Court of Honor

November 7 was the big day - Chase's Eagle Scout Court of Honor. This is a day that he's been anticipating for years, ever since he was a little 7 year old Cub Scout. And now the day was finally here.

Chase worked really hard on the program he chose for his Court of Honor. It began, as do all Court of Honors, with the lighting on the candles that signify the points in the Boy Scout Oath and Law. Then came the lighting of the trail to eagle, signified by the "Eagle Mountain" display. Chase chose one boy at each rank from his troop and asked them to signify that rank by lighting the candle and reciting a blurb. As you can see, his brother was asked to be here as were Ty and Cameron, the two boys to Chase's left who were in my original Cub Scout den when they all first started and who have been on this road with Chase for the entire journey.



Chase lit the Eagle candle and did his blurb. As you can see, we forgot a candle holder so we improvised - play dough works just as well. LOL

One of his adult leaders recited "The Call of the Eagle" and then Chase took his Eagle Scout Oath.



One of his scout leaders is this gentleman, who recited "100 scouts" for the group. Here is the original text of that, though Mr. Radke made some wonderful additions to the list.

Of any one hundred boys who become Scouts, it must be confessed that thirty will
drop out in their first year. Perhaps this may be regarded as a failure, but later in life, all of these will remember that they had been in Scouting and will speak well of the program.

Of the one hundred, only rarely will one ever appear before a juvenile court judge.

Twelve of the one hundred will be from families that belong to no church.

Through Scouting, these twelve and many of their families will be brought into contact with a church and will continue to be active all their lives.

Six of the one hundred will become pastors.

Each of the one hundred will learn something from Scouting, and all will develop hobbies that will add interest throughout the rest of their lives.

Approximately one-half will serve in the military, and in varying degrees, profit from their Scout training.

At least one will use it to save another person's life, and many may credit it for saving their own.

Two of the one hundred will reach Eagle rank, and at least one will later say that he valued his Eagle above his college degree.

Many will find their future vocation through merit badge work and Scouting contacts.

Seventeen of the one hundred boys will become adult leaders and will give leadership to thousands of additional boys.

One in four boys in America will become Scouts, but it is interesting to know that of the leaders of this nation in business, religion and politics, three out of four were Scouts.

This story will never end. Like the 'Golden Pebble' of service dropped into the human sea, it will continue to radiate in ever-widening circles, influencing the characters of men through unending time."

What does the Eagle badge represent? It means that a Scout set a
goal and worked to achieve that goal. The Eagle Scout badge stands for strength
of character. The Eagle Scout badge is a symbol of what a boy has done but, more
important, it also represents what the boy will be in the future as he grows
into manhood.

Next up was the big moment - the pinning of the Eagle Scout medal. I was given the privledge of pinning it on him and I felt such a moment of pride and awe at how far he'd come.

Up next was a poem called "It's Only A Pin." I won't share it all, but will share this first line that really summed up the moment for Brian and I...

Two fond parents watch their boy where he stands
Apart from his comrades tonight,
As they place on his camp-battered tunic, a badge...
An Eagle, the emblem of right.

Chase now presented me with my Mothers Pin.

Then Brian presented Chase with his Eagle Scout neckerchief.

And Chase presented Brian with his Fathers Pin.

Chase recited "Voice of the Eagle". He was rather fond of all the Eagle scout poems that he found and included quite a few in his program, though I think they were well-placed and very meaningful.

Now, as a surprise to Chase, we presented him with this flag, flown over our nations capital in honor of his Eagle Scout. We asked a few of the older scouts to present and fold the flag for him and it now sits in a flag box in his room.

And the surpises weren't over. Chase called his family up and presented all the women in our family with a red rose.

I was given seven, one for each rank of Boy Scouts that he earned on his way to Eagle. Aren't they beautiful!

That was the finale of his Court of Honor. It went really well and we now hunkered down to enjoy the two big, beautiful (and tasty) cakes. There were so many people there (around 120 or so) that we finished off both cakes and several jugs of juice. We milled around, speaking to all the guests, which included family, friends, old Cub Scout leaders and Senator Betsy Johnson.

While I'm glad the Court of Honor is over, I also think that it went wonderfully and will be a moment that Chase will be able to remember forever. He is so proud of himself and looks forward to many more years as a Boy Scout.