South Texas Council
(formerly Gulf Coast Council)
Venado District
Troop 186
Kingsville, Texas
Sponsored by St. Gertrude's
Knights of Columbus Council #3389
Dr. Fred G. Leon, Jr. September, 1953 to September, 1957 4 (4)
Steve E. Labuda September, 1957 to September, 1958 1
Dr. Fred G. Leon, Jr. September, 1958 to September, 1959 1 (5)
Conrad K. Reilly September, 1959 to September, 1960 1
Raymond E. Howard September, 1960 to September, 1961 1
Ray F. Banes September, 1961 to January, 1963 1.5
Michael J. Fealy January, 1963 to January, 1965 2
Johnny J. Salazar January, 1965 to January, 1967 2
Stanley H. Smith January, 1967 to January, 1970 3
Norman E. Krug January, 1970 to Janurary, 1973 3
Jerry A. Jentry January, 1973 to January, 1977 4
Dr. Fred G. Leon, Jr. January, 1977 to March, 1995 18 (23)
Jim D. Presley April, 1995 to April, 2004 9
Stephen H. Presley April, 2004 to March, 2005 1
Steven Dembski April, 2005 to Present 1
Leon Chiropractic Health Center September, 1953 to September, 1957
Knights of Columbus Council #3389 September, 1957 to Present
As our homepage states, Dr. Fred G. Leon, "Doc," was the founder of our Troop. As such, he was also the original sponsor along with one of the local civic clubs in Kingsville. The history of the troop as it had been told to me was somewhat fuzzy as it mostly relied on the memory of some of the older scouters back when I first created this website. Unfortunately, Doc had already passed away at that point. However, when I did some digging into the old handwritten files at the local scout office, I discovered that this troop did not start out as 186 but first as a Pack and later as a Troop under another number back in 1953. For unknown reasons, in December, 1957 the troop apparently was re-chartered under the number 186 and sponsorship passed to the Knights of Columbus #3389. This is mostly a suposition on my part, as the transfer papers for many of the Scouters and the Scouts show as being changed to 186. Also, from the records, it would appear that the original troop disappeared at about the same time. So, officially, December, 2007 will be/is/was the 50th anniversary of Troop 186. One of the things that I inherited from Doc was a folder of paper scraps that contained the names of past Eagle Scouts that he could remember, and as close as possible the dates of their board or review or ceremony. Hence, our list of Eagle Scouts, especially the names left blank (also found on this website) may contain a few from Doc's original affiliation under the prior troop designation.
This account is submitted by former Scoutmaster Jim Presley.
The last time I visited with Doc, I promised to do what I could to see the troop through it's 50th anniversary. However, due to job-related reasons I had to leave the South Texas area and since April, 2004 have only been externally associated with Troop 186. At this writing, I am turning over my last physical link to the Troop (this website) to the wonderful Scouters who have stepped in to continue Doc's dream of helping all young men find the challenges of Scouting. Many thanks to all who helped me and God bless all the leaders and boys of Troop 186 (past, present and future).