Give Troy Cranford a tent and a roaring fire under the stars and he is a happy camper.

As the Boy Scout Troop 52 Scoutmaster of four years and assistant Scoutmaster of three years, he led the troop with his passion for getting outdoors that was reflected by the amount of time he devoted to the troop and its campouts.
Before retiring in November 2009, Cranford put in an estimated 3,000 hours of work as a Scouting leader, which included 60 campouts. Altogether, he likely spent six months sleeping in tents in 202 camping days.
He served under previous Scoutmaster Jim Neilson before taking the reins of Troop 52, which was still a young troop at the time.
“It was a tough job filling his shoes, but it’s been fun,” Cranford said. “We were known as the camping troop. We loved to get outside and do things.”
In four years, Cranford helped the troop grow from about 40 Scouts to more than 80. He also developed 18 Eagle Scouts in that time, including his son Ryan.
Both Troop 52 and its meeting location were bursting at the seams as Lakeway’s population boomed.
“Emmaus is doing all they can to contain us right now,” Cranford said of the Catholic Parish in Lakeway that chartered the troop and hosts its meetings. “We are looking forward to be able to transition into their activity center.”
The Scouts averaged two summer camps a year and one high adventure camp per year. Older Scouts attended the high adventure camps in Philmont, N.M., Atikokan, Ontario, Canada, and Florida National High Adventure Sea Base in the Florida Keys.
Once a month, the Scouts also would pack the troop trailer and their cars to head out to a Central Texas site for a weekend of backpacking, rifle-shotgun skeet shooting or canoeing.
As the electronic age has produced more and more portable devices in the last few years, he faced the hurdle of showing Scouts the value of leaving cell phones and mp3 players behind when they went camping.
“Quite honestly, electronics don’t belong on campouts,” said Cranford, explaining that adults would bring cell phones in case of emergencies. “That was always a challenge.”
To combat the diversions, he worked to engage the boys through active campouts that featured rock climbing, SCUBA diving, canoeing and skeet-rifle shooting.
“Guns, knives, and fire are things that boys always want to do,” said Cranford. “The idea is to keep their interest in the program.”
He also credited parents and adults who contributed to the success of the troop’s programs and activities.
“The Scouters (adult leaders) are top notch people. The people in this area really care about their boys so they are very active,” he said.
On Saturday, the troop members marched down Congress Avenue to the Capitol for the 60th Report to State Parade that included Cub Scouts, Venturers and Sea Scouts from across Texas marching.
From there, special Scout delegates from each council in the state went to the floor of the House of Representatives and reported to Coby Shorter III, Texas Deputy Secretary of State, about Scouting activities from the past year and plans for the future, according to the Capitol Area Council web site. Boy Scouts of America is commemorating its 100th anniversary this year.
Although they enjoy getting outdoors and having fun, the troop’s focus under Cranford was to have Scouts working toward rank advancement and merit badges.
More importantly, Cranford and other troop leaders encouraged 11-year-olds entering Boy Scouts and molded them into men when they leave the program at 18 years old.
“It is a very difficult time for the boys. We have gamut of boys who are rambunctious and rowdy … to the boys who are very timid and don’t say or do anything,” he said.
What made all the hours of service worth it for him as Scoutmaster was when a shy, quiet boy would find his voice as a charismatic leader.
“What I got a kick out of more than anything else was watching … them develop leadership from the 11-year-old to the 17-year-old. That was really, really rewarding,” he said.
Cranford is still involved in Scouting as Bee Cave District communication chairman and webmaster, but he said he misses the troop’s monthly campouts immensely.
“It’s not the same. It really isn’t,” he said. “Watching the boys grow is another thing I’m definitely going to miss,” he said.