Elwell and Corcoran achieve Eagle status in scouting

Arthur B. Elwell and Robert P. Corcoran earned Eagle rank and were honored for their achievement recently at Tranquility United Methodist Church. Less than 2 percent of all Boy Scouts achieve Eagle, scouting highest rank. The two Newton High graduates are the third and fourth Scouts from Troop 184 to attain Eagle status since the troop was formed in 2001. Representatives from the American Legion, the Sheriff’s Office of Sussex County, the Sparta Lodge of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and the Grand Lodge of New Jersey Free and Accepted Masons presented Elwell and Corcoran with plaques and letters of commendation. The Scouts also received letters of commendation from the Green Township Committee, Representative Scott Garrett, Presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George H. W. Bush, and George W. Bush, Vice-President Dick Cheney, U.S. Senators Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez, New Jersey Governor Jon S. Corzine, and the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey. Elwell joined Scouting as a Tiger Cub. Corcoran joined in the following year as a Wolf Cub. They worked their way through the Cub Scout ranks to the Arrow of Light. Graduating from Cub Scouts they became the first members of the new Troop 184 in June 2001. Over the years, they both enjoyed Scouting’s outdoor program. They pioneered the troop’s annual hike from the Green Township Municipal Building, over Mount Allamuchy to a campsite by the lake at Camp Somers, for a fishing and camping weekend. They attended summer camp at Winnebago Scout Reservation in Rockaway. When they were old enough, they became camp counselors at Winnebago. Corcoran said that he especially enjoyed teaching and working with the young Scouts. Working together, they excelled at humorous skits and leading songs in the dining hall as well as around the campfire. Both Corcoran and Elwell were elected to the Order of the Arrow, Scouting’s Camping Honor Society, and each achieved the Brotherhood level. In 2006, both boys won Scouting’s National Camping Award. Every prospective Eagle Scout must plan and coordinate a service project to benefit the community. Elwell’s Eagle Scout Project benefited The Growing Stage Theatre in Netcong. The project included fixing an area of sidewalk in front of the theatre which had become cracked and uneven. The bricks were dug out and replaced with pavers. The planting area at the driveway side of the theatre was turned over and large rocks removed. The area was mulched and replanted. The wall alongside the driveway, which had become host to algae and vines, was cleaned and the vines removed. Finally, the original “Free Parking” sign, painted on the side of the building was restored. Corcoran’s Eagle Scout Project benefited The House of the Good Shepherd Assisted Living Center. The library was relocated, reconstructed, organized, and the collection expanded. This project gave the residents and staff a more inviting and larger library. “Earning the rank of Eagle Scout is a significant achievement,” said Arthur F. Elwell, Scoutmaster and father of Arthur B. Elwell. “I have been honored to watch them grow into manhood. They live their lives to make others proud to know them. They are truly Eagle Scouts”. Robert attends Rowan University, where he is pursuing a degree in civil engineering. Elwell attends Montclair University for computer science.