The two last Scouts of Hallowell Troop 647, Zacharie Claude and Ryan Glidden, were presented with the Eagle Scout rank during a ceremony at the Captain Frank E. Goodrich American Legion Post #6 on Friday, May 24, evening marking the capstone of their Scouting journey and the final chapter of Troop 647.
Both are seniors at Hall-Dale High School. Claude, the son of Alan and Erin Claude of Farmingdale, will soon turn 18. Glidden, 18, is the son of Glen and Sarah Glidden of Hallowell. His dad also is an Eagle Scout. Both plan to attend the University of Maine Orono in the fall, according to a news release from Chuck Mahaleris, district chairman for the Kennebec Valley District of Scouting.
Glen Glidden, Scoutmaster of Troop 637, served as Master of Ceremonies.
“They both started in Cub Pack 647 as Tiger Cubs on Sept. 1, 2012. I have had the honor of watching these two ‘little guys’ grow up to be wonderful young men. They are not little guys anymore as they both shot past the 6-foot-tall mark. As they grew up through the Cub Scout Ranks, they participated in many field trips, Rain Gutter Regattas, Pinewood Derbies, Blue & Gold Banquets, parades, bumps, and bruises. As Wolves and Bears, they both earned multiple Silver & Gold arrow points, and when I say multiple, I mean 3 or 4 arrow points each. That is a lot of work for 8- and 9-year-old boys. They spent time going to Day Camp at Camp Bomazeen as Cub Scouts and then the exciting overnight campouts there as Webelos,” said Glen.
Ryan, who also earned two palms for earning 10 merit badges above those required for Eagle, plans to be admitted into one of the United States military academies. He also has served on the Student Council at Hall-Dale and was co-captain of the school’s track team for one year.
For his Eagle Scout project, Ryan led a team to replace the flagpole at the local Little League field with a new 30-foot pole and installed solar powered lighting on the pole to illuminate it during the games.
“The Lewiston mass shooting happened the day before we planned on pouring the concrete (for the new flagpole) so I had to adapt to that. We had some people on watch to make sure nothing happened and I made sure everyone knew what to look out and be ready for. We reviewed an evacuation plan with everyone helping,” said Ryan. He raised $2,000 for the project including significant donations from the Masons.
Zacharie’s Eagle Scout project was designed to produce vegetables for the needy of the Gardiner area. At Christ Church he built a “hoop house” structure to expand the growing area and growing period for the church’s community garden. This included installing posts, building a frame and roof supports, adding steel fencing for the walls and ceiling, adding post and plastic sheeting, and adding a door. The church provided the funding and the completed structure sits outside the church in Gardiner. He even had to obtain a building permit with the City of Gardiner. When asked what was the most rewarding thing about being the leader of his project, Zac replied, “It is definitely seeing the project come together and see how we worked together to far exceed the expectations of the initial project.”
Glen Glidden said that this was the final event for Troop 647. “We did not recharter for 2024. It was a great honor to have served the area for so many years,” Glen said. “I started with my oldest son Jacob as the Wolf den leader of Pack 647 Pack in 2010. I helped run Pack 647 for several years with Anne Kelley and then Butch Dawbin. We just could not seem to get enough interest and traction to get another Pack going in the Farmingdale/Hallowell area. That really hurt our Troop by not having a feeder. I started Troop 647 in 2014. I enjoyed every bit of it. Serving as a Scout leader (Pack & Troop) in so many different positions really gave me a better appreciation of what local adults did for me and my Troop 179 up in Ashland years ago.”