Cub Scout Pack 342 History

Cub Scout Pack 342 has been in existence for approximately forty years. In the past, the Pack has been sponsored by both Athenour Elementary (now closed) and Idella Lietz Elementary School, in the Union Elementary School District, San Jose, California.  For the past fifteen years, our meetings have been held at Lietz.   In 2008, the Pack started a new chapter in its history with our new charter organization, Holy Cross Lutheran Church (15885 Los Gatos-Almaden Road, Los Gatos).  While monthly Pack meetings are held at Holy Cross, the Pack continues to be a non-denominational organization, with boys of all faiths encouraged to participate.  Holy Cross is also the charter organization for Boy Scout Troop 342.

Each year, we always look forward to new boys joining the Pack. With new boys come new parents, and with new parents come new leaders, and with new leaders come unique and exciting ideas. Currently, we have approximately fifteen boys. The Pack has been down as low as six boys and as high as forty-four boys. No matter how many boys we have, it is always exciting and fun to participate and see the boys grow from Tiger Cubs to second year Webelos. When you talk to a boy that has grown through the Pack, they too, remember the good times that they had, and you feel proud that you were a part of their growth to Boy Scouts and, most importantly, young men.

The Pack has been involved with many fun and terrific activities. We have a Pinewood Derby race every year. This is a huge event for the boys. We have our own wood track with electronics that we use for this event. The top two winners go on to the District race. Several Pack 342 boys over the years have gone on to win, and place in, the District race. Whether they participate in the District race or not, it's always great fun for the boys, parents, and leaders.

The Pack has also been involved in some of the Scout-O-Ramas in the past.  We also routinely earn the Summer Time award, a Quality Unit award that is posted on the Pack flagpole. We get this award for getting together three times in the Summer as a complete Pack. The Pack meeting in June is considered one event; the second event will be our Water Rocket Derby and BBQ in July; and the third event will be attending a San Jose Giants baseball game in August.  See our home page for more information on these events.

The Pack also routinely participates in the city of San Jose's Christmas in the Park program. The boys make their own ornaments and then go downtown to decorate a selected tree in the park.

Another fun activity for the boys and leaders is being participants of the Veterans Day Parade in downtown San Jose for the past eight years, where we won a second place trophy as a marching unit.  The boys also march in the Los Gatos Christmas Parade.

To show our community support, the Pack has helped with the Harvest Food Drive many of the past years, along with helping build "goodie boxes" filled with gifts for the underprivileged children at Christmas time.

The Pack has meant a lot to many boys, parents, and leaders of the past years. We all hope to  continue and have a bright future for many years to come.