In a Double Eagle ceremony held May 20, St. Thomas Aquinas’ Boy Scout Troop 372 awarded Karl Chic and Jacob Hall the coveted Eagle Scout award.
Karl and Jacob entered kindergarten together at St. Thomas Aquinas Grade School in Waterford in 1999, becoming Tiger Scouts in 2000.
Since then, they have remained in Scouting and are pictured through the years in event photos taken of their numerous Scouting achievements and activities.
Karl is the son of Thomas and Mary Chic of Kansasville and is a senior at Waterford Union High School. For his Eagle project, he constructed two raised bed planters at the Waterford Senior Center.
Jacob is the son of Tobias and Lorie Hall and is a senior at Catholic Central High School in Burlington. His Eagle project was trail repair at Bong Recreation area in Kansasville. Jacob selected Bong since the land had once belonged to his great-grandfather.
Former 372 Scout Master Jay Morrical described both teens as “very hard working and always helping whenever they saw a need.”
At camp, Karl and Jacob would even think alike, Morrical recalled, planning and preparing their own meals, which they then shared with the adults at camp.
On May 20, state Rep. Robin Vos presented both Eagle Scout awards at a double ceremony held at the Veteran’s Terrace in Burlington Wisconsin.
Vos noted that the dozens of Eagle Scout ceremonies he has attended all feature a common idea of hard working families who helped, pushed and encouraged their Scouts to continue.
Less than 3 percent of all Scouts achieve Eagle Scout status, Vos noted.
The Chic project
At the start of his Eagle Scout project, Karl approached Menards and received a generous discount on supplies. Witte Supplies also donated all the gravel for the project.
Karl said he picked this project after the Waterford Senior Center approached his troop looking for help with planters to make gardening more accessible for the elderly residents.
Karl noted that he was familiar with the senior center, because Troop 372 Scouts have helped with decorating there for Christmas for many years.
Once the project was underway, one of the center’s residents got involved. He had been a Boy Scout leader years ago, Karl explained, and had worked for many years with the state Highway Department.
This gentleman knew how to properly lay the crushed limestone and helped make sure that the project’s crushed limestone was laid correctly.
Karl has served Troop 372 as Senior Patrol leader, Assistant Senior Patrol leader, Assistant Patrol leader, Chaplain Aide and Troop Guide.
The Hall project
For his Eagle Project, Jacob chose the restoration of the Champion Tree Trail at Richard Bong Recreation Park in Kansasville.
The trail contains Wisconsin’s oldest and largest Bald Cypress, which is more than 100 years old and which stands over 46 feet tall.
Besides being the culmination of his efforts in Scouting, selection of his Eagle project at Bong Recreation had additional significance, Jacob explained, because his great-grandfather once had a farm on the land that is now known as Bong.
Jacob’s mom, Lorie Hall, recalls that shortly after joining Cub Scouts, Jacob shared with his parents his desire to achieve the rank of Eagle Scout. With his drive, ambition and love for the outdoors, it was not a surprise that he achieved his goal, she said.
Jacob plans to continue in Scouting and has become an adult leader.
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