Haddonfield Troop 65’s Ross Graham had been a Boy Scout for 11 years. Though he recently “aged out” when he turned 18, he was honored for earning his Eagle Scout ranking.
In early October, Graham was awarded his Eagle Scout during Troop 65’s Fall Court of Honor. He received his Eagle Scout ranking for improving the Historical Society of Haddonfield’s herb garden, as well as other areas around the building.
“I feel pretty proud to be an Eagle Scout. Joining the ranks of my brother and uncle, it is nice to be a part of that club. It felt great to accomplish something,” Graham said.
Graham started Scouting in first grade, inspired by his older brother and friends who joined. His favorite things about Scouts weren’t just the outdoor experiences and trips — though they were amazing and fun — but also the life skills he learned and community service he did.
“Most people think we learn outdoors things, but you also learn skills about life. I really liked giving back to the community, too. Those are some of the things I really like about Scouting,” Graham said.
From the beginning, Scouts are pushed to work toward their different ranks within Scouting, including Eagle Scout. However, as they get older, the boys learn to take the initiative of getting their badges and pushing themselves to do better.
When it came time for Graham to work on his Eagle Scout project, he reached out to the Historical Society and asked if there was anything it needed or would like to get done. Graham’s brother previously helped the organization, so he thought it would be a good idea to reach out to it again.
The HSH told him renovations and refurbishing of the herb garden was needed, so Graham took the reins of the project.
He started by first getting approval from the Garden Club, as the herb garden was made in honor of a past member. Once he got its approval, he worked to fundraise for the project. Graham ended up raising enough money for the project and then some, leaving enough remaining for the HSH to maintain the garden.
“We raised more money than needed. After the project, we had money to give the society to help maintain it for awhile,” Graham said.
Graham, along with many helpers, then removed old plants and weeds, put in new, more historically accurate ones and put in barriers so the roots wouldn’t spread and take over the garden. He also helped to trim bushes around the area and replace the gravel path and put in a weed barrier.
Graham really liked taking the leadership role. He worked to get everything into place and organized what needed to be done.
After the project was finished, Graham said he felt frustrated, that it wasn’t good enough. He believes he originally felt that way because he is a perfectionist. However, after a bit, he realized what he did was a lot of work and felt proud of his accomplishment.
For his hard work, Graham earned the rank of Eagle Scout, being one of the first of his grade level to earn the honor. He said although he is the face of the project and the badge, he couldn’t have done it alone.
“I couldn’t have done it without my parents, leaders, troops and friends who came to help and support me. Eagle Scout takes a lot of support; you need a team with you, not just by yourself. It is a team effort. Eagle Scout is the face, but there is a whole team behind it. Everyone worked really hard on it,” Graham said.
For now, Graham is done with Scouting. However, in the future, he said if he has children, he would love to teach his children the things he learned from Scouting.
