Community Corner

Two Lynnfielders Become Eagle Scouts

They're the 96th and 97th Eagle Scouts in the 55-year history of Lynnfield's Troop 48.

The following is an announcement from Troop 48:

Andrew Hall and Jack Sanford were recently awarded the highest honor in Boy Scouting, the rank of Eagle Scout.  They are both members of Troop 48 at the , where the Scoutmaster is Gordon Forrest. Their Eagle Rank Court of Honor was held at the Center Congregational Church, with a reception following. They become the 96th and 97th Eagle Scouts in the history of Lynnfield Troop 48, stretching back to 1956.

Al Merritt presented letters of congratulations to Andrew and Jack on behalf of the Lynnfield Town Selectmen.  State Representatives Bradley H. Jones, Jr., and Donald H. Wong presented official citations of congratulations from both the Massachusetts House of Representatives, and the Massachusetts State Senate. Father John Farrell of Our Lady of the Assumption Parish gave the invocation, and Father Thomas Powers of St. Maria Goretti Parish gave the benediction. Both Andrew and Jack are graduates of Our Lady of the Assumption school. They both attend St. Johns Preparatory School in Danvers, where Andrew is a sophomore and Jack is a junior.

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For his Eagle Scout service project, Andrew, along with scouts and volunteers, cleaned, mapped, documented, cataloged, and photographed the Old South Burying Ground over a period of 2 months for his Eagle Scout Project. The Old South Burying Ground on Salem Street, Lynnfield, is a Revolutionary War cemetery and prior to the project, very little information existed.  His project advisor was Nan Hockenbury, Chairman of the Lynnfield Historical Committee.

Andrew began over the fall in 2010 by creating a map of the cemetery with his brothers, and his parents.  Roy Sorli of Lynnfield, another one of Andrew’s project advisors, instructed Andrew on how to properly clean and photograph gravestones, and the main portion of the project began. On November 12, 2010, Andrew, along with 28 scouts and volunteers cleaned, documented, and photographed each gravestone. The inscriptions/location and condition of each gravestone was then recorded in a computer database. This computer database and the final map of the Old South Burying Ground were completed and donated to the Lynnfield Historical Committee, which they hope to put online in the future. It was also sent to the National Association for Gravestone Studies, and has been added to their national archive at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. 

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Andrew is the son of Dr. & Mrs. Jonathan D. Hall.  His brothers Michael and Joshua took part in the ceremony. Michael, a junior at Wheaton College is an Eagle Scout and former member of Troop 48.  Joshua, a senior at St Johns prep, is also an Eagle Scout and current member of Troop 48. 

 The Halls become the second family in the history of Troop 48 to have 3 brothers who have all obtained the rank of Eagle Scout. They join the Allison Family of Lynnfield whose three sons Steven, Timothy and Matthew also obtained the rank of Eagle Scout in 1998, 1999 and 2001.

For his Eagle Scout service project, Jack Sanford led the construction, assembly and installation of 20 new trail signs for the Lynn Woods Reservation in Lynn.  Lynn Woods Reservation is the second largest municipal park in the United States covering 2,200 acres and includes 30 miles of hiking /bicycling trails.  Through discussions with Lynn Woods Park Ranger Dan Small, Jack learned that many of the trails had become poorly marked because previous signs had either decayed, fallen off trees, or were removed by park visitors. This presented a safety hazard as park visitors could easily become lost.  Jack led a group of Scouts and adult volunteers in cutting, sanding, painting, lettering, and sealing new trail signs.  After identifying the best placement for each new sign, Jack and two groups of Scouts and adult volunteers installed the trail signs on June 4,  2011.  Jack’s project was well received by park visitors and Lynn residents, and he hopes that these signs will remain for many years.    

Jack is the son of Mr. & Mrs. Kip and Jodene Sanford.  His brothers Kevin and Teddy took part in the ceremony.  They are also both members of Troop 48 and are both freshmen at St Johns Prep.


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