Flying Eagles and Swim School
For this week’s Historian column, I will be covering two events: Zack Obbie’s Eagle Ceremony and the swim meet at Anderson High School’s indoor pool, as they both happened in the past week.
On Sunday, April 19th, a gathering of scouts, parents, and friends assembled the church’s Fellowship Hall to attend another Eagle Court, this time to grant Zack Obbie the revered, lofty rank of Eagle Scout. After Mr. McNeese welcomed all who had come and called the “Court” to order, Dillon Whitehead led the color guard to post the colors. The “Trail to Eagle”, a staple presentation of eagle ceremonies and courts of honor in the troop, explained each rank in detail ranging from the starting rank of Scout to Life Scout. When the Life Scout rank was done, the curtain on the stage rose to reveal a giant replica of the Eagle Scout medal, and present on the stage were three of Troop 281’s Eagle Scouts: Jason Whitehead, Chase Whitehead, and Mr. Siebenburgen, who spoke in turns while explaining what the Eagle Scout rank and badge truly meant. To finish the “Trail to Eagle,” Dr. Reynolds, Scoutmaster and Eagle Scout himself, presented Zack and his parents with the Eagle medal, Eagle lapel pin (for Mrs. Obbie), Eagle tie pin (for Mr. Obbie), and everything else that comes with the Eagle Scout rank. Zack then knelt before a cross, asking God for assistance to help him as an Eagle Scout, after which Dr. Reynolds presented Zack to the audience as an Eagle Scout at last. When the Ceremony was finished, Zack had this to say about finally becoming an Eagle Scout, “I feel relieved, a lot less stressed, and glad that I’ve finally got what I’ve worked towards for so long.” Zack has a bright future ahead of him, and his new rank as an Eagle Scout will no doubt help him towards his own goals that lie before him.
Following Zack’s Eagle Ceremony was the most recent meeting, which was one of the more special events: swim night. Unlike the usual meetings in the church, swim night takes place at the pool located inside Anderson High School, near the church. Starting at an early time of 7:00, compared to typical scout meetings, the night got rolling quickly on its main focus, the BSA swim test. Every year, the scouts need to be tested to see if they can prove that they are a swimmer under BSA standards, adults as well. The test consists of swimming 100 yards, 25 of which must be done in some form of backstroke (which translates into 4 laps back and forth in the pool with the last one being done in backstroke), then be able to do the “dead man’s float” for 10 seconds. It’s a relatively simple test that as far as I know, everybody passed as a “swimmer,” adults as well. After everybody was tested, the scouts played in the shallow end of the pool, did some crazy diving board tricks, or worked on rank advancement with older scouts by learning different types of water rescue before everyone was dismissed and waited for their rides home before going out into the chilly air outside.
Ben Hallenbeck, troop historian
On Sunday, April 19th, a gathering of scouts, parents, and friends assembled the church’s Fellowship Hall to attend another Eagle Court, this time to grant Zack Obbie the revered, lofty rank of Eagle Scout. After Mr. McNeese welcomed all who had come and called the “Court” to order, Dillon Whitehead led the color guard to post the colors. The “Trail to Eagle”, a staple presentation of eagle ceremonies and courts of honor in the troop, explained each rank in detail ranging from the starting rank of Scout to Life Scout. When the Life Scout rank was done, the curtain on the stage rose to reveal a giant replica of the Eagle Scout medal, and present on the stage were three of Troop 281’s Eagle Scouts: Jason Whitehead, Chase Whitehead, and Mr. Siebenburgen, who spoke in turns while explaining what the Eagle Scout rank and badge truly meant. To finish the “Trail to Eagle,” Dr. Reynolds, Scoutmaster and Eagle Scout himself, presented Zack and his parents with the Eagle medal, Eagle lapel pin (for Mrs. Obbie), Eagle tie pin (for Mr. Obbie), and everything else that comes with the Eagle Scout rank. Zack then knelt before a cross, asking God for assistance to help him as an Eagle Scout, after which Dr. Reynolds presented Zack to the audience as an Eagle Scout at last. When the Ceremony was finished, Zack had this to say about finally becoming an Eagle Scout, “I feel relieved, a lot less stressed, and glad that I’ve finally got what I’ve worked towards for so long.” Zack has a bright future ahead of him, and his new rank as an Eagle Scout will no doubt help him towards his own goals that lie before him.
Following Zack’s Eagle Ceremony was the most recent meeting, which was one of the more special events: swim night. Unlike the usual meetings in the church, swim night takes place at the pool located inside Anderson High School, near the church. Starting at an early time of 7:00, compared to typical scout meetings, the night got rolling quickly on its main focus, the BSA swim test. Every year, the scouts need to be tested to see if they can prove that they are a swimmer under BSA standards, adults as well. The test consists of swimming 100 yards, 25 of which must be done in some form of backstroke (which translates into 4 laps back and forth in the pool with the last one being done in backstroke), then be able to do the “dead man’s float” for 10 seconds. It’s a relatively simple test that as far as I know, everybody passed as a “swimmer,” adults as well. After everybody was tested, the scouts played in the shallow end of the pool, did some crazy diving board tricks, or worked on rank advancement with older scouts by learning different types of water rescue before everyone was dismissed and waited for their rides home before going out into the chilly air outside.
Ben Hallenbeck, troop historian
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