Scoutmaster Musings

At an Eagle Scout's court of honor, the scout is recognized for his accomplishments and presented with a nice Eagle Scout medal.

As the Eagle Scout is created through a process of building smaller parts into a whole, the eagle medal goes through a similar process.

An Eagle Scout develops the main parts of leadership, service, merit badges, and participation. There is a defined method to complete these parts within acceptable standards. These parts combine to create a physically fit citizen of fine character, to fulfill the aims of scouting.

The parts of the eagle medal are cast, polished, and assembled into a single medal. Each piece is completed, inspected, and then accepted. Lacking any one part would make the medal incomplete.

We often mention all the people that help a scout reach his Eagle. There's a pin for his mom, dad, and mentor. The scoutmaster usually gets mentioned, as well as the scout's patrol and other troopmates. As an interesting twist, consider the path that the eagle medal took to reach this same stage with the scout.

The eagle medals are made by the Stange Company whose president is an Eagle Scout (and whose grandfather is an Eagle Scout). They create over 55,000 eagle scout kits each year. Each medal is made of pewter (or silver) which was mined from the earth. It was heated until molten and cast in a mold. It was sanded and polished and finally assembled into the final medal.

The Stange Company also makes the silver buffalo, antelope, and beaver medals as well as distinguished eagle medals. Read the Article

Scout On