Jerry Hampton's four decades as a Scoutmaster ends today.

A party was held in his honor at the VFW recently in appreciation of all the time the Cape Girardeau man has volunteered at meetings, summer camps, boards of review, parades, courts of honor and weekend campouts.

Hampton's sons, Chris, Matt and Eric, came up through Scouting ranks in the 1970s and 1980s, but Hampton's connection continued even after his sons completed their Scouting careers by receiving the rank of Eagle Scout.

Hampton's work with the Boy Scouts began well before his children started out as Tiger Cubs.

"It was my high school principal who approached me about becoming a Scoutmaster," Hampton said. At 21 he became Scoutmaster of his boyhood Troop 41, sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Sikeston, Mo. From 1967 to 1974 he led the troop.

"I remember showing up at the Methodist Church in Sikeston. The boys all were playing around, and an old boy at the end of the table [the Scoutmaster who was resigning] saw me and slid the keys and books toward me. It was my first troop meeting."

The Hamptons' 1974 move to Cape Girardeau was remembered by Jerry's wife, Betty, because that was when the youngest was born. She jokingly implied that the birth of their children was scheduled around Scouting, recalling a delivery by C-section took place on the same day as Hampton's first court of honor. "When he announced to everyone that he had to get back because I was having a baby, they all thought I was in labor."

Truth be told, both Jerry and his wife have embraced Scouting and encouraged an open-door policy regarding their home and their time to boys needing help.

By the time Hampton retires from managing Troop 5, 69 Eagle Scouts will have emerged.

"It doesn't happen by osmosis. It takes personal visits. The rewards are your paycheck. When you give a [boy] his first badge and it's pinned on by his mom or dad, you know how good it feels. I hand the badges to mom or dad to pin on and then I tell them, 'I want you to say the Scout promise to your mom or dad,'" he said.

The Hamptons' dining room table is where it begins. Hampton visits with the Scout and his parents and tells them right up front what's expected. "I tell them it's kind of like a tripod. If one leg falls the tripod falls."

Almost retired in 1991

In 1974, when the Hamptons moved to Cape Girardeau, he served as Scoutmaster of Troop 2, sponsored by Grace Methodist Church, until 1991.

Hampton's dependability and reputation are why VFW representatives of Troop 5, Larry McClard and Darryl Worley, sought him out to become Scoutmaster of the struggling Troop 5.

Hampton still wants to be involved helping children. His retirement plans may include shifting to assistant Scoutmaster, which includes being available as needed to the Scoutmaster and making sure boys advance in rank, ultimately to Eagle.