Ten La Crescenta boys were recognized on Sept. 4 in a Court of Honor for achieving the distinguished rank of Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America. Charlie and William Allen, Chase and Ryan Becker, Lukas Elze, Ben Hart, Hayden, Nelson and Quincy Lunt, and Grant Smith are all members of Boy Scout Troop 391 and students at Crescenta Valley High School. Scoutmasters Adam Becker, Greg Lunt and Jon Allen presented the awards.

Each of the Scouts conceived, planned and led a project. An Eagle Scout project requires Scouts to demonstrate leadership as they provide a significant contribution to the community, and is also a way for them to demonstrate skills that they acquired in a years-long trail to Eagle.

Charlie Allen is a freshman at CVHS.

“For my Eagle project I organized the painting of a mural at Dunsmore Elementary School. It was all about bringing color to a colorless area in the school while also teaching kids good values and to have fun while doing so. I did this by painting a colorful ocean scape. This cheery idea was inspired by local artist Suzie Reil.

“Mixed in with the fish were the words ‘Be Silly, Be honest, Be Kind.’ I worked on this project in June over the space of a week every day for over six hours. I didn’t do it alone though; I recruited around 40 volunteers to help me in the process.”

William Allen is a junior. His Eagle Scout project benefitted his elementary school, Dunsmore Elementary. The school needed new classroom signs so he designed, created and installed painted wooden signs. Two signs were hung outside each classroom: a colorful crayon shaped sign with the room number on it and another with the teacher’s name. He also facilitated the creation of custom, hand-painted signs for the front of the school and other places such as the teachers’ lounge, library and janitors’ room. His practical contribution made the hallways cheerful for the kids and families.

Senior Chase Becker said that Boy Scouting taught him to appreciate the outdoors and nature and making friends. His Eagle Scout project was based on family genealogy or family history work. He identified the graves of those laid to rest at Grand View Cemetery. He then used the Billion Graves app, which allows people to take pictures of the headstones at cemeteries. The images were uploaded onto a server that anyone can access for free and index the graves with their lifetime and name. He was able to photograph and record the entire cemetery. It was a great way to do family history, as well as get out in the world and do some service. 

Ryan Becker is a sophomore at CVHS. For his Eagle project, Becker made handmade blankets for a charity. The charity then distributed them to kids around the world. The children receiving blankets were orphans or had a history of being abused or trafficked. The blankets gave the kids something to own for themselves and a sense of warmth and comfort.

Junior Lukas Elze painted a memorial mural at College View School for his Eagle Scout project. The project consisted of creating and painting a colorful mural on the playground memorializing the special students who attended College View during 2019-20. The theme “Ohana Means Family” was represented in the mural along with the handprints of each student attending the College View. Interacting with the students was the highlight of the project.

For his Eagle Scout project, sophomore Benjamin Hart wanted to do something to improve the playground at his elementary school, Dunsmore. He and his team of volunteers relined four basketball courts that had faded and created a blacktop kickball court and soccer field, providing more play areas for recess and P.E.

Additionally, he created four square courts, painted some directional arrows to help with traffic flow on campus and cleaned up some garden beds that his older brother had created for his Eagle project.

Scouting taught senior Hayden Lunt to take care of the environment and his community. For his Eagle project he painted a colorful mural on a shed at College View School, and also built a movable bike cover for the bikes at College View School. 

For his Eagle Project, sophomore Nelson Lunt organized volunteers to make fleece and flannel blankets for the Huntington Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) where he, as a baby, was a preemie. 

Quincy Lunt, a sophomore, combined his love of computers and hiking in his Eagle project. He created YouTube videos of his favorite hikes in La Crescenta. He sent groups of hikers out on different trails and then created videos of not-to-miss trailheads, crossroads, mileage, elevation and sites. 

Freshman Grant Smith painted colorful learning stencils on the Valley View Elementary playgrounds for his Eagle project as well as cleaning up areas around the front of the school and adding rock covering to beautify the area. He also collected school supplies and made 18 back-to-school backpacks and donated a box of school supplies to the LA County foster program.

Submitted by Wendy HART