Blue and gold streamers and balloons hung throughout Chilstrom Hall at First Lutheran Church in Litchfield on a recent Saturday morning, and matching table cloths decorated tables.

In one corner of the hall stood a large, sloped metal race track.

All those elements, combined with the festive atmosphere, it seemed the scene of a birthday party.

Or, more appropriately in this case, a re-birthday party.

The hue of the decorations gave away for whom the party was taking place – young Litchfield boys who had not had not had a Cub Scout pack to call their own for a few years, before the guiding hand of one driven mom and regional leaders helped reestablish a unit this past fall.

And the party March 12 at Chilstrom Hall – a traditional Cub Scout Blue and Gold Banquet to celebrate achievements – marked the culmination of the first year of the pack’s restart.

“I’ve always been a huge fan of what Scouting stands for,” Liz Miller said. “My two brothers were in Scouting, and my mom was a den mother. I always thought they had the most fun … fun outdoor activities. I was in Girl Scouts; all I did was make pies.”

With that history, Miller encouraged her two sons to participate in Cub Scouts as soon as they were old enough. And both of them – Gryphon, 16, and Drake, 10 – have been involved since they were in first grade.

But when the Millers moved from Colorado to a home on Star Lake last summer, they learned that Litchfield did not have an active Cub Scout organization.

Liz Miller wasted no time connecting with regional leaders to see what it would take to bring back a pack. Her questions to Aaron Russell, a district executive who lives in Hutchinson, and Adam Bosch a district commissioner from Willmar, became encouragement for her to step up.

“I asked, ‘Can you give me some ideas where I can take my son?’” Miller said. “(Bosch) said, ‘You know, we could use some help restarting it (the Litchfield pack).’ Since COVID hit, a lot of packs had dissolved, because they didn’t know how to make it work through the pandemic.

“He said the pack was a long-time running in Litchfield, and it was really sad to see it go,” Miller added. “I said, ‘What do you need me to do?’ and I jumped in.”

Starting from zero members other than her youngest son, and with little recognition of Cub Scouts activities proved to be a challenge, Miller admitted. But in the end – as the Blue and Gold Banquet, and combined Pinewood Derby March 12 attest – it all worked out.

Her experience as a den leader, committee chairperson and district roundtable commissioner in Scouting while living in Colorado, combined with marketing skills she developed through other volunteer work gave Miller the foundation upon which to create a Cub Scout pack.

“The hardest part is to get the interest,” she said. “I knew pretty much what we needed, but you have to find the kids – five kids (and) five registered adults is the minimum to start any unit.”

She planned a kickoff event in August where parents and boys could learn more about Scouting, as well as build and launch their own “stomp rockets.” She followed that with another organizational meeting in September, and “boys started to trickle in.”

She said the registration process for boys and adults can be somewhat “painstaking,” and with almost everything these days, Scouting takes funding for programs and supplies, so there were fundraising activities to promote to the new Cubs and their parents.

“It was tricky to juggle all of that without spooking parents,” Miller said, “but we just said we were going to run this until we get our five.”

In the end, they got seven boys and six registered adults, slightly above the minimum required, and launched into the Scouting year. They held weekly den meetings where members participated in age appropriate activities to earn awards and advance through the five levels of Cub Scouts – Lion, Tiger, Wolves, Bears and Webelos – before earning the Arrow of Light and transitioning into Boy Scouts. In addition, they had a Christmas party and in February attended a Polar Cubs program at a Boy Scout camp in Stearns County where they participated in a variety of winter activities.

And of course, the Pinewood Derby. Normally, an event separate from the Blue and Gold Banquet, the Litchfield Cub Scouts opted to combine the Derby – for which Scouts and family members fashion cars out of blocks of wood to be raced down a sloped track – with the banquet to conclude this re-start year.

All those activities are what Miller remembers her brothers doing when she was a girl, and why she’s such a big believer in the program for her own children – and any others – these days.

“Scouts teaches more than just how to go camping,” she said. “The best way to find out what you do best is to do it – catch fish, ride a bike, set up a tent, build a Pinewood Derby car. It gives them a foundation to embrace opportunity and overcome obstacles. Scouting is play with a purpose. The purpose is to engage all the intellectual, social, emotional (areas) … and become responsible citizens when they grow up.”

Though 10-year-old Drake will transition to Boy Scouts soon, Miller said she plans to continue working with the Cub Scouts for a while at least as the local group tries to build membership.

“Cub Scouts is more on the parents; that’s where my place is,” she said. “I told the pack, ‘If you need me, I’ll stick around,’ but eventually I’ll transition and hand it over to other parents. That’s part of Scouting. We’re always looking for who we can train to take things over. You always pass the ring.”