In our technological maelstrom, where things change at warp speed, some traditions endure. There have been Boy Scouts in Bayonne since the founding of the organization in 1910. Now, about 250 registered Scouts, from first grade to age 18, are bettering themselves and doing good works in Bayonne.
Many of you may remember the Boy Scout Oath, in which Scouts promise “To help other people at all times.”
These kids are doing it in many different ways, but “Scouting for Food” is one that resonates with most folks in town. It’s an annual event that takes place, appropriately, right before Thanksgiving. All Scouts participate, serving the local food banks.
Residents are asked to leave food in a bag on their front porches or stoops. Scouts are then driven around to collect it and deliver it to the food pantries, where they check it and sort it.
John Hughes is Scout Master of Troop 25. “Every rank advancement has a service component,” he says. “Scouts have to participate in so many hours in an approved service project in order to fill the requirement.”
Though Scouting has been around more than a century, obviously the program has to adapt to the challenges of each new decade.
In the 1970s, Hughes guesses that there were about 1,500 boys in the program. “Times change and kids change,” he says. “We’re in competition with a lot of things nowadays. Kids don’t play; everything is organized into play dates. They’re involved in football, soccer, tai chi, baseball, and a zillion other activities. If they miss a baseball game, they’re benched.”
Not to mention technology. “You’ve got computers,” he says. “Kids spend a lot of time playing video games in a dark room.”
Soaring to the Heights
What do former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, President Gerald Ford, basketball great and Senator Bill Bradley, astronauts Neil Armstrong and James Lovell Jr., former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Texas Governor Rick Perry, former presidential candidate H. Ross Perot, Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, and Bill Gates’s father all have in common?
You guessed it. They were all Eagle Scouts. “It’s the ultimate rank, a big deal, and only four percent of Scouts achieve it,” Hughes says.
Another Eagle Scout is former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, who now heads the Boy Scouts of America. One of his first undertakings was to address the controversy over gay Scouts and Scout Masters serving openly. They now can.
Bayonne Eagle Scouts have served with distinction in Afghanistan and Iraq. Eleven percent of State Police are Eagle Scouts, and a high percentage of West Point cadets.
To become an Eagle, you need to earn 21 merit badges and complete an Eagle project. “That’s the one that often foils a young man,” Hughes says. “He has to plan and put together a service project that benefits the community.”
Bayonne Scout Anthony Elia, 16, was awarded the Eagle designation in June for overseeing the construction of a new food pantry for St. Vincent’s.
A Bayonne native, he’s been in scouting since 2007.
“Last year, the food pantry was moving to a new building,” Anthony says. “My Uncle Jim helped me build shelving for storing the food.”
What does achieving Eagle mean for him? “It’s a great honor,” he says. “It shows the work a person puts into scouting.”
Fun and Gains
In Victor Rodriguez’s pictures on these pages, you see Scouts swimming and learning archery. While these activities are fun, there’s more to it than that.
“Participating develops skills,” Hughes says. “It’s not easy, especially for younger kids,” to load an arrow and hit a target. “Swimming is physical fitness,” Hughes says. “They’re not playing Marco Polo. They’re working toward a lifesaving badge.”
One thing that distinguishes Scouting from the many other activities that boys do is that it’s a “boy-run program.” At their Wednesday meetings they choose themes, do the presentations, run the games, and prepare a calendar for the year, which includes the trips they will take.
They’ve been whitewater rafting in Idaho, hiked the Lakes District in England, and visited St. Croix, among many other expeditions.
As Anthony Elia says, “Scouting has so much to offer—sports, climbing, camping, and technical things, such as engineering. The leadership skills you learn will be beneficial in any career.”—BLP