Twenty-Second Scoutmaster of Paoli Troop 1 from 1984-2004

Paoli 1 Eagle Scout 1958

Dick Bensing is a Paoli 1 icon, plain and simple. He lives, breathes and has dedicated his adult life to the troop.

My first memory of Dick is from the spring of 1969 on a hike to and encampment at the Lisle farm. I was a recruit and it was my first campout. I don’t recall if he took the hike, but I remember the older scouts talking about this guy, Bensing, like he was a mythical creature. He had just completed active duty in the Army to return as an assistant scoutmaster. That evening, during the customary war games, Bensing was challenged by some of those older scouts, who thought they were pretty tough. They turned out to be more foolish than tough. In the ensuing years, Dick cemented his reputation as being larger than life; someone to be respected. Nothing has changed.

The picture that accompanies this tribute is my favorite from the troop archives. It is from the 47^th Birthday in 1958. It shows newly minted Eagle Scout, Richard T. Bensing, receiving the Scoutmasters Cup from SM Frank C. McCown, III. Frank was another Paoli 1 icon who took Dick under his wing and also spent his adult life supporting the troop. If you overlap their commitment, Frank and/or Dick have been involved with Paoli Troop 1 for eight of ten decades.  It is fitting that they both have been awarded the Paoli 1 Meritorious Service Award, the highest award the troop can bestow, and the modem day equivalent of having your picture above the Cabin doorway. Frank, like Dick, was one of those guys you could not say no to. In fact, it was Frank who asked Dick to be Scoutmaster in 1984.

During his twenty-year tenure as Scoutmaster, over fifty scouts earned the rank of Eagle. To say he affected the lives of these young men and others would be a gross understatement. You can see it in the respect and admiration on the faces of those guys when they see and talk with Dick.

When he retired as SM, we held a dinner in his honor and many of these same scouts attended to pay homage.

It was during that time that Dick took on the task of turning the Lisle site at Camp Horseshoe from a platform tent to stockade camp. He personally designed the structures, secured funding through the Hoxie Harrison Smith Foundation and oversaw the construction of the campsite the troop calls home for a week every summer. Today, as project chairman for the Horseshoe Scout Reservation Alumni Association, Dick continues to spend time and effort improving the camping experience for scouts from Chester County and elsewhere.

In recent months, as we have planned for this anniversary, Dick has spent countless hours on the grounds and on projects to get the place ready. His energy, dedication and selfless commitment exemplify all that scouting and this troop stand for. Those of us who know him are not surprised.

I have never known this troop without the presence, guidance and leadership of Dick Bensing. Most of us never have. I would hate to think where or what Paoli Troop 1 would be without him.

J Craig Hadden