In 1973, Ray Shirley became the Scoutmaster for Chelsea’s Boy Scout Troop 354. He remained as Scoutmaster until 1990, and now he’s calling his Boy Scouts home once again.

On May 16, Chelsea Community Church will host the Scout Troop 354 reunion for Boy Scouts from the years Shirley was Scoutmaster. The reunion will go from 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

“This was something I had always hoped we could do,” Shirley said. “We wanted to see how many we could find and have a fun time with it. That’s our plan.”

Shirley said some of the men who worked with him have gotten older, so it was important to have the reunion now while they could still participate.

He said he expected to see close to 200 people at the reunion. He’s found 85 out of 138 Boy Scouts from those years, and those 85 are expected to attend with their families. Shirley said if more Scouts are found, there may be more at the reunion.

“Everybody’s excited about it everywhere,” he said. “Lots of them are coming from out of state — Michigan, Ohio, California, Florida. They’re coming from all over the country.”

Shirley said he decided to make the reunion a reality a few months ago, after people started talking about the memories of years past.

“It’s real important to me to make this happen,” he said.

The present-day Chelsea Cub Scout Pack 354 has also been invited to the reunion.