HATFIELD — The motto of the Boy Scouts of America is “be prepared;” the motto of Hatfield’s Troop 104 is “if you’re not being picked on, you’re not well liked.”
Both of those credos presented themselves Thursday night at Troop 104’s Eagle Court of Honor, where seven Hatfield men, three of them brothers, formally became Eagle Scouts.
The ceremony, held at the American Legion Post 344, was a celebration — sometimes through jokes — of the seven scouts’ years of work and preparation to reach the Boy Scouts’ highest echelon.
Harrison Bardwell, Spencer Bardwell, Collin Bardwell, Jackson Rhine, Matthew Channell, Ben Labbe and Peter Leuschner were those honored.
According to Troop 104 Scoutmaster Bill Englehardt, seven scouts achieving the rank of Eagle Scout at one celebration is a rarity, especially in a small town like Hatfield. Rarer yet is having three of those scouts be brothers, a first in Hatfield’s more-than-century-long scouting history.
“The pathway to be an Eagle can be described as a steep path leading up the peaks,” Englehardt said.
The seven men all completed service projects and underwent an extensive review process for the occasion, which more than 70 parents, friends and scouting leaders attended.
Spencer Bardwell maintained a tree stand in Hatfield, while also planting trees around town to replace those diseased trees the town removed; Harrison Bardwell, Spencer’s twin, built an outdoor classroom for the Hatfield Elementary school; Collin Bardwell cleaned headstones at the Main Street Cemetery, which includes Smith College founder Sophia Smith’s grave.
Some of the scouts, like Rhine, reflected on the meaningfulness of the ceremony, and were elated.
“I will start to see more and more what impact this has,” said Rhine, 19, who is currently a student at Greenfield Community College majoring in electrical engineering. He said he plans to transfer to the University of Massachusetts, and has already received two scholarships due to becoming an Eagle Scout.
“People, they’ve noticed me,” said Rhine, who built a handicapped-accessible trail at the Silvio O. Conte wildlife refuge in Hadley.
The Bardwell twins, Spencer and Harrison, 21, had waited for the Eagle Court of Honor for four years. They had already done the work to become Eagle Scouts, but waited for their younger brother, Collin, 20, to catch up so they could become Eagle Scouts together.
Both Spencer and Harrison talked about the impact that scouting has had on their lives and career-paths. Spencer is a psychology major at the University of New Hampshire, and Harrison is a recent University of Massachusetts graduate who runs his own farm, Bardwell Farm, in Hatfield.
“More than the physical aspects the psychological aspects affected me,” Spencer said. “In scouting you learn about leadership and how to work in a team setting, and it’s always about challenging yourself.”
“It’s shown me how to cope with lots of random scenarios, nature scenarios,” Harrison said.
Labbe, Channell and Leuschner, all 18, have scouted since the first grade, when they joined the Cub Scouts as Tiger Scouts, the first rank in the organization. Labbe wants to join the U.S. Army after attending Endicott College. He now helps out with the Troop 104 Tiger Scouts to “give back some of what they gave to me.”
“It’s been a long journey,” Labbe said. “It helped me grow up and, as they said, become a different person.”
During the ceremony, Paul Roberts, Troop 104 chairman and assistant scoutmaster, choked back tears when describing the young men’s achievements and journey to become Eagle Scouts.
“America has many good things to give you and your children after you, but these things for the most part depend on the quality of her citizens,” Roberts said.
For projects, Leuschner measured the distance between homes and fire hydrants, providing the data to the fire department; Labbe collected and shipped personal hygiene items to soldiers fighting overseas; Channell put signs up in Look Park that identify the different types of trees in the park.
Englehardt also talked about each boy’s accomplishments and personality during the ceremony, but in a lighter manner. He warned the crowd beforehand that his speeches sometimes “turn into a roast,” and joked about each boy, staying true to Troop 104’s motto.
“Collin never wore a hat,” said Englehardt, joking about the youngest Bardwell perhaps not wanting to mess up his hair. Each of the seven scouts got a wisecrack from Englehardt, from Rhine’s quietness, to Leuschner’s height.
After Roberts read the Eagle Charge, a creed of conduct regarding the “ideals of honor and service,” and a pronouncement from Englehardt, the young men officially became Eagle Scouts. Each of the scouts were given the Eagle Scout Award, including the Eagle Badge to be worn on their uniforms, and each scout placed a special pin on their mother’s and father’s chests. They also switched the orange handkerchief tied around their necks with a blue one.
Representatives from the Freemasons and the Sons of the American Revolution formally congratulated the Eagles, and a commendatory letter authored by Massachusetts state Rep. Peter Kocot, D-Northampton, and signed by Massachusetts House Speaker Robert Deleo, D-Winthrop, was read.
David McLellan can be reached at dmclellan@gazettenet.com.