After 121 nights of camping, 205 miles of cycling, 167 miles of canoeing and 33 merit badges, Aleks Hill, a senior at Seneca High School, has completed his project and earned the rank of Eagle Scout.
His Eagle Scout project that required more than 100 hours of service was originally suggested by Mayor Joseph Barton. Hill chose to help the Tabernacle Historical Society at the Tabernacle Cemetery across from town hall because it was local and he thought it would benefit the most.
He also gathered ideas from his troop to add to the project. Hill could not say enough about Troop 439 and how helpful it has been to him throughout his Scouting experience.
According to Hill’s father, Ken, the project was conducted in two parts with the help of other Scouts, adult Scout leaders, friends and family.
The first part involved creating a matrix of the cemetery, then surveying the names and statistics of the occupants from the gravestones.
“I went up the line of the cemetery from the center and labeled each headstone with white marker, creating rows and giving each stone a specific number,” said Aleks.
The second part involved standing and securing fallen headstones, then treating the gravestones with a biological cleaner for beautification purposes.
The survey matrix was then presented to the Historical Society at one of its monthly meetings.
Despite all of the physical work, Aleks said that the writing aspect of the project was the most difficult.
“The hardest part had to be all the writing that was involved. All of the paperwork and write-ups for the project provided obstacles, but I had to keep a focus on the end goal,” Aleks stated. “Keeping on task, not getting sidetracked and making sure I set aside a certain amount of time for it the next day were crucial.”
When completing a project of this length, it can require great motivation to stick with it. Aleks’ dedication to the Scouts came in the fourth grade when he became a Cub Scout.
“After making it about halfway through in middle school, it felt right to push forward and complete it,” Aleks said.
On Feb. 26, Aleks gained the highest honor of Eagle Scout, sticking with it from fourth grade until 12th grade. As far as the future goes, he has interest in potentially joining the military.
