Scout tackles Eagle project in honor of late grandfather

Scout tackles Eagle project in honor of late grandfather
Reid Hampton proudly shows off 1,600 square feet of refinished wood floors in two youth rooms at Riverside Park United Methodist Church.

It’s been six years since Reid Hampton’s grandfather, William “Sonny” Scaife, passed away, but Scaife’s memory will live on through his grandson’s Eagle Scout project.

“My grandfather was an Eagle Scout and was active in Riverside Park United Methodist Church until he passed away in 2013,” said Hampton, an Ortega Forest resident. “I wanted to do something for the church that was important to him.”

Hampton, a Boy Scout for the past 7-1/2 years with St. John’s Presbyterian’s Troop 2, chose to replace the flooring in two adjoining youth rooms at the church. The 1,600-square-foot project included pulling up carpeting that had been glued down in the 1980s, hand-scraping the glue, sanding the original wood floors – from the 1930s – and then staining and applying polyurethane.

Reid Hampton in the carpet removal phase of his Eagle Scout project at Riverside Park United Methodist Church.
Reid Hampton in the carpet removal phase of his Eagle Scout project at Riverside Park United Methodist Church.

As with most Scout projects, Hampton had a lot of help. In addition to 11 Scouts, two Eagle Scouts, including his brother Wade, four members of his wrestling team and five members of his rowing team, four friends, and 10 other volunteers, Hampton oversaw the efforts of a flooring specialist for the sanding.

The hardest part about the project? “Definitely hand-scraping the old glue. It involved putting down a product to loosen the old glue and scaping every square inch by hand,” said Hampton, who put in 56 of the 301 project manhours. 

Hampton, a senior at The Episcopal School of Jacksonville, said the project far exceeded the original $500 budget. “When the glue and sanding issues became substantially more complicated and costly than initially anticipated, some adult members of my Troop made donations, as did a number of family members and friends, to help cover the difference,” he said. All supplies came from Home Depot, Lowes, Lumber Liquidators and a wholesale flooring specialist.  

Boy Scout Troop 2 members hand-scrape glue from 80-year-old wood flooring.
Boy Scout Troop 2 members hand-scrape glue from 80-year-old wood flooring.

Now that the project is complete and the paperwork submitted to the Boy Scout’s Great Muskogee District, Hampton is waiting for his Eagle Rank ceremony. In the meantime, the 18-year-old is concentrating on applications to the Naval Academy, The Citadel, Virginia Military Institute, or Virginia Tech.

Hampton has some words of advice for Scouts who are on the fence about attaining the Eagle Rank. “If you don’t do it, you will regret it for the rest of your life, and if you do achieve the rank, then you will know why people are proud of it for the rest of their lives,” he said, adding, “I have enjoyed the experiences that only Scouting offers; trips to remote parts of Canada, hiking mountains in New Mexico, and valuable life skills with leadership experience are a few of the things that no one my age could have done without Scouts.”

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