Twelve boys in Vancouver’s Troop 326 became Eagle Scouts in 1965. Fifty years later, the lessons that came with all those merit badges are still part of their lives.
So is their pride in what they achieved together. That was apparent when 11 of them held their 50-year reunion a few days ago.
“You guys are my brothers, and will be forever,” Bill Mikesell told Gary Burns, David Camp, Larry Graser, Doug Holmes, Dennis Kern, Rick LaLonde, George Miller, Jim O’Banion, Don Rash and Ken St. Louis.
Ron Rakoce, the 12th Eagle in the troop, couldn’t make the reunion because of a family commitment.
Their special guest was 95-year-old Bill LaLonde, who had been assistant scoutmaster of Troop 326. Rick LaLonde brought his dad to the reunion, although the elder LaLonde “wanted to drive his own car here so he could leave when he wanted,” Rick said
“Be prepared,” Bill LaLonde said with a smile. “That’s the Scout motto.”
Scoutmaster Harry Miller died in 2001 but was represented at the event by his son, George. And the flag that had draped Miller’s coffin was on the wall of the meeting room Friday.
The reunion included a Saturday get-together at Camp Lewis, the site of the local Scouts council’s 1965 camporee.
More than mementoes
There were plenty of keepsakes and mementoes at the reunion: old uniforms, camping gear, Scouts handbooks, vintage photos and newspaper clippings. But for these guys — now 64 or 65 years old — their identities as Eagle Scouts are not rooted simply in nostalgia. It has been a factor in some of their job histories.
When St. Louis applied for his job as a Social Security official, “There was a special section for achievements. On the first line, I put down Eagle Scout. Thanks, Bill,” St. Louis said in a tribute to the troop’s assistant scoutmaster.
Mikesell, a former deputy fire chief in Vancouver, was working in California when he decided to come back to Washington. He was hired as emergency response coordinator at The Evergreen State College in Olympia. His credentials included 40 years of fire service experience. And, “Being an Eagle Scout: I still put that on a résumé,” Mikesell said.
Burns said he studied forest technology at Mount Hood Community College before applying for a job with a timber management company.
“There were 37 applicants, and lots of them were Oregon State University graduates. About 10 years later, I found out that I got the job because I was an Eagle Scout,” Burns said.
They picked up some skills in Scouting that came in handy along the way.
When Mikesell was a rookie in the Vancouver Fire Department, he was teaching knots to senior firefighters.
“I could tie those knots behind my back because you turned out the lights” during knot-tying practice, Mikesell told Bill LaLonde.
‘You persevere’
The path to Eagle provided other things, including a sense of fellowship.
“Without the Boy Scouts, there is no ‘glue’ in this group,” Mikesell said.
“Scouting was a leadership program,” Camp said.
“I learned leadership and teamwork,” agreed Rash.
“You two gentlemen exemplified perseverance,” Rash continued, referring to Bill LaLonde and Harry Miller.
When you begin as a Tenderfoot, the prospect of achieving the rank of Eagle “is too far away,” Rash said. But they persevered.
“There were times I never thought I’d finish my master’s degree,” said Rash, a retired educator and former official with the Washington State Principals Association. “You persevere.”
Some paths take turns that can’t be negotiated with a map and compass. At times, George Miller said, his life has played out like a country-western song. He’s found the perseverance to come through that.
“I’ve been in recovery, (Alcoholics Anonymous),” Miller said. “I’ve got a group of guys I’m close with.”
His old Scout troop, Miller said, “is the only other fellowship with guys I could be honest and open with. I had tears in my eyes this morning” as he looked forward to the reunion.
While the reunion marked 50 years since they achieved the rank of Eagle, these guys have known each other longer than that. They were all kindergartners at Lincoln Elementary, and eventually joined the Scouting program as Cubs.
They all attended the former Shumway Junior High; it’s now home of the Vancouver School of Arts and Academics, where Jim O’Banion is principal. They all graduated from Fort Vancouver High School, and some stayed in touch at Clark College.
The reunion was more than a local observance, however. It drew national-level attention with a tribute from the top leaders of the Boy Scouts of America. Bill LaLonde received a letter from Chief Scout Executive Wayne Brock and BSA President Robert Gates. It included these words:
“For years you helped young men find in themselves, and in the world around them, more than they might have thought possible.”
