Eagle Scout Miles Iverson with his Eagle Project that has been dedicated to the Los Alamos Historical Society. Courtesy photo

Miles Iverson’s Eagle Scout ceremony inside Fuller Lodge. Courtesy photo

Miles Iverson stands next to a hitching rail, memorial bench and information placard that are part of his Eagle Scout project. Courtesy photo

TROOP 22 NEWS

Members of Boy Scout Troop 22, the Los Alamos community, and family and friends attended the dedication of Miles Iverson’s Eagle Scout project to the Los Alamos Historical Society on Sunday, February 25. For his project, Miles, a junior at Los Alamos High School, built and installed a hitching rail, informational placard, and memorial bench which are now a part of the Los Alamos History Museum’s campus.  Immediately following the dedication, Iverson’s Eagle Court of Honor was held at the historic Fuller Lodge.

Iverson worked with the History Museum to come up with the idea for the hitching rail, as it points to the Los Alamos Ranch School for Boys, an important piece of local history. Each student at the school was assigned a horse and became responsible for its care. They were required to learn all manner of horsemanship and did many of their outdoor activities on horseback. Since the Ranch School curriculum included scouting activities, BSA Troop 22 was established in 1918. It is the third-longest continuous troop in the United States. and was the first mounted (horseback) troop in the country.

Iverson included the Memorial Bench for Josh Miko since he was a cherished member of the Troop and community, and also worked closely with the Historical Society. With the Miko family’s permission, that became a part of the project as well, and a way to honor his memory and his connection to Los Alamos and the Boy Scouts

A major component of an Eagle project is applying the leadership skills they acquired while participating in the Boy Scout program.  In order to complete his project, Iverson needed to discuss the project with the Historical Society, present his proposal to his Troop leadership, develop the overall plan, and oversee the construction and installation of the components on the Historical Society Campus. Included in his efforts was a significant amount of communication with the Historical Society and Troop, the purchase of materials, requesting volunteers to help with the work, and providing supervision of the volunteers (with a broad range of age and experience from elementary students to adults).

Including Iverson, 13 individuals participated in the project and dedicated nearly 150 total hours towards the construction of the hitching rail installation.

“I’m glad that my project not only helped me in my personal growth in working with people and leading a project, but also added to the community history and tied into Troop 22’s legacy.” said Iverson in summarizing the project.

Iverson would like to thank Todd Nickols (director of the Los Alamos Historical Society) Mike Steinzig (Eagle Project mentor), Carl Iverson (Troop 22 Scoutmaster), members of BSA Troop 22, and his family for their support of him with his project.