Joel Barlow High School junior Christoph Dow, 17, of Easton earned his Eagle ranking as a member of Boy Scout Troop 66 for a project completed at the Easton Senior Center last September.
Evidence of the landscaping work Dow undertook can be seen in the gardens behind the building. Val Buckley, director of the senior center, said the 1,500 bulbs planted by the Boy Scouts are coming in nicely this spring.
Christoph said volunteering at the Easton Senior Center over two summers sparked the idea for his Eagle project.
“I saw a great area of need in the outside area, because they were short-staffed and couldn’t keep it maintained, I took it upon myself to give them a head-start and make the gardens more manageable,” he said in a recent telephone interview.
To obtain his Eagle, a scout first must earn 21 merit badges in categories such as First Aid; Cycling, Hiking, or Swimming; Environmental Science; citizenship and family life. He achieves the ranks of Tenderfoot, Second Class, First Class, Star and Life before pursuing the Eagle, the highest rank in scouting.
A scout has to show leadership by planning, organizing and overseeing the carrying out of a project to its completion. Then a presentation is made to the Eagle Board of Review, which has to approve it as worthy of an Eagle Project.
Over 50 Volunteers
Christoph said the Eagle project was planned to take two weekends to complete, but over 50 volunteers came forward and were able to complete it in one.
That weekend, the Boy Scouts and adult volunteers went to work weeding, planting, trimming and mulching in the gardens and repaired a brick wall on the outside of the property.
Christoph expressed his gratitude to Eagle coordinator Brian Glatvel, Dave and Lee Hardisty and to Peter Kochersperger, the current scoutmaster.
“The Eagle project was sort of a culmination of everything I
had done over the past five years,” said Christoph, who got into scouting when he was 11. “Just in the sense I was able to apply my leadership
and outdoor skills, it helped show my sense of awareness in the community.”
Special Recognition
Christoph’s parents, Ian and Suzanne Dow, watched him receive his rank of Eagle in a ceremony at Notre Dame Church in Easton on April 7.
State Rep. John Shaban showed up to give me an official
recognition from the Connecticut State Assembly and letters of recognition from higher
ups nationwide,” Christoph recalled.
He said the letters came from offices ranging from the sergeant major of the Army to the President and Vice President of the United States.
“I put them in a commemoration book,” Christoph said.
Boy Scouts usually finish their participation when they turn 18, according to Christoph, adding his Eagle will allow him to be active with the troop until November. When he leaves scouting, he said he’ll miss being around his fellow scouts most.
“You get
to make a lot of new friends and you also watch the younger scouts mature, which is
really good,” Christoph said. “When you pass on the traits of leadership to the younger scouts, you know
you’re making a difference.”
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