By Kathy Brown.
On Saturday, Oct. 12, 2019, two Scouts from Haddam BSA Troop #44 were awarded their Eagle Scouts at a ceremony held at Indian River Complex in Clinton: Gabe Denison and Wyatt Pedersen.
Gabe Denison, son of Steve and Jackie Denison, of East Haddam, joined Boy Scouts in 2012. Over the course of seven years, he earned the 21 merit badges required for the rank of Eagle, plus another nine. According to his mother Jackie, his favorite badge was Farm Mechanics, which allowed him to work on a real farm tractor engine. His most difficult badge was Hiking, which requires four 10-mile hikes, as well as one 20-mile hike. He attended summer camp at Camp Mattatuck, as well as camping at Camp Gus in Haddam. He enjoyed 44/40 Day, where Haddam Cub Scout Pack 40 joins Troop #44 at Camp Gus, and the older Scouts teach skills to the Cubs. Gabe enjoyed teaching the Cubs how to make donuts over a fire.
Gabe held leadership positions within Scouting, for example, he was the Patrol Leader for the Cobras on several occasions. Gabe’s service project was for East Haddam Youth and Family Services. He built two A-frame sign holders to display their signs in town. He also refurbished their sign in front of their building. Because he didn’t use all the money he had raised for the project, he donated the extra money to EHY&FS so that they could buy signs for events held each year.
Wyatt Pedersen also participated in the ceremony and became an Eagle Scout. He constructed a large kiosk with a map of the old cemetery on Route 17 on Main Street in Durham.
Photo of ceremony by Kirt Tassmer. Photo of Gabe’s project provided by Jackie Denison.
