Boy Scout Troop 114 to
honor Alva Baker
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November 5, 2011 |
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On Monday
evening, Peach and Alva Baker will be
honored for their decades of committment
to Boy Scout Troop 114. |
When Boy Scout Troop 114 convenes its Eagle
Court of Honor at 7 p.m. Monday evening, it will
mark the first time in decades that a new Scout
Master, Lee Colson, acts as master of
ceremonies, taking the role from Alva Baker, who
has spent over six decades as a Boy Scout or
Scout Master.
Over those years, he said, he's met a lot of
outstanding young men, and watched them grow up
to excel in a wide array of fields.
"The biggest reward is when you're sitting at
home and someone knocks on the door, and it's
one of those Boy Scouts you helped years ago
come to reminisce," Alva said.
Alva was born in Porthill in 1933, delivered,
coincidently, by the same doctor who would
deliver the little girl, Peach, who would become
his wife in 1962, as well as their oldest son,
Ken.
In 1947 he joined the Cub Scouts, moved up into
the Boy Scouts, and earned Scouting's highest
rank, Eagle, on May 7, 1951. He was drafted into
the Army in 1953, and served in Germany until
being honorably discharged in 1955 and returning
home.
He became a Scout Master in Troop 114 in 1957,
but took a less active role after he and Peach
started their family. When Ken grew old enough,
he, too went into the Cub Scouts, and that's
when Alva went into scouting full bore, serving
for awhile as a Cub Master, Webelos Master and
Assistant Scout Master simultaneously. In 1974,
he was appointed Scout Master, and even while
working as a sawyer in local mills for 45 years
and farming in the 16 years since he retired, he
never slowed down until officially stepping down
last August. And though he's no longer the
official Troop 114 Scout Master, neither Alva
nor Peach will remain involved, "more in the
background" Alva said.
Both Ken and his younger brother, Darwin, became
Eagle Scouts, Ken in 1978, Darwin in 1979.
"At heart, he's still a kid," Peach said with a
twinkle in her eye. "I don't know what we'll do
if he ever grows up!"
"I've been very lucky," Alva said. "The best
kids in the world seem to gravitate into the Boy
Scouts, and I've met some awfully great people
through the years."
He's taken young men from Boundary County to
Camp Easton on Lake Coeur d'Alene for the last
40 years, and has taken countless treks with his
Scouts through some of the most remote places in
Boundary County, often treks of up to 100 miles.
His Scouts have competed in the state forestry
contest since 1982, and taken home their share
of honors.
He's worked with an array of Scout Leaders
"We had some great times," he said.
He doesn't refer to them as "boys," saying, "if
you treat them like boys, they'll act like boys.
Treat them like young men, and they act like
young men."
Reading through a list of "young men" who
reached Eagle rank, both Peach and Alva pause
often to comment about the success stories of
most of them, from high positions in business
and real estate to working for NASA and for the
federal government.
You never hear much about what Alva and Peach
contributed to Boy Scouting in Boundary County
all these many years; Alva has steadfastly
refused interviews for decades.
"It's about young men, not me," he said.
"Scouting gives them a solid foundation, and I
am glad I was allowed to play a role."
Monday's Eagle Court of Honor takes place at 7
p.m. at Trinity Lutheran Church, and everyone in
the community is welcome, especially the many
Boy Scouts down through the years in whose lives
Alva and Peach played a role. |
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