Scout earns Eagle rank by building community board at Lone Pine Cemetery

A local scout has earned his Eagle rank after completing a community board at Lone Pine Cemetery in Bigfork. Mark Whitney, 18, is part of Bigfork Troop 1923 has spent 10 years in the Scouts and said he is excited to join the rank.

“It’s been a long journey, the project took a little longer than I expected because of the pandemic and whatnot, but it’s good to finally accomplish this because I’ve been working towards it for so long,” Whitney said.

In addition to earning 21 merit badges and each Scout's BSA rank, each Eagle candidate is required to complete a project that benefits the community. Whitney decided to build a community board for Lone Pine Cemetery after he had heard there was a need for one a few years ago.

“Someone mentioned that no one had ever completely cataloged all of the gravesites here— that was years ago— and that maybe when I got older I should choose that as my Eagle Scout project. When it came time to do my project someone had already started that process, but they mentioned they needed a sign, so I decided to do that instead,” Whitney said.

The board allows the cemetery to post information and maps making it easier for people to locate their loved ones and find information about the cemetery. The project took over 200 labor hours to complete. Whitney was aided in this endeavor by Ed Byrne, Sliters Hardware, Valley Glass, his grandfather Jay Whitney, his father Byron Whitney, Troop 1923, VFW Post 4042 and the Lone Pine Cemetery Board.

“To get an idea of what the cemetery wanted, I started by drawing up a rough design on the computer so I could send them images and get their general opinion. At first I came up with just sort of a sign with one window they could open, but they said they wanted something more than that, so I’ve got this sort of three part design here with the roof so people can stand underneath it when it’s raining…Once I knew more of what they wanted I worked more with my grandfather, who is a retired architect, he helped me refine the design and exact measurements,” Whitney said.

It’s hard for him to choose a favorite memory from his time in the Scouts, but Whitney said he will fondly look back on summers spent at Melita Island in Flathead Lake, an island gifted to the Boy Scouts and used as a summer camp.

“They’ve got stations setup, so you go and work on a couple of different merit badges everyday and they’ve got a swimming area, you’ll learn how to save someone who is drowning by learning how to dive into the water and pick up a heavy object off the ground and carry it to shore,” he said.

Whitney has spent many Memorial Days with his Scout Troop placing flags on the graves of veterans at Lone Pine Cemetery. His family‘s long history in Bigfork is evident in several of his relatives being interred there including his great, great, great grandfather. Whitney’s court of honor was held at Bigfork VFW Post 4042 on March 14. He said being an Eagle Scout is a source of lifelong pride for many scouts.

“You get to be part of this honorable group of many other people who have been Eagle Scouts, many great leaders across the country and whatnot, when you meet another Eagle Scout you instantly have this connection with them— you’ve both been through this whole program and have a lot of similar experiences. Doing a project like this gives you leadership experience in general and I feel it taught me a lot and set me up for my future,” Whitney said.

Whitney is graduating from Bigfork High School in May and plans to attend college in Bozeman and study computer electrical engineering.

“I’d just like to say that if anyone is interested in joining the Boy Scouts, it’s definitely worth joining, it’s a great program and you’ll learn lots of leadership skills and meet friends— you’ll be way better off after having joined the Scouts,” Whitney said.