not these men. Yet each of them was dear to me in his own way....and now belong to the ages.

Last night (May 7) was the annual Boy Scout Troop 61 Alumni dinner and scholarship fundraiser. It's a great opportunity to renew old acquaintances, share old war stories, get up to date on the current troop goings on...and to mourn old friends long gone.

Our scoutmaster read the roll last night, and in the year since we last gathered, these men have gone to meet their maker. This strikes me a bit hard this year, for these are my 'contemporaries'...adults that were active leaders in the troop when I was a boy. I'd like to share a bit about each of them.

I'll start with Pete LaCortiglia...the one I know the least. I was in scouts in the early 80s with his son Matt. Pete does have a special place of honor, as he became troop treasurer after my father resigned the position to become Unit Commissioner, a role I would take on myself many years later. Pete was always in the back room and didn't interact with the boys much....but he always made sure the books were honest and the troop had the money to do things.



Quinn Agersea was quite a character. He's actually from before my time, I just missed being in scouts with his son Peter. Quinn owned the now-defunct Cliftondale Woodworks that was right around the corner from my ancestral home. He was a great friend to the troop, donating supplies and shop time for us to build many items we needed. He also allowed us to build our canoe shed on his property, and we stored gear there for the better part of two decades. Quinn's greatest legacy is the cedar-strip canoe we build about 10 years ago, named "The Friendship", that we presented to our friends in Milton, Nova Scotia, as a memorial for their deceased scoutmaster Jordan Womboldt. "The Friendship" was no ordinary cedar-strip canoe...for it was trimmed in mahogany and teak, and bore the love and attention of everyone in the troop who laid a hand on it.



Duane Hotchkiss ...better known as "Uncle Dewey" to our scouting family, brought two sons to the troop...one who would go on to become an Eagle Scout, the other who would meet a tragic end. An enduring legacy for Troop 61 is our annual 'campership' that is presented every summer in the name of Brian Hotchkiss to a scout who 'may not be the biggest, or strongest, or most popular, but embodies true "scout spirit" nonetheless. We present this every year at our traditional last meeting campfire, and it's the highlight of our scouting year.

Duane eventually moved away from town to be near his eldest son in Florida....and cancer claimed him just a few weeks ago. Duane was a Vietnam veteran and was buried with full military honors in the Florida Veterans' Cemetery. Incredibly, such is the reach of Troop 61 that our retired Committee Chairman emeritus, Kreon Cyros, was with the family at Duane's side during his last hours, and the family graciously allowed him to say a few words at the funeral. This brought me a small measure of comfort, and I hope the family was comforted as well, knowing that Duane was in the hearts and minds of our extended scouting family.



Which now brings me to Al Martin. I can scarcely believe he is no more.
Al has a special place in my heart...for it was his eldest son Jay that introduced me to scouting as an 8 year old boy. We lived down the hill from the Martins...us at 1 Robinson street and they at 10. We were friends all through our youth and well into high school. Indeed, for a time, Jay was my best friend, so naturally when he joined Cub Scouts, I had to too. Jay's mother Diane, my mother, and Mrs. Cross who also lived in our neighborhood all became "Den Mothers" and oversaw our many years in scouting. Jay's younger brothers Shawn and Mark eventually joined, as did my brother Michael.

Eventually Al became Cubmaster...and that is how I referred to him throughout the rest of his life, as "my cubmaster". Al eventually cajoled my father into joining as well, and the two began a long tenure overseeing Pack 61. Eventually we all graduated, and Al became Scoutmaster of the Troop for a while. All those trips we went on, everything we did....Al was always there. In fact, Troop 61 bears to this day "The Curse of Al Martin". For a number of years, every trip that Al went on inevitably ended in bad weather, injury, or some other catastrophe. We all survived...but it became a running joke. I also quite distinctly remember one morning at camp my father having an insulin reaction...and Al tenderly caring for him and making sure we got some sugar into him so he could recover.

The last time I saw Al was probably 15 years ago now...the cub pack was in a tough spot and Al was willing to come out of retirement to right the ship and get things headed in the right direction....but he didn't have to. Such was his legend that only the suggestion that Al might take over got the current leaders to change course and put things to right. Al retired and moved to Florida, where he spent the last decade of his life enjoying the beach by his beloved Merritt Island.


So it is with a heavy heart that I update Northeast Liberals tonight, in a decidedly non-political vein. Wherever scouts go when they die...you can be sure that our departed Troop 61 alumni have a roaring fire going, a pot of coffee on, and are trading old war stories and having a grand old time.

Good bye dear friends....and thanks for being there for me.

Yours in Scouting,

David M.
Troop 61, Saugus, MA
Pack 250, Waltham, MA
First Milton Troop, Milton, Nova Scotia (Honorary)