While most kids are hanging out at malls and soaking up the sun this summer, Agoura Hills Boy Scout Troop 127 is swimming a mile in freezing water, leading flag ceremonies, and learning to become better citizens, all in celebration of its sixtieth anniversary. This year marks the hundredth anniversary of Boy Scouts of America, one of the nation's largest and most prominent values-based youth development organizations in the United States. It also means 60 years for Boy Scout Troop 127 of Agoura Hills, which is comprised of approximately 80 scouts, ranging from sixth- to twelfth-graders or 11- to 17-year-olds. "We train people to be good citizens, and have a whole lot of fun while we do it," said 56-year-old scout master Geoff Gunn, a Malibou Lake resident who has served the troop for 15 years. "It's really about emergency preparedness. We teach the kids to enjoy the great outdoors and have respect for it."

Jackson Goble wants to be an Eagle Scout. His father was an Eagle Scout. Being an Eagle Scout carries with it implications that you are a leader and community minded, among a long list of other good qualities. A July day forecasted to break 100 degrees would prove Jackson’s dedication to reaching that esteemed goal of Eagle Scout, but he was ready for whatever conditions he would encounter. Jackson had successfully gone through all the needed channels and received all the necessary approvals to begin work on a landscaping project at Lanier Village Estates, an 87-acre retirement community located on Highway 60 just north of Gainesville. Jackson had also raised the $600 funding to cover the expected cost of the project.

Boy Scout Troop 876 gathered last month at Point Pleasant on Talahi Island to celebrate the many milestones accomplished by the boys throughout the winter and spring. The traditional Court of Honor provides a venue for public recognition of rank and merit badges earned. This Court of Honor on June 14 offered the boys a unique opportunity to see firsthand the real life implications of being a Scout, and the rewards of earning the coveted rank of Eagle Scout.

A family hike in Washington almost ended tragically, but two young boys in the group used skills they learned as scouts to guide everyone to safety. A Roseburg family decided to take a trip to Washington State's Ape Cave to explore and hike the area."About 6 hours into it, we decided to turn around," said Fred Helwig. They started a little later than is recommended, around 5 p.m. "Time was the factor, whether it's midnight or day, it's still 30-40 degrees down there and wet," said Helwig. Most in the group were inexperienced, so when they got lost it helped that two in the group had survival skills. "Joshua and Justice made a decision to split the 10 people in two groups," said Helwig, "They were packing everybody's packs on their backs, going a couple of yards ahead." The boys are both scouts and drew on previous hiking experiences. They made sure before they left home to have emergency supplies. Justice even helped resuscitate Josh's little brother who passed out.

Everyone had a different treasure in mind when visiting the Boy Scout Troop 477’s yearly rummage sale on June 25. “It feels good knowing that you’re giving back to the community and the Boy Scouts,” she said, adding that the annual rummage sale was one of the things that she missed before moving back to Dexter five years ago. The scouts buy ads in April and set up a hotline for residents to call. About 15 volunteers drive around to pick up all of the merchandise and take it to Dexter’s United Church of Christ, where volunteers sort through the stored items in preparation for the sale. And that’s just the beginning, according to Brigham. “It’s a group effort … it takes a week prior to the sale to prepare for it with dozens of volunteers working many hours, but we have a lot of fun. It’s never a chore,” he said. More than 40 registered scouts, not including other volunteers, worked the floors during the sale to keep everything looking tidy and help customers with questions.

Boy Scouts in Orange County are part of the Three Rivers Council of the Boy Scouts of America. Nationally, the organization formed in 1910 and is celebrating 100 years. “Scouting serves the community by teaching boys outdoor and leadership skills that will help them become the leaders of tomorrow,” said Mark Walles, founder of Troop 125 in Orangefield that is sponsored by First Christian Church of Orangefield. “As part of the ‘100 years of scouting’ our local Scout Council, Three Rivers Council, is sending a contingent of scouts to the National Scouting Jamboree in Fort AP Hill, Virginia. This is a week long gathering of Scouts from across the nation,” said Walles. “Leading the local contingent as Scoutmaster is Mark Milligan and Justice Milligan will be serving as the Senior Patrol Leader, the Scout that runs the troop with the support of the Scoutmaster. Both of these leaders are from Troop 125.

Two Palm Desert students have earned the Eagle Scout rank from Boy Scouts of America. Aaron Jackson and Trynn Mesarch received their honors at the Palm Desert Stake Center. Scoutmaster Andrew Hendrian presented Jackson his award along with other congratulatory letters of commendation, including one from Rep. Mary Bono Mack, who also sent flags which were flown over the White House in Washington, D.C., for both Scouts. Bishop Blaine Hendrickson did the honors for Mesarch. He also presented a gold centennial coin to both Scouts for their accomplishments in this centennial year for the Boy Scouts of America.

South Lyon Boy Scout Troop 228 and their fathers participated in the annual storm drain-creek clean up on June 5. Tree limbs were removed from the streams so they can flow. Storm drains were cleared of small sticks and sediment. Larry Ledbetter of Michigan Seamless Tube headed this event with sponsorship from Michigan Seamless Tube, and Bob Upoff of UPCO waste service, headed this 6th year event. This community service project benefits the City of South Lyon Storm Water Management Planning Program administered by the Department of Public Works.

Chartered by the Boy Scouts of America 75 years ago and in continuous operation ever since, the sponsor and leaders of Berkeley Heights Boy Scout Troop 68 receive their 75th consecutive annual Charter. Troop 68 is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Berkeley Heights and presently has approximately 40 registered Scouts. In its distinguished history, Troop 68 has helped 87 young men achieve the prestigious rank of Eagle Scout.

Members of Shawnee Boy Scout Troop 246 are back from a nine-day cross-country tour to honor those who have served in the military. Troop 246, with eight Scouts ages 11 to 17 and four adult leaders, performed flag retirement ceremonies in each corner of the country, visiting the East, West and Gulf coasts, as well as the Great Lakes. The effort took a year of preparation and fundraising, but Kim Tam, Scoutmaster for the troop, said the leaders believed in the boys’ mission and the trip taught the Scouts they could do anything. “It was a heckuva job that they put in front of us this time,” Tam said. “But we held up our end, made it happen, and they held up their end and made it a success.” The idea grew from the troop’s 2008 trip to perform a flag retirement ceremony at Mount Rushmore. “We were just really impressed by the veterans and soldiers that showed up to the flag ceremony we did at Mount Rushmore,” Scout Danny Devonshire said. “We just started talking about it, thinking about all the things the soldiers have done for us, and we wanted to give back to them. We also wanted to see a lot of the country, so we decided we’d honor the veterans coast to coast.”

Last winter, the Salvation Army of Nashua was particularly short on one of its greatest needs: diapers. Always in short supply because they’re expensive, diapers are also one of the most needed items for families, said Rosemarie Dykeman, a social worker at the organization. “I don’t think I had four packages” on the shelves, Dykeman said. Then, Kevin Grosso walked through the door. The 18-year-old Merrimack teen and six-year member of Boy Scout Troop 424 offered to complete his Eagle Scout project through the Salvation Army. “He asked about our greatest need, something that would be a huge challenge,” Dykeman said. She knew a diaper drive would be just the thing. Grosso delivered: in four months, he collected 15,500 diapers – which could cover the organization’s needs for as much as an entire year. “I was stunned,” Dykeman said.

When people in Fountain Green heard that three local members of the Utah National Guard had been called up for service in Afghanistan, they wanted to do something to show their support. Leaders of a couple of Boy Scout troops thought about how Jeff Walker, the father of one of the soldiers, had been instrumental in acquiring about 150 flags, which the Scouts use to decorate the town on holidays. "We wanted to send the guys off, and we wanted to use the flags," said Derrin Owens, Scoutmaster of Troop 590. Beginning about 3:30 a.m. Tuesday, the plan came together. About 25 Scouts riding in two pickup trucks posted a flag at every reflector post on both sides of the main road through Fountain Green from one end of town to the other. But they didn't stop there. They continued posting flags along state Route 132, the highway leading out of town toward Nephi — all the way to the Sanpete-Juab county line. The final corridor of flags stretched six miles.

Solana Beach resident Robert Roberts, age 14, was promoted to Life Scout, the second highest rank in the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Robert is a member of Boy Scout Troop 782 and the son of Solana Beach Councilman Dave Roberts and Walter Oliver. BSA turns 100 years old in 2010 and a special Life Rank award was presented just for this year.

Carl Bacon, the show’s senior executive producer, said the show — the 30th anniversary performance — sold out. The event, as in previous years, was broadcast live to U.S. troops around the globe. The show also featured what organizers said was the largest Boy Scout Eagle Court of Honor in the 100-year history of Scouting. Accompanied by their mothers, 260 Scouts took the stage and received their Eagle awards, under the direction of National Boy Scout Chief Executive Bob Mazzuca and Provo resident Leonard “Woody” Woodland, who at 98 is considered the oldest-living Eagle Scout. “These young men represent the best America has to offer,” Mazzuca said. Producers also created what they said was the largest “Eagles’ Nest” as thousands of past Eagle Scouts in the audience held up the Eagle emblem in the program’s centerfold.

The Boy Scout didn't know any Vietnam veterans when he and his mom signed up for the 8 p.m.-to-midnight shift late last year at the traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall making a stop in Antelope Valley. He knew a lot about our troops fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq, but Vietnam 40 years ago? Nothing. Kirk's a kid I've written about several times because he came up with this great idea a couple of years ago to make gel neckerchiefs that could be used as neck coolers for our Marines and soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan fighting in 100-degree-plus temperatures. With each neck cooler, a personal message was written on the fabric by the person who made it back home. The gel neckerchiefs and words of support were an instant hit with the troops. Kirk received dozens of thank you letters and pictures of squads on patrol wearing the neck coolers. He even had a personal visit from a Marine captain who had just returned from Iraq and wanted to personally shake Kirk's hand. That night he spent at the wall taught Kirk a lot, but it would be an old Vietnam Service Medal he found months later tucked in a box with 100 gel neckerchiefs that really hit home. The note with the old medal said it was for him. "Your column on what that young Boy Scout was doing for our troops floored me," says George Toriello. "I wanted him to have my Vietnam Service Medal."

Muralist Herb Roe arrived early Friday morning to begin painting a new scene on the PADUCAH Wall to Wall floodwall mural project in downtown Paducah. Roe has been involved with Paducah's project since its beginning in 1995. Friday afternoon Roe met with Dr. Paul Grumley to discuss the content of Paducah's newest mural, the celebration of 100 years of Boy Scout Troop 1. The troop continues to be an active part of the community, based out of Grace Episcopal church in downtown Paducah. Grumley, a Paducah native and former Scout Master himself, along with a committee has researched the history and worked with Roe to finalize the image for the project. Bill Black, Jr. a long-time member of the Floodwall Mural Advisory Board and avid Eagle Scout himself, has always hoped and planned for the Boy Scout Mural to be included in Paducah's floodwall history.

More than two dozen of Lancaster County's future Eagle scouts and Boy Scouts of America executives attended the first National Jamboree held in Washington, D.C., in 1937. Before they became veterans of wartime military service and distinguished themselves in industrial engineering, physics, salesmanship and watch making, they were members of Jamboree Troop 3. Their jamboree journey started when they boarded a train in Lancaster city for the day-long trip that included stops in York and Baltimore en route to Union Station near the U.S. Capitol. They hiked with gear about four miles around Capitol Hill, past the Smithsonian Museum and beyond the Washington Monument to a temporary campsite for 25,000 people between the Lincoln Memorial and the Potomac River. One of the youngest of the group of teenagers, L. James "Jimmie" Dunn, kept a journal of jamboree highs and lows during the encampment from June 30 to July 9, 1937. Dunn, a Star Scout at the time of the jamboree, earned the Eagle Scout Award in 1938 and played trumpet in the high school band before graduating in 1941. He served in World War II with the Army's 551st Infantry and was a bugler for the Army Band. His legacy will be honored by participants in the 2010 Jamboree who take time to record their experiences and use the resources of the Home Town News staff to get the word out about Boy Scouts and Venturing in the movement's 100th anniversary year.

Sammy L. Davis - also known as the real Forrest Gump - calls Freedom, Ind., his home. On Sunday, he was just as patriotic at Arlington Park, surrounded by hundreds of Scouts and countless American flags as he celebrated the Boy Scouts of America's 100th Anniversary. "Trust me, the lessons you are learning now will help you the rest of your lives," said Davis, a former Scout himself and one of only 90 living recipients of the Medal of Honor. Davis received his medal for heroic service under fire during the Vietnam War. In 1967 Davis was a Private First Class in the 9th Infantry Division when he was seriously injured after his unit came under heavy mortar attack in Cai Lay. Despite his injuries, Davis crossed a river on an air mattress to help rescue three wounded American soldiers. "Reporters often ask me where I learned to do the things I did in Vietnam, and I tell them I learned it when I was a Boy Scout," said Davis, who also earned a Silver Star and two Purple Hearts.

In today's busy world of hectic schedules, it's often difficult to get children interested in reading. Area Boy Scouts found a way to bring reading to life, partnering with Galaxy Press Saturday afternoon to encourage kids to discover the adventures that books can offer. The Muskingum Valley Council of Boy Scouts of America conducted Adventures in Reading Saturday at the Boy Scout Service Center at 734 Moorehead Ave. to show area scouts reading can be entertaining and exciting. The day of free family entertainment also included a monkey bridge, giant inflatables, ham radio demonstrations and other entertainment on stage including book re-enactments and a magic show. Cameron Bailey, 10, of Nashport, member of Troop 174, was excited to try his skill on the monkey bridge, as well as watch the reader's theatre. "It's awesome because you get out here and have fun with everyone," he said. "It's all about adventure. We see scouting as a gateway to adventure.

Being a Boy Scout requires service both in the outdoors and in society itself. But what happens when the Scout cannot serve in the same capacity that mainstream troopers might? It's a question that Bellevue Boy Scout Troop 355 tackles every meeting.The troop, made up of Scouts with varying mental and physical disabilities, was founded 30 three years ago by Pat Kimber, who passed away last year. Members are all adults, as normal age limits have been waived for the troop. Curt Peterson's son, Kurt, attended a ceremony for Eagle Scouts last week, where he met such people as former Washington governor Daniel Evans and Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck. "It's expanded his interests," Curt said of his son's participation in the troop. "The Boy Scouts go out on trips such as the Camperee, an outdoor experience complete with obstacle courses and activities." Kurt Peterson will be the third in his family to be an Eagle Scout, following his father and grandfather.