My Eagle Scout (Part 2 of 12)

Then when I was eleven, the time finally came for me to become a boy scout. Originally when a boy became a boy scout he earned the Tenderfoot award as his first rank advancement, but the program had just been slightly changed. I earned the new first award and that was the Scout award. I also earned another new award and that was the belt loop. These encompassed certain aspects of rank advancement requirements and when you did them you received a belt loop, which was a metal loop to wear on the scout uniform belt. When I earned the first one, I knew it was very new. I delighted to know that I was probably the first person in Salt Lake to earn one. Certainly I was the first in our scout troop. We met once a week at the Church during the afternoon, after school. It was the weekly Primary meeting. We were known as the Blazer Scouts. We had a spiritual lesson the first and third week with scouting activities on the second and fourth weeks. Our leaders were John Mattheson who was also the janitor of the Church and Gary Robinson who was an Eagle Scout and getting ready to serve an LDS mission. He also worked for my Dad and would be a long-term employee of Dad’s in later years. Gary's first association with my Dad was to get the computers merit badge from him. Gary was a perfect role model for me. And I wanted to be both an Eagle Scout and go on a mission.