Scouts BSA Troop 248 Celebrates Five Eagles

On Thursday, June 10, ScoutsBSA Troop 248 hosted an Eagle Court of Honour in recognition of five scouts who have earned Scouting’s highest rank during a covidian year.

The Honour ceremony also served as a “re-starting” of the troop, as it was the first time many of us have met in-person in well over a year. Scouts and their families, as well as some alumni and honored guests gathered in the backyard of Scoutmaster Eli Doane to honor Waltham’s newest Eagles.

Mayor McCarthy and City Councilors Sean Durkee (Ward 6) and Caren Dunn (Ward 2) were present to award citations and proclamations in-person.

The five scouts worked hard throughout 2020, facing the added challenge of completing merit badges and finishing Eagle projects during the restrictions necessitated by Covid-19. Nevertheless, the citizens of Waltham will benefit from the many projects completed in order to earn the Eagle badge.

Cameron Erwin was inspired by the website www.littlefreelibrary.com for his project, and built several of the free book-exchange kiosks for some neighborhoods in the city. Proving that a good project is not limited to one scout, Matthey St. Cyr also built several of these kiosks for his project. It is not an uncommon occurrence. Both Scouts planned the building and siting of these libraries, and organized build and installation teams independently of each other in order to complete these projects.

Waltham’s Prospect Hill Park has been ‘adopted’ by Troop 248 over the years, and many Eagle projects have been completed on the property, this year being no exception.

Simon Fain led a team to identify several wetter areas along the trails in that would benefit from having a boardwalk or footbridge installed over the messier terrain. Bridges were built on-site and were placed in a few wet areas to improve trail access near a small pond in the park.

Ethan Toole built new kiosks along the trails to house Prospect Hill Park maps and serve as guideposts to hike some of the more popular trails.

Finally, Liam Reardon completed his project to install several park benches near the summit around several of the overlooks of both Waltham and Boston.

Troop 248 plans on continuing events throughout the summer. We anticipate having a full, regular season this fall when school is back in session – and we are always seeking new youth to be a part of the Scouting program.

Scouts BSA Troop 248 Waltham, MA, welcomes all youth, ages 11-17, to our exciting year-round program focused on outdoor adventure and youth leadership. In Scouts BSA, young men and women go places, test themselves, and have one-of-a-kind adventures that can’t be found anywhere else. Scouting builds character and instills values for a lifetime.

For more information about becoming a part of Troop 248, visit our website here:

https://troop248waltham.org/about-us/