Bald eagles are rare around the Monadnock region and around the nation, with only about 20,000 nesting birds. When a Boy Scout becomes an Eagle Scout, he’s among the 54,000 Scouts, just five percent the members of the Boy Scouts of America, to achieve the rank. Just 190 of them live in New Hampshire. When Henry Johnson became the fourth brother in his family to become an Eagle Scout, he became one of the rarest Eagles of all.
On Sunday night, Johnson was awarded his Eagle Scout rank with his parents, Ian and Sheenah, and his three brothers, Thomas, William, and Luke Johnson, present, along with a crowd of about 80 well-wishers. Johnson became a Boy Scout in 2008 in Troop 2 in Antrim, and completed his requirements late last year. He also rose to become senior patrol leader, in charge of the boy-led program in 2013.
Johnson, who was home-schooled by his mother and graduated last year, now works in the family woodworking business, Cogworks, also in Antrim.
“Henry is the 19th Eagle Scout for Troop 2 in its 103-year history,” said his Scoutmaster, Brian Beihl. “Henry sets a great example for the younger Scouts, and exhibits the traits that people associate with the Scouting movement: helpful, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful come to mind. He’s also a hard worker – for his dad, in his school work, and in his Scouting.”
Each candidate must accomplish an Eagle Scout project as part of the rank. Johnson, whose family business is housed in a 19th-century mill, chose to further the understanding of residents and visitors of Antrim’s mill history. He created an informational kiosk in Goodell Park, at the south end of Main Street, with the cooperation of the Antrim Historical Society and the Antrim Parks & Recreation Department. The stainless steel and aluminum structure has a map of 20 mill locations along Great Brook from the 18th century until today. The locations are numbered, with corresponding descriptions of the mill names, history and products made.
“I wanted to open the townspeople’s eyes and give them some insight into the town’s history through the map,” said Johnson.
State Rep. Marjorie Porter (D) from Hillsborough County’s District 1, congratulated Johnson on his efforts.
“By choosing to research and commemorate Antrim’s mill history for your Eagle project, you honor our hard-working forebearers and help preserve the town’s heritage,” she said. “The map of the mills and the kiosk you installed at the mill site will help bring the past to life for generations to come. You should be proud of your work.”
Porter also read a citation from Gov. Maggie Hassan.
Johnson’s project took almost 150 hours of labor, including the site preparation, construction of the kiosk, and installation with the help of Troop 2 Scouts and community members. Eagle Scout projects are designed to test the leadership skills of the candidate, and Scouts typically spend more time on managing others and planning than they do on hands-on construction. Nationwide, 8.5 million hours of service were performed during Eagle Scout projects in 2015.
Two of Johnson’s brothers also did historical-themed projects. Thomas Johnson wrote a book about Henniker clock maker Jesse Emory, while Luke Johnson constructed a historical marker about Gov. Goodell, which sits in the same park as Henry’s project. William Johnson, while a member of Troop 76 in Henniker, worked on a signage project for the town green in Henniker.
When contacted, the Boy Scouts of America National Service Center said they kept no statistics on the number of family members who become Eagle Scouts, but agree that the event was a rare occurrence among the two million Eagle Scouts awarded the rank since the first in 1912.
Among the other speakers with congratulations Sunday evening were Antrim Selectman John Robertson, Antrim Fire Chief Marshal Gale, Antrim-Bennington Food Pantry coordinator Dawne Hugron, Commander Stephen V. Roy of the Myers-Prescott-Olson American Legion Post 50, and Frank Diekmann of the Marine Corps League. Among the letters received were commendations from U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte, U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a correspondence from the Consul General of the British Embassy in Boston, and several military branches and academies.
Johnson is working for his family business during a gap year.