July 12, 2000
Traverse City Scouts earn prestigious Eagle rank
Nine receive pinnacle Boy Scout award after scaling cliff
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Rising at 4:30 a.m. one recent morning, the eleven Boy Scouts, five fathers, one grandfather and two scout leaders set out on a four-hour hike. A rigorous hike that included scaling a vertical cliff to the top of a peak called the Tooth of Time.
The Boy Scouts were on their last day of a 12-day backpacking adventure at the Philmont Scout Camp in Cimarron, New Mexico, a trip that challenged them emotionally, physically and spiritually. But all decided that before leaving, they would complete just one more hike, this time to the top.
There, with a breathtaking panoramic view of the surrounding countryside, nine of the scouts achieved the pinnacle of their scouting career: they received their Eagle Scout badge.
Becoming Eagle Scouts together, in that place and at that time, was the culmination of six years of scouting for these young men of Troop 34, based at the First Congregational Church. All nine had kept the goal of Eagle Scout in sight since joining the Boy Scouts and all nine had achieved it. This was quite an accomplishment given that nationwide only 3 of every 100 Boy Scouts make Eagle Scout.
"It is a long trail to Eagle, and there are times when you think it is not worth it, but when you get it is," said Dan Russell, an Eagle Scout who will be a junior at Central High School next year. "It was real memorable to receive our honors there, the view on the Tooth of Time was spectacular. It is something I will never forget."
Last Sunday, back in Traverse City, the Scouts and their families celebrated their Eagle Scout badges at an Eagle Scout Court of Honor held at the Central United Methodist Church. The nine Boy Scouts who achieved the Eagle Scout rank from Troop 34 were: Steve Anderson, Ryan Brown, Adam Fivenson, Brian Howard, Bill Karczewski, Daniel Moranville, Nicholas Nussdorfer, Daniel Russell and A.J. Wasielewski.
For the proud families who packed the pews for the ceremony, it was a special moment.
"I am so proud, it is really exciting for him to be an Eagle Scout," said Dan Anderson, who accompanied his son, Steve, to Philmont and on a few other scouting trips over the years. "Philmont was grueling, more physically demanding that I expected; it was not just a vacation - it was hard work for everyone."
Also at the ceremony, the troop honored Scoutmaster Bill Howard and assistant Scoutmaster Jerry Glenn, both of whom are retiring from scout leadership this summer. Best friends for years, the two men have worked together with Troop 34 since 1984; during that time they have taken scores of young men on campouts, hikes, community projects and through all the basics of scouting.
Howard, a busy physician who volunteers between 800-1,000 hours a year as a Scoutmaster, has been involved in scouting since he was a boy in the early 1950s. An Eagle Scout himself, this trip to Philmont was his fourth, the previous three with a group of his scouts from Troop 34. He began volunteering as a Scoutmaster when both of his sons were scouts back in the 1970s, finding it a great way to spend time with them.
After a brief respite from leadership, Howard rejoined as Scoutmaster when his nephew, Brian Howard, then 11, asked him to be his leader. Together with Glenn, Howard watched Brian and his eight friends work their way up the ranks to receive their Eagle Scout badges.
"It just happened that these fellows all came up together and decided they wanted to be Eagles together," Howard said. "Scouting is a great program, these fellows develop, mature and acquire skills and they learn responsibility and how to work together."
Glenn is a retired high school principal who raised four daughters and welcomed the chance to volunteer with boys. A former Boy Scout himself, he was pleased to watch how involved the scouts' families become in the program over the years.
"You see the parents in scouting are totally behind the kids," Glenn noted. "They are an integral part of scouting."