Four Haddonfield teens achieve Eagle Scout rank
According to the Scout Oath, Boy Scouts do their best to do their duty to God, their country and to help other people at all times. Haddonfield Boy Scouts Christopher Joseph Ehrhardt, Robert James Keegan III, Wyatt Gregory Lawes and Nicolas Anthony Ruggiero, now Eagle Scouts, kept true to that oath.
The four Haddonfield Boy Scouts of Troop 3065 completed their Eagle Scout projects earlier this year, all with projects that helped to improve their community in some way. Then, on Nov. 29, the boys were honored with an Eagle Scout Court of Honor ceremony where Scouting’s highest rank was bestowed upon each boy.
“It was a good ceremony, interesting and to the point. It was great to see so many projects at once and see all that we have accomplished and all that you can succeed through Scouting,” Lawes said.
Lawes’ project started off with wanting to document the old headstones at the Haddonfield Baptist Cemetery for the church and the Historical Society of Haddonfield.
“I walked past that cemetery every day for about four years. I saw that it became in disrepair over the years. It was really sad and I wanted to do something to help,” Lawes said.
However, Lawes’ project changed when a list of Civil War veterans suspected to be in the cemetery was delivered to the chapel office. According to Lawes’ Eagle Scout write up, the list, in combination with the 150th anniversary of the Civil War coming up, “made it seem like the past was attempting to engage in conversation with the present.” Jeri Alvarez, cemetery manager, helped Wyatt and his team map-out the final resting places of more than 90 Civil War veterans.
He confirmed the presence of each headstone by field validation and recorded all information available from each headstone, such as name, birthdate, death date and rank. The data collected helped to complete or correct information that had been previously recorded in the burial records database. Lawes also took photographs and rubbings of each headstone.
Because Lawes worked on his project during the winter, he had to deal with a lot of rain and snow issues, which made it hard at times. It took him about three months to complete the project. However, he enjoyed the project overall.
“I think my favorite part was just learning about all of the different types of people who were in the Civil War that were in the graveyard. It was interesting to see how many people who were so important in our history resided in our town,” Lawes said. “I think it is important for people to see how important our past is to our present and future and to preserve it while we can. We can’t forget where we come from and what people have given up to let us be here today.”
Ruggiero’s project was to renovate and improve the Haddonfield Little League concession stand. Ruggiero came up with the idea having been involved with the “snack bar,” along with his father, and realizing that it needed upgrading. After getting the go-ahead, he worked on repainting the walls, creating a new island, replacing the cabinets, countertop and sink, and getting the overhead lighting upgraded.
Ruggiero said the hardest part was the organizing and logistics. But his favorite part was doing the actual work of putting everything together.
“I hope the improvements make everything easier to use and that it makes it easier for the workers to do their jobs,” Ruggiero said. “It felt good to finish the project, a good sense of accomplishment. I put a lot of work into it and it was great to see the final product.”
The other Eagle Scout projects were just as important to the community. Ehrhardt’s project included a video and audio history of Haddonfield as part of the Elizabeth Haddon 300th anniversary. Ehrhardt interviewed 12 Haddonfield residents to talk about different aspects of life in Haddonfield that included the library, the Hadrosaurus statue, Indian King Tavern and Scouting. The videos are available on Youtube, on the library’s website and saved on DVDs at the library.
Keegan built and installed shelves for a DVD and video library for two young adults and teenagers at Crossroads. The Crossroads’ mission is to empower youth who are homeless, abandoned, abused or at-risk to help lead healthy, productive lives. Keegan chose Crossroads because a high school teammate, who was in foster care, had benefitted from the program. Keegan was able to collect more than 600 DVDs for the collection.
