EagleTribune.com, North Andover, MA
Merrimack Valley
Eagle Scouts still helping out despite tough economic times
Communities can still count on Scouts despite tough times
Published: January 12, 2009
ANDOVER — At a time when a depressed economy is forcing communities across the country to cut back on services, Eagle Scouts aren't slacking off.
On the road to earning the highest rank in the near-century-old Boy Scouts of America, high school-aged boys are still pitching in to help - just as they have for years.
Adult leaders of the Haverhill-based Yankee Clipper Council estimate that cities and towns in the Merrimack Valley and Southern New Hampshire received hundreds of thousands of hours of volunteer labor last year because of service projects organized by many of the council's newest 150 Eagles.
The new Eagles representing 52 communities in Essex County and Southern New Hampshire - swapped stories about their projects Friday night at the Wyndham Boston Andover Hotel during the council's annual Eagle Scout Recognition Banquet.
Litter-strewn parks were cleaned up. The Scouts repaired or replaced bridges and nature trails. There were beautification projects that spruced up school yards, churches and community centers.
Andover, Georgetown, Haverhill, Lawrence, Methuen, North Andover in Massachusetts and Hampstead, Kingston and Plaistow in New Hampshire accounted for 43 Eagles.
Each one worked from 100 to 200 hours or more supervising other Scouts, troop leaders, civilians and various volunteers on projects that otherwise wouldn't get done.
"It's impossible to add up all the good these kids do," said Gwilym Clarke, a former Scoutmaster with Troop 33 in Hampstead.
"We have two plaques at Town Hall with the names of all the Eagles, and each one would have a story to tell about untold hours that were put into a project that made a big difference for our community," Clarke said.
"Lots of different projects -âÇbeautification, conservation and repair work," he said.
Clarke was among the proud parents at Friday night's banquet. His son Gareth, 18, now a student at Manchester Community College, supervised a landscaping and beautification project at Hampstead Central School last year.
Gareth was joined by his older brother Gwilym, who earned his Eagle Scout badge in 2004.
"I put in about 100 hours, but I can tell you hundreds of man-hours went into this project," said Gareth Clarke, who credited other troop members, school students and staff - and even "my old principal, Dillard Collins," for making the project a success.
The project involved the restoration of two garden beds, the recycling of bricks to rebuild retaining walls around them, the installation of granite benches and wooden garden planters, mulching, and the replacement of old soil contaminated by road salt.
"Our goal was to create a nice, relaxing entrance to the school that's friendly and inviting," said Clarke, who was a student at the school from the first through fourth grades.
"I worked closely with the principal and some of the staff since this was a project that was intended for the school to actively participate in," he said.
Some of the Eagles invested considerably more time in their service projects.
Tommy Fuerst, 17, of Troop 76 in Andover estimated he put in 250 hours on a conservation project working with the Andover Village Improvement Society.
"I built steps on a trail, cleaned old trees out of a swamp area and mulched a trail for about a half mile," said Fuerst, a junior at Andover High School.
"The toughest part was putting the trail steps in. There were lots of roots that had to be removed and they were tough to pull out," he said.
Danny Plouffe, 17, of Haverhill's Troop 1, figured he spent about 150 hours on his Eagle Scout service project. It involved repairing and refurbishing a 500-foot fence at Tattersall Farm in Haverhill.
"We fixed it, cleaned it up, primed it and painted," Plouffe said.
Jay Smith, 18, of Troop 60 in Methuen estimated he spent 160 hours on his project to clean up Forest Lake Park and a shed on the property.
The work that goes into any Eagle Scout service project is a bargain for any community - particularly small towns such as Hampstead, where Troop 33 has produced 60 Eagles in its 53-year history.
Clarke, the former Troop 33 Scoutmaster, said few people have had more to do with the success of the Eagle projects than veteran troop committee member Arnie Sheltra.
But Sheltra, 72, who has devoted 36 years to Scouting, credits the Eagle Scouts.
"The idea of the Eagle Scout public service project is that the Eagle is the leader and we are the workers," said Sheltra, who has been affiliated with the troop since 1975.
"Sure, I've tried to help a number of Eagle Scout projects over the years. But they get done because of the Eagles," he said.
"We're a small community. The projects are always designed to help the town, a church or some group that benefits the community. They've all been worthwhile projects," he said.
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