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"The purpose is clear: Learn, Have Fun, Do YourBest, Help Others, Give Back."

These words appear in a short bio that Liz Osterhouthas written about her son. But, proud mothersnotwithstanding, that phrase pretty much sums up 17-year-old Sam of Unionville.

Take the "learn" part as an example. Until early lastweek, something like nine Boy Scouts nationwide hadearned all 121 merit badges. Sam just joined that elitegroup. That's right, you read that correctly. SamOsterhout, pronounced OH-ster-howt, of little ol’Unionville, just completed his final two merit badgerequirements. He now has every… single… one…everyone that you can possibly earn as a Boy Scout.

Proud Mom Liz has had to extend by several inches the greensash bearing the half-dollar size badges that she has painstakinglysewn to it. In neat rows of three, they stretch across his chest and

AAlthough Graeme Tidman has dedi-cated a lifetime to scouting he isnew to being a Scoutmaster. But

he'll learn soon enough because he hasfour sons who will matriculate into scout-ing over the next four consecutive years.And now his eldest son, Alex will soonbreak ground on his Eagle project.

Scouting is alive and well in OrangeCounty, with six troops: two in Unionville,two in Locust Grove and one each inGordonsville and Orange. A couple ofweeks ago, an account of Orange's Troop14's experiences rafting West Virginia'sGauley River appeared in the OrangeCounty Review.

According to the Wikipedia, the BoyScouts of America "is the largest youthorganization in the United States." TheBSA web site claims 4.6 million youth and1.2 million adult members! "A millionadults leading five million boys," musesTidman. "That's a really good ratio of adultto youth. That's a whole lot better thanthey can do in any school."

Here's another little known fact: sinceits founding in 1910, 110 millionAmericans have been members of theBSA. And in Sam Osterhout's Eagle Scoutproject book appears a letter of congratu-lations from State Delegate Ed Scott, anEagle Scout himself.

Sam's mom says "I don't see a decline[in local membership] and I haven't seen alarge increase. It's about the same numberof kids coming and going." She pausesbriefly and adds, "I wish it would grow."

For fledgling Troop 16, membership hasgrown from five boys at its founding thispast winter to 12 now. "Is there growth inOrange County for Boy Scouts?Absolutely," says Graeme Tidman confi-dently, adding his troop is expecting six

more to bridge over from the CubScout/Webelos program this year.

But he doesn't want boys to rush into it."I don't want a boy to come and sign upthe very first night he comes because that'snot what it's about. I want that boy to feelcomfortable in the troop before he joins thetroop."

Being a Scoutmaster requires "a lot ofwork, but it's rewarding. I enjoy watchingthe boys develop," continues Tidman."Scouting has been a big blessing to ourfamily and I enjoy giving back." This Proud

Dad will soon have his chance; his son,Alex, launches his Eagle Scout project anyday now.

The project calls for a memorial gardenin memory of all the OCHS students andstaff who have accidentally died. A mean-dering path will lead up the hill betweenthe OCHS Field House and the woodenfence behind Waugh Enterprises. The pathwill then split into a semicircle, faced bycounteracting semi-circles of flowers,bushes and trees.

Four benches, two on each side, will

face a stone in the middle bearing aplaque with the names of all students andstaff who have met unexpected deathsover the years. And yes, in a nod to grimreality, there will be room on the plaquefor more names.

The garden will be a place of reflection,but because it is visible from the outdoorlunch area and its supervisor, studentswill be able to sit there and eat their mid-day meal. Trash cans will be placed near-by, and Tidman is working on a perma-nent maintenance agreement with theJROTC, "so when I leave this year, it does-n't just become a party house."

The inspiration for the project stemsfrom the unexpected deaths of OCHS stu-dents, Val Roa, Caleb Smith, and mostspecifically, Joe Stanley whose life wasclaimed last year in a fiery car wreck onRoute 20. "I knew Joe pretty well," saysAlex somberly, "and I have a lot of friendswho knew him really really well. And thatdeath specifically got to our class becausehe was a year before us. Everybody knewJoe; he was just an awesome guy."

Approval for the project has beensecured from the various local authorities.Alex only has to earn Stonewall JacksonArea Council approval before he canbreak ground. "I've been fighting for thisproject for a long time," he says deter-minedly.

His Dad points out that even though alandscape architect will provide guidance,"Alex is responsible for doing all of thework…What an Eagle project is, is a lead-ership project for the boy. The boy has toplan it, organize it, do it; actually do themanual labor, fundraise, keep track of thefinances, everything."

If you ask Alex Tidman what he enjoysmost about scouting, his answer isremarkably similar to his good friend, SamOsterhout. "I stayed in scouting mainly forthe younger guys now to make sure thatthey get what they want out of the scout-ing program." Active in JROTC, Alex planson attending VMI next year with the goalof becoming a military lawyer.

But he might have a parallel career inteaching and mentoring. He says his mostrewarding experience in scouting camewhen he worked two summers as aninstructor/counselor at CampShenandoah, "every week seeing a newgroup of boys develop into leaders andpulling together. Even though they couldhave hated each other on Monday, byFriday they were helping each other. Wedo a five-mile hike and seeing them helpeach other up that mountain, seeing thatdevelopment and leadership in thoseyoung kids, and knowing that I helpedmake that difference; that's what it's allabout."

Proud Dad Graeme can only smile.

Proud Mom LizOsterhout hassupported her

three sons in boyscouts by being a

tireless taxi driver, fundraiser,

and generalcheerleader for

troops inMidlothian and

Unionville.During her spare

time, she's akindergarten

teacher atUnionville

Elementary.

Photo by Susie Audibert

“Learn,

have fun,

do your best,

help others,

give back”

Until earUntil ear ly last wly last week, something likeek, something like nine Boe nine Boy Scoutsy Scoutsnationwide had earnationwide had earned all 121 merned all 121 mer it badgesit badges..

Sam just joined that elite grSam just joined that elite group.oup.

Active in marching band, jazz group,and symphonic orchestra as a drummer

and percussionist, Sam Osterhout, 17, ofUnionville still finds time to devote

himself to helping other boys as JuniorAssistant Scoutmaster for Troop 16 in

Unionville and Troop 806 in Midlothian.Photo by Susie Audibert

ScoutingScoutingis aliveis aliveand and well inwell inOrangOrangeeCountyCounty

Graeme Tidman (right) has his hands full as Scoutmaster for the new Troop 16 inUnionville; his son Alex is about to start building his Eagle Scout project. Alex is alsoactive in the JROTC program at Orange County High School. Next year, he hopes toattend Virginia Military Institute.

Photo by Phil Audibert

Unionville Troop16's Court ofHonor. From

left to right,back row: SamOsterhout, Lee

Baines, GraemeTidman, Jamie

Lee, AlexTidman; middle

row: AlexKeener, Ryan

Wilt, CodyFulcher, Ben

Haynes; frontrow: Dylan

Boeckmann,Jordan Lee,

Evan Baines,Connor Booth.

Contributed photo

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down his back from shoulder to hip, each one bearing a symbolof something he has learned.

No wonder Liz is proud; it is a staggering accomplishment,one that invites twisting the familiar phrase to read: Master of alltrades; Jack of none. Swimming, sportsmanship, photography,pets, reading, citizenship, music, personal management, wilder-ness survival, basketry, rowing…the list goes on and on and on.

"The more simple merit badges; it is quick and easy, with onlytwo requirements," explains this unpretentious mop-toppedteenager dressed in baggy shorts and a waycool Beatles T-shirt."For other merit badges it might be as many as 12 with subrequirements." Basketry,Sam shrugs; that's doable ina weekend. But others, likewoodworking for example,take months. "So you learna lot when you do differentmerit badges.You can learnwhat kind of things youmight want to go into whenyou grow up."

Okay, we'll bite. What doyou want to be when yougrow up?

Actually, Sam istorn…between engineeringand music. He's not surewhich one he will major inwhen he goes to JamesMadison University nextyear.You can almost feel thetug of war going on betweenhis left and right brain…thelogical choice versus thecapricious one.

Proud Mom, as all momsdo, lands squarely on theside of practicality. "Well, ifyou want to get married andhave a house," reasons Liz,"you have to have a salary,and it's kind of tough to playin a band…" She lets thesentence dangle.

You can almost hearSam's "But Mom!" protest.After all, he plays drums forthe OCHS marching band,the jazz band and sight-reads percussion music for the sym-phonic orchestra. "I've always loved music," he says earnestly.

He always will."I know that is your passion, so you may switch," she com-

promises. Actually, one senses that Proud Mom is not over-wrought worried about Sam's major or choice of careers.Whatever he chooses, he'll do just fine. If engineering and musicdon't work out, he has 119 other things that he's pretty darngood at.

So what was the hardest merit badge to earn? Cycling wastough. Besides memorizing every part of the bike, plus knowhow to change a flat, he had to ride two 10-milers, two 15-milers

and one 50-miler in eight hours or less. Hepulled that off on the C & O Canal outsideWashington, DC. Hiking? He plodded through a100-mile backpacking trip with a 50-pound packnear Philmont, New Mexico this past summer.Does that count?

Certainly.But the toughest merit badge was the next to

last one he earned… bugling.Bugling? "I'm a percussionist and bugling is

not percussion," says Sam succinctly. Besides,a bugle has no valves. Youdo it all with your lip and yourlung…well, your diaphragmactually. So the drummer boybecame the boogie woogiebugle boy of not Company B,but Troop 16, a newUnionville area troop thatwas organized just this pastwinter.

To earn the merit badgeyou have to be the troopbugler for three months. Wellat the time, the troop wasbarely three months old! Andthen you have to knowsomething like 15 calls,including, of course, reveilleand taps, and you even haveto make up a call that is spe-cific to a task within yourtroop. Whew!

So what was his favoritemerit badge? "Believe it ornot, I really enjoyed BirdStudy. It was a really coolmerit badge." He points tothe patch on the sash bear-ing the image of Virginia'sstate bird, the Cardinal.

Another area where Samhas excelled is in the exclu-sive Order of the Arrow, acommunity service arm ofBoy Scouts that focuses onNative American culture. Heis currently being considered

for the third and highest rank in the order."Someone sponsors you without you knowingthat they have done that.You can't ask for it. Youjust do everything you can to help and be ofservice and that's what Sam's being consideredfor right now," says Proud Mom. Sam justearned his ninth "palm" pin; each one repre-sents five additional merit badges beyond the21 required to be an Eagle Scout.

Ah yes, Eagle Scout. Besides having toaccrue 21 merit badges, with the following 12required: swimming, environmental science,

communications, emergency preparedness,camping, personal management, fitness, citi-zenship in the community, nation and world,hiking, family life; besides those 12 and ninemore electives, he has to have a communityservice project.

Sam produces a ring binder the size of theNew York phone book. "War and Peace" iswhat his Midlothian Scoutmaster, Mike Pace,called it. Achieved in 2006 with Sam's alternatetroop in Chesterfield County, it is the definitiverecord of his Eagle Scoutproject, from inkling tofruition and everything inbetween: drawings, bills,budgets, proposals, pho-tographs, work orders, let-ters, you name it.

Sam's project was tobuild a memorial for a 12-year-old Little Leaguerwho died of unexplainedcauses. And so workingwith the Manchester HighSchool principal, theMidlothian School Board,the Little League, andwith the help of an armyof volunteers, ProudMoms, Proud Dads, andsome nice discounts frombuilding supply stores likeLowe's, Sam designedand built a memorial parkto this young man com-plete with benches, flagpole, flagstones, baseballdiamond motif, and amemorial boulder bearingthe deceased's name.

Scouting runs deep inthe Osterhout family.Sam's two older brothers,Chris and Ben bothachieved Eagle Scout sta-tus before "aging out" at18. Sam joined middlebrother Ben in the Order of the Arrow, wherethey both made authentic Indian costumes fromscratch and won Conclave dance contests.

"My two boys, they just feel that the NativeAmericans …were not treated properly," saysProud Mom Liz, who, when she is not busy fer-rying boys and fundraising, is teaching kinder-garten at Unionville Elementary. "If it's not band,it's scouts, and if it's not scouts, it's church," shesays of the family's busy schedule.

The Osterhouts moved to Orange Countyfrom Chesterfield so that Sam's Dad couldmore easily commute to his job at the

Pentagon. Now, he works much closer…at North Anna, andSam is the one doing the traveling. He maintains dual scoutmembership, one in Unionville, the other in Midlothian, to whichhe travels 150 miles round trip for meetings and outings.

Anyway, here's a tough question; is Sam ever teased forbeing such an enthusiastic Boy Scout? "Not so much," heshrugs. "It depends. If someone says, 'Man you're such a nerdfor doing scouts,' I say, 'Why don't you go out and try it. It's notthat bad.'" That's the exception. "Most people don't have thatpoint of view. They don't think it's that terrible. They say, 'Soyou're in the scouts. That's cool.' They don't look down upon it."

Proud Mom jumps in."Even though kids pick onBoy Scouts; that does hap-pen, I believe the communi-ty feels there's a definiteplace and need for them.Boy Scouts is somethingthat helps kids learn what'simportant in life. It givesthem great goals. It givesthem great moral lessons."

And so, "The purpose isclear: Learn, Have Fun, DoYour Best, Help Others,Give Back." Liz Osterhoutpoints out that many kidsdrop out of scouts oncethey've earned their Eaglerank. "But Sam said 'it's timeto give back.' He neverwalked away from it, and hejust keeps going….If any-body needs anything, he'sthere to help. They knowhe's that kind of person, buthe doesn't advertise it."

Proud Mom briefly apolo-gizes for beating the scout-ing drum so loudly, but thenlaunches into it again. "Youcan do positive things," shesays passionately. "You cangive to the people aroundyou, and I think when kidsrealize how important it is,that it's not about us; it's

about others. When you are someone who gives, you get backin the sense you feel good about what you're doing. It gives youa positive aura."

Asked what he gets out of scouts, Sam is momentarilystymied. "It's a really good question and I've never been good atanswering it. I love helping the kids around me." He pauses andadds, "Everything you learn in Boy Scouts you can use for therest of your life."

Like all 121 Merit Badges. Sam Osterhout gives the impres-sion that the numbers weren't important. He was not trying tobreak a record; he was genuinely interested in becoming skilledin 121 fields. And in the process, he has learned, had fun, donehis best, helped others and given back.

Sam Osterhout receives his last merit badge, called American Labor from counselor TomMcKee. Sam has now earned every merit badge offered by the Boy Scouts…121 total.

Contributed photo

Friday afternoons, Sam Osterhout is practicing with the OCHS marching band just prior tothe weekly football game. He hopes to attend JMU next fall and major in either music orengineering.

Photo by Phil Audibert

Running three across, down his back and chestfrom shoulder to hip, Sam Osterhout's sash hadto be lengthened to accommodate all 121 meritbadges. Just last week, he completed his tworemaining merit badge requirements. He has nowearned every possible badge offered by BoyScouts.

Photo by Susie Audibert

Both active in the Order of the Arrow, Sam andbrother Ben Osterhout were pictured here in NativeAmerican garb. Sam (left) made his entire costumehimself, and both boys have won first place in con-secutive conclave dance competitions.

Contributed photo