10 share Scouting, and its top honor

[Aquila calva]

Below is a good article some of you may like to read. See the link at the bottom to see some pictures, too.

 

___________________________________

 

10 share Scouting, and its top honor

 

Service, skill-building came with adventures

By Emma L. Carew

ecarew@pioneerpress.com

 

Article Last Updated: 10/27/2008 09:27:47 AM CDT

 

To some, the Eagle Scout award may seem like just another badge for camping and Scouting do-goodery, but for the 10 Scouts in Roseville Troop 297 who received their awards together this year, the ranking is a culmination of seven years of pranking each other, growing up together and eating a lot of camp food.

 

Of every 100 boys who join Boy Scouting as sixth-graders, only four to six continue to the Eagle rank, the highest award a Scout can earn, said Mary Degel, registrar for the Northern Star Council, Boy Scouts of America. So, it's unusual that 10 Scouts in Troop 297 who started together have continued all the way through. To qualify for the Eagle Scout award, a boy must plan, organize and complete a service project and earn at least 21 merit badges, Degel said.

 

"It's something that stays with them the rest of their life," she said. "When someone sees they're an Eagle Scout, that's very important."

 

Three of the Troop 297 scouts were recognized in an Eagle Scout ceremony Sunday at Roseville Lutheran Church, the last of the 10. Four from the troop were awarded American flags that were flown over the U.S. Capitol, for having started as Tiger Scouts, the youngest rank of Scouting.

 

2008-09 ROSEVILLE TROOP 297 EAGLE SCOUTS

 

Jeffrey Sayler, 18

Son of Kenyon and Lisa Sayler

Project: Laid grass seed at a church camp in Wisconsin

Why Scouting? I was in Cub Scouts and enjoyed it. My dad was a lot of it, he was in Boy Scouts when he was a kid.

Most vivid memory of Scouting? We have a rocket launch every year, and my rockets haven't tended to do well. One time, my rocket fell over and was shooting fire out the end; it was on the ground wiggling around.

How do you think Scouting will help you in the future? Certainly a lot of the skills that I've had to demonstrate, like first aid. There's also a lot of connotations attached to the Eagle Scout Award. People will say, "Oh, he must have done something good."

 

Ben Kendall, 18

Son of John and Victoria Kendall

Project: Remove an invasive species, purple loosestrife, from a wetland

Why Scouting? There was a kid on my block who was in Cub Scouts, back in first grade. What made me stick with it was that I loved it. We're all good kids that have a strong base of morals through Scouting, but we screw around a lot. You put a bunch of kids in the woods with pocketknives and matches ... we have a good time.

Grossest thing that ever happened? Knife or axe injuries, you cut wood and everyone wiggles they always cut something off. You're all like, I'm going to carve a stick into a spear ... and you take a chunk of your finger.

How do you take care of your badges? I keep my uniform, my merit badge sash and my order of the arrow sash all hung up on the far left side of my closet; that's my little area. I've sewed a couple of them; my mom at the point of sixth grade told me I was on my own so I got some of that glue patch stuff.

What part of Scouting do you think is most impressive to girls? My first Scoutmaster told us why every boy should get Eagle, so when you meet your girlfriend's parents for the first time, you'd fiddle through your wallet and drop your Eagle card on the floor. Some girls, especially at the high school level, might view Scouting as nerdy, but some girls might think it's cool.

 

Joe Mein, 17

Son of Chris and Lori Mein

Project: Helped organize and rebuild Falcon Heights Elementary School's new playground

Why Scouting? My cousin got his Eagle Scout, and I thought that was cool, so I joined Cub Scouts and just stuck with it.

Funniest Scouting memory? In the Boundary Waters, I thought the water was only about a foot deep, and I jumped out of the canoe, and the water was, like, 6, 7 feet. ... I was very surprised.

What part of Scouting would be most impressive to girls? Can't really use stuff from Scouting as a pickup line, but you can tell them that you whittled a lot of stuff, like, "I've got a big knife."

 

Joseph Mueller, 18

Son of David and Lori Mueller

Project: Built 15 transport boxes for the University of Minnesota's Raptor Center

Why Scouting? I just wanted to be just like my dad, and my friends joined it, and it looked like fun. My dad's an Eagle Scout. I always wanted to beat my dad in the number of merit badges that I earned, besides Eagle. (He earned 59 badges, beating his dad's number.)

The patch you saw and knew you had to have? Rifle shooting and small-boat sailing, those two I definitely had to have. Saw them probably when I was in sixth grade.

Grossest memory from Scouting? I've been on a few trips where it rained every single day, 24/7, until the very last day when we were paddling into base, so it was all muddy and wet, and not a very good experience you feel kind of miserable.

 

Tyler Stuart, 18

Son of Jim and Ann Stuart

Why Scouting? Well, it wasn't exactly my choice; it was more of my dad's. But after that ... I evolved into it; it grew on me.

Project: Improvements in Reservoir Woods Park in Roseville

Most quirky or unique badge? There is basketry, you think of it as a Girl Scout thing. It's not very manly, is it? And fingerprinting, had to do with identifying fingerprints.

Grossest Scouting memory? I know most other people wouldn't agree with me, but I don't like buffalo burger they're kind of gross. It was a special occasion that one of our camps was at a buffalo ranch there.

 

Conor Holt, 17

Son of Mike and Mary Holt

Project: Beautification of the exit ramp from Minnesota 36 onto Cleveland Avenue

Why Scouting? I'd been in Cub Scouts as a younger kid. I enjoyed camping, I enjoyed being in a group like this.

Grossest thing eaten as a Scout? At northern tier canoe trip, we'd always drop food on the ground, and it would get covered in dirt, but we just kept eating it. We'd call them flavor sprinkles.

Most unique badge you've ever seen? Looking back at the old merit badges from the beginning of Scouts, there was a rabbit-raising merit badge, farm animals. The rifle merit badge previously was to fire a gun and hit half your targets, and basically an NRA membership.

 

Nathaniel Rowekamp, 17

Son of Paul and Kim Sackett-Rowekamp

Why Scouting? I had some older friends that were in Boy Scouts and loved it. They said, "You should try this." There were elder scouts at the time that were getting Eagle.

Project: Refurbished some of the benches at Harriet Alexander Nature Center and installed a new bench on the boardwalk

Grossest thing you've ever done as a scout? At Philmont, in New Mexico, we had to do "human sumping," where you take the pot you cooked in, mix water in it and then drink it, to avoid spreading the food throughout the campsite.

Funniest? One of my first few campouts, we had a gas grill, and we were making some burgers, and it was a windy day. We touched the top of the grill, and it wasn't hot, and (we) thought it wasn't on, so one kid hit the igniter, and the cover blew up in the air.

What part of Scouting do you think would impress girls? The fact you can go out in the wilderness and survive without electricity or necessarily a hard roof over your head.

 

Steven McCann, 18

Son of John and Debby McCann

Project: Built recreational items three carpet ball tables and three sets of horseshoe beds at Camp Wapo in Amery, Wis.

Why Scouting? A lot of my friends were (Scouts). It just seemed like a fun idea to go do stuff like you don't normally do, like camping. I got to go the Boundary Waters, Florida Keys, New Mexico, a lot of places I wouldn't get to go otherwise.

Grossest Scouting memory? When I got my eyelid cut open. I had been running through the woods, there was brown rope between two trees at eye level, I didn't see it. It just sort of healed on its own. (Stitches) might have been a good idea, but we were at camp, and you tough it out.

What part of Scouts might help pick up girls? You've got the whole cool-uniform thing going, you could show off some of the knowledge and strength you get from Scouting, and just go "URGH!" (while flexing).

 

Andrew Albing, 17

Son of Carl and Cindy Albing

Project: Landscaping outside a nonprofit building near the University of Minnesota campus

Why Scouts? I joined in Cub Scouts; my brothers were both in Cub Scouts already. My dad doesn't do a lot of camping, so it was good to do a lot of this stuff.

Grossest thing that ever happened during Scouts? My first year at our annual summer camp, I was taking the fishing merit badge, and we had to catch a fish, clean it and cook it. I had it on the table and started to cut, and it just started jumping and flailing. It was like, oh gosh, the fish is supposed to be dead!

Weirdest thing to eat at Scout camp? We were doing this cooking campout, and our troop was running it. We had people doing blind taste tests; we gave them things like Crisco, chili powder and other random cooking items. I did try the Crisco. That was pretty interesting.

 

Matthew Wolhowe, 17

Son of Erik Wolhowe

Project: Water pipeline in Ox Lake Bible Camp in Amery, Wis.

Why Scouts? My dad's in (Scouts). It was fun, and I liked it, especially all the challenging stuff.

Funniest memory of Scouts? Probably sinking a canoe when we were at (camp). We were, like, 13.

Weirdest thing eaten? We had deer once. It was a campout called wild game dinner, and everyone had to bring in some food.

Favorite badge? The triple crown award, for canoeing, hiking and scuba diving. Probably one of the hardest ones you can get.

Most surprising badge? Electricity, doing different types of circuits and stuff.

Emma L. Carew can be reached at 651-265-2492.

 

http://www.twincities.com/ci_10827088?nclick_check=1

 

 

 

[raisinemright]

What a great and uplifting article.

 

Thanks for posting it. Below is a copy of the letter I wrote to the reporter.

 

 

Emma,

 

I just read your recent article about the ten new Eagle Scouts from Troop 297 in Roseville. Although I'm from Michigan and will never meet these young men, they exemplify what I want my sons and the Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts I lead to accomplish.

 

The Boy Scouts of America organization has taken a lot of abuse in recent years from people who do not seem to want to promote the good, honest, decent values that organizations like scouting promotes. I'd like to thank you for researching and writing an article that showcases some positive accomplishments along with the scouts grossest memories.

 

Regards,

 

raisinemright

 

 

[JakeH]

Something similar happened near where I am. In New York, I believe it was 6 or so that all did their Eagle ceremony together.

[TwoXForr]

Wow what a gang.