Scouts played large part in Fossum's life

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Scouts played large part in Fossum's life

 

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July 12, 2006

Marc B. Geller

Monitor Staff Writer

 

McALLEN One of the biggest influences in Mike Fossums life growing up in the Rio Grande Valley was his experience in Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts.

 

Beverly Alleyn, who like Fossums mother is a nurse, was his Cub Scout pack leader. And her husband, Mickey, led the Webelos program that Mike needed to complete with other Cub Scouts to transition into Boy Scouts.

 

The Alleyns son, Rob, now a McAllen physician, was one of Mikes classmates and rose with Mike through the Boy Scout ranks.

 

"Shortly after (Mike) went into Scouting, he visited with me, and hed just come off of a camping trip which I guess he felt that he wasnt too successful in," Mickey recalled.

 

"I remember him coming over and talking to me and asking the question if he ought to stay in Scouting or not. And I told him he ought to try to stay in there and run the course."

 

Mike stayed with it, eventually achieving the elite Eagle Scout rank and forging close bonds with several fellow Scouts, including longtime buddies Tom Ball, Grady Carlile and Charlie Ward.

 

"Watching him in Scouting, he always took his merit badge work very seriously and his campouts very seriously," Mickey recalled. "He was pretty sure of himself. Whatever he wanted to do, he seemed to be able to end up doing it and doing it well."

 

Around the age of 10, Rob remembers Mike talking about his aspirations of going into space.

 

"Hes wanted to do that since about the fifth grade, as far as I can remember," he said. "Thats about the time of the Apollo missions and the landing on the moon and all of that.

 

"We talked about that a lot when we were kids," Rob said. "Everybody was talking about what they wanted to do. He always was going to be an astronaut."

 

Ball remembers his friend as a goal-oriented leader.

 

"He was a really fine leader in the Boy Scout troop. The kids all liked him a lot. He was very popular ...

 

"We both liked to camp. Hed go fishing with my family, and wed go on trips together outings outside of the Scouting context, too and weve done that since we grew up. Every couple of years well go out on a backpacking trip somewhere and beat ourselves up real bad."

 

Though not active in high school sports, Mike and Ball were in marching band together, both playing trombone.

 

"None of us were much into the organized team sports," Ball said. "We did a lot of outdoors stuff. There wasnt much time for football or basketball. We were canoeing and going on outings."

 

"Hes always had a great interest in astronomy," Ball said. "We knew that from way back when we were out at camp. He was up in the middle of the night watching the stars that didnt rise until the wee hours of the morning."

 

Ward also remembers their friend teaching astronomy to other Scouts at Camp Perry, in Cameron County on the banks of Arroyo Colorado.

 

"Hes always been looking up at the stars," he said.

 

 

 

Marc B. Geller covers McAllen, Hidalgo and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4445.