Seven Eagle Scouts from one troop fly high together

Printer-friendly versionSend to friend

The magnificent seven, from left, Eagle Scouts Blake Sutter, Joe McEntee, Charlie Ebert, Alex Cummings, Colt Ponzar, Matt Eatherton and Mark Kuehner, have been Scouts together at Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish since grade school.

They took an oath to do their best and they kept it.

Seven young men who've been Scouts together since their Webelos days are now Eagle Scouts together. Blake Sutter, the final member of "Road Runners" patrol of Boy Scout Troop 179 from Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in south St. Louis to achieve his Eagle rank, was recognized at a ceremony at the parish last month. On hand for him were his fellow Eagles -- Mark Kuehner, Matt Eatherton, Charlie Ebert, Joe McEntee, Colt Ponzar and Alex Cummings.

The seven had made a sort of unofficial promise to one another several years ago to achieve Eagle Scout rank, the highest rank in Scouting. Requirements include earning 21 merit badges and planning, developing and leading a service project, all before the age of 18.

Only 4 percent of Boy Scouts nationwide become Eagle Scouts. Locally the number is a little higher, "perhaps 5 percent," said Joe Mueller, public relations director for the Greater St. Louis Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America. Mueller praised the seven young men, their accomplishments and "the way they stuck together, encouraging each other to get to the finish line."

It's been a long, hard and very enjoyable journey, according to the seven Scouts, seniors at five different Catholic high schools. Busy, active youngsters, they all have many interests, including sports and girls, but managed to keep their ties to their Scout troop and to each other.

How did Troop 179 stay together and end up with its flock of Eagles?

"We're all busy with things," said Mark Kuehner, who attends St. Louis University High School where he ran cross country and is involved in drama. "But we never had to choose."

"These boys didn't have to make a choice between Scouts and sports or other activities," said Peggy Kuehner, Mark's mother and the leader of the boys' Webelos den back in the fifth grade. "This is also a great group of parents. I couldn't have been the Scout leader without these parents. All these parents see a value in the Scouting program. I have seen kids whose parents said, 'either Scouts or sports.' Not these parents." And just as the Road Runners themselves helped one another with their Eagle projects, their parents helped each other too.

Of course, the dedication to Scouting was in part due to the fact that it was a lot of fun, the Scouts said.

Blake said, "The leaders organized some really great events and kept it fresh for us." The boys talked about favorite activities, including summer camp, a trip to South Carolina and the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown ("We slept on the ship, in the crew quarters," Charlie said) and the camp outs, which Colt called "the best of all, you're pretty much on your own. It was a lot of fun."

The others kidded Mark about his favorite activity, week-long Ranger Camp. "Everything we would be using in our backpack, even the food. No watches, not flashlights, no bug spray, no soap, no deodorant -- and it was summer. For water we had to filter pond or river water and use iodine tablets." Hard work for sure, but, Mark said, "I felt like after that I could pretty much do anything."

Several of the youths said Scouting gave them confidence in their ability to succeed. "And getting the Eagle," Matt Eatherton said, "Eagle Scouts are just known for having great work ethic and dedication."

The youths and their parents gave the Scout leaders a lot of credit. John Ebert, Charlie's father, has been Scoutmaster for three years. Charlie remained in Troop 179 even after the family moved to Kirkwood. John Ebert has no problems driving the 10 miles or so to Immaculate Heart of Mary for weekly meetings and has two younger sons in the troop too. And he has no problem with boys having interest in sports and other things besides Scouting.

"We want them to do both. Why limit a kid and start off his life telling him what he can't do. Scouting is about what you can do," Ebert said.

Glenn Mertens, a former Scoutmaster who is now assistant leader, has been involved in Scouting for years, since his now grown son was a boy. "I like Scouting and I wanted to help provide good adult leadership. It's one thing to have Scouts really enjoy what they do. It's another to have enthusiastic adults."

Mertens and others pointed the influence of Ted Moll, a former Scoutmaster who died this past March. "Ted started events that the boys really liked, events that are carried over to this day. He was a very creative person. For instance, the day after Thanksgiving, usually a good day, nice weather, no school, he organized a 5-mile hike from Immaculate Heart to Soulard Market" that has become a tradition the boys look forward to each year.

Faith is another important part of the mix. "The faith component is a basic element of Scouting, one of the main tenets," Ebert said.

Ann Sutter, mother of Blake, said the families involved in the troop "are really engaged in the Church and the community. ... When I look around the table at the boys, all of them are churchgoers, strong in their faith (although one is not Catholic)."

Charlie Ebert said, "In Scouts, religion is always present. We pray at meetings, we pray before meals. When Mr. Moll died, we all came to his funeral, and it brought us all closer because of our faith."

The seven Eagles are either already 18 years old or almost 18, when boys age out of Scouts and usually must apply for adult leadership positions to stay in Scouting. Alex Cummings, looking back on the Road Runners, said, "All these guys are great, my best friends since grade school. I wanted to achieve. All this enabled me to achieve my goals."