A Mansfield resident and sophomore at EO Smith High School, Ethan Oliver, was recently recognized as an Eagle Scout for Boy Scout Troop 61 in Mansfield, CT. Family, friends, fellow Scouts and community members gathered to help recognized Ethan at the ceremony, held at the Crandall Lodge in Tolland, CT.
For his Eagle Scout project, Ethan planned and carried out a preservation project at the Mansfield Historical Society. His project included building shelves and laying pallets as a subfloor at the Mansfield Historical Society to protect their artifacts from recurring flood damage.
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“We had to move or remove many large/heavy items from the area where the pallets were placed,” said Ethan. “I then designed and built shelving in one of the rooms to store the smaller items. Doing the actual project took 156 hours.”
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The idea for the project came after he worked with Ms. Anne Galonska, director of the Mansfield Historical Society, on a previous merit badge.
Ethan provided the plans and organized the labor to design and build the project. It took a few weekends to accomplish the project with the help of fellow members of Boy Scout Troop 61.
He first became involved in Scouting when he was in first grade as a Cub Scout and worked up to earn the Arrow of Light, as a Webelo. He was voted honor camper at Webelo Summer Camp, and also this past summer at Boy Scout Camp. He was elected into the Order of the Arrow, and is also a member of Venture Crew 422 of Mansfield.
Ethan currently serves as senior patrol leader for Troop 61 of the Nipmuk Council of the Boy Scouts of America, which is sponsored by the Eagleville Fire Station. He has also served as patrol leader and assistant patrol leader. Not only did Ethan earn the required 21 merit badges for earning the Eagle Scout rank, he also earned an additional 13 merit badges.
Ethan’s favorite merit badges were golf, one of his favorite sports, along with camping proclaiming “it rocks” and sailing “it was one of the most fun to do.”
“My favorite Scouting memories were hiking Mt. Washington, going to Gettysburg during the 150th anniversary and the 50 mile full-pack hike on the Appalachian trail (which we did in five days),” he recalled.
He also noted, “Reaching eagle is important to me because I am the first Scout in my family to reach this rank.”
Currently a sophomore at EO Smith High School, he’s involved with the EO Smith football, wrestling and golf teams as well as the ski club. He’s an honors student and as been on the honor roll each quarter at EO Smith. He’s currently a brown belt in Judo and hopes to earn his black belt when he is eligible at age 17.
For a career, Ethan wants to do something involving oceanography or marine science. He’s considering the US Coast Guard Academy and UConn for college.
