The Snarski brothers all hold the rank of black belt in Tae Kwon Do, attend Hudson Catholic High School in Jersey City, are members of their school swim team, work at the Union City Recreation Center pool, and joined Boy Scouts together.
Now, with more than 130 merit badges among them, the three Snarski brothers, Anthony, 17, Mike, 16, and Christopher 15, will be achieving the Eagle Scout rank at a ceremony being held on March 30.
“It is very rare to see three boys [in one town] become Eagle Scouts,” said Mike last week. “Here, you are not just seeing one, you are seeing three.”
“That makes it extremely overwhelming,” agreed his brother Anthony.
The Eagle Scout rank is the highest that can be achieved by any scout and is only reached by about 2.5 percent of all scouts.
To earn the rank of Eagle Scout, one must fulfill requirements in leadership, community service, and outdoor skills.
“I know that [these boys] will have something to contribute to the community,” said the boys’ Troop Leader Jose Saa, who has known this family since before they started scouting. “Because it is part of them.”
The Snarski brothers are members of Boy Scout Troop 104 based out of Saint Francis Academy in Union City.
It’s a family thing
The Snarski brothers grew up listening to their father and uncle tell stories about camping and being chased by bears when they were Boy Scouts. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why the boys stuck with scouting.
“When we were younger [our father] helped to push us,” said Anthony, whose father is also the assistant troop leader. “[As we got older], we kind of took responsibility and we finished it.”
One of the reasons why boys never reach the Eagle Scout rank is because as they get older, boys tend to drop out of their scouting troop.
“Normally other scouts around our age drop out of the program,” said Mike, who said that for him scouting is a time to relax and hang out. “A lot of the [kids our age] picture [scouting] as corny. I brought my friend [to a meeting] once and he thought that.”
However, the brothers did admit that being a part of the troop together helped them stay on track.
“If we needed something, we all looked upon each other for help,” said Christopher, explaining that there was no sibling rivalry or competition among the brothers. “Since we were all here, it is not like it was just me by myself. I knew someone else here.”
Mike added, “[As a scout] we would know things that other kids don’t know.” He cited knotting rope, building fires and identifying trees. “[These are] things that have to do with nature.”
“I’ve learned so much from it,” he added. “I realize that the things I’ve learned helped me in one way or another.”
Each boy said that the skills that they learned to receive their first aid and swimming merit badges helped them pass their lifeguard classes.
Joining the ranks
Even though all three have done everything together since they were younger, Anthony said that becoming Eagle Scouts together is special for them.
“We did not become black belts together,” said Anthony, who reached black belt before his brothers. “This is more of a special type of experience to be doing this together. It is great for my parents too. They are looking forward to it.”
In order to be sworn in as an Eagle Scout, each member must organize and take part in a 20-hour service project and earn 21 of the more than 150 merit badges available to the scouts.
“It takes about two and a half to three years to complete if that is all you are involved in,” said Saa.
Anthony organized a blood drive during the blood shortage in the winter of 1999 to achieve his new rank. The drive took place at Veronica’s Veil Theater in Union City.
“The Red Cross had to turn people down,” said Anthony explaining that they ran out of bar codes for the pints of blood being taken. “We donated more than 71 pints of blood.”
Mike’s Eagle Scout project was building birdfeeders and placing them along a hiking trail in Flat Rock Brook Nature Center in Englewood. As part of the project, Mike also taught a class of cub scouts how to build their own birdfeeders and which types of birds they could attract with different foods.
Christopher, also working at Flat Rock Brook Nature Center in Englewood, was able to clear trails and build a stairway for hikers to more easily walk up steep hills.
One of the easier requirements was, perhaps, attaining the 21 merit badges.
“There are badges for everything,” said Anthony who has collected about 50 badges, mostly in aquatics and outdoor activities.
“All of the [badges] that I really wanted to get I have gotten already,” said Mike, who has collected about 40 badges.
“I would like to get the badges from the one camping trip that I had to leave early from,” said Christopher, who would have added three badges to his collection of 40 if he had stayed on the trip.
Finishing what they started
While earning merit badges teaches scouts lessons such as citizenship, family life, and first aid, Tony Snarski wanted to teach his sons not to quit.
“I wanted to make sure that what they started they finished,” said their father, who wouldn’t let the boys join Boy Scouts until they earned their black belts in Tae Kwon Do.
“My father wanted us to do one thing at a time,” said Anthony. “We couldn’t join the Boy Scouts until we became black belts.”
However, finishing what they started never seemed to be a problem for these brothers.
“When I joined cub scouts I said I was going to get the highest rank in cubs,” said Anthony. “Then I set my goal at Eagle Scout. I achieved that.”
“We wouldn’t quit until we got to the highest level,” said Mike.