![Wayland Historical Society Executive Director Scarlett Hoey explains the history of the Cochituate Gatehouse.
"The exterior is still a nice monument to remember buildings [involved in] water history," Hoey said. "We all drink lots of water, and it's such an important resource that we kind of take for granted nowadays."](https://waylandstudentpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IMG_2024-1200x800.jpg)
Wayland’s Boy Scout troop, Troop 1, has no shortage of Eagle Scouts, the highest rank in the Boy Scouts of America. In 2024, four Boy Scouts from Wayland became Eagle Scouts, joining the 4% of scouts nationally who attain this rank.
The Eagle Scout rank represents the final step in Scouting, and scouts complete a project, ideally benefiting their community in some form. To become eligible, a scout must complete a total of 21 merit badges and be under the age of 18.
Some Eagle Scout projects in the past in Wayland have included the gaga ball pit at Wayland High School (WHS), led by alum Finn Jay and Georges Stafford, and informational maps on the Massachusetts Central Rail Trail, led by alum Zach Thoen.
Throughout his 19 years as chairman of Wayland Scouting, Matthew Karpacz has supervised numerous Eagle Scout projects.
“The reason [Eagle Scout Projects is] a leadership project is because he does not have to hammer any nail or dig any hole,” Karpacz said. “He is supposed to get the permits, plan, design and then instruct other scouts how to accomplish the project.”
Karpacz’s son was in Scouts. For his Eagle Scout project he built a bench overlooking Dudley Pond on Rice Road and created a kiosk for people walking the trail.
“[Eagle Scout projects] lets you make bigger accomplishments in life,” Karpacz said. “This could be [your] first challenging accomplishment, so [for] the next challenge they have [they think] ‘well I’ve already managed to put together a project.’”
Over the past four years, Troop 1 has had 11 Eagle Scouts. Among the most recent additions is senior Matthew Tan, who organized a food drive for the food pantry A Place to Turn in Natick. According to Tan, in order to organize his project he had to get permission from the grocery stores where he set up at and encouraged fellow scouts to sign up to volunteer.
“It’s very important to raise food for those in need, especially right now,” Tan said. “There are a lot of people who can’t afford to get all the food they actually need.”
Sometimes parents of scouts attend Scouting projects to assist. Wayland Boy Scouts Scoutmaster and scouting parent Greg Chittim attended Tan’s project. Chittim has experience in the Eagle Scouting world and the service that’s required, having earned the rank of Eagle Scout himself.
“[Becoming an Eagle Scout] is about showing the leadership and skills to marshal your fellow scout to serve the community,” Chittim said. “That’s something that all our other Eagle [Scouts] have done a really great job of getting a whole bunch of six, seventh, eighth, night, 10th and 11th graders to help serve our community.”
Some of the Eagle Scout projects involve building something physical for the town. Alum Zach Thoen built kiosks on the Massachusetts Central Rail Trail and other past Eagle Scouts built garden beds at St. Zephryn’s Good Shepherd Parish. Additionally, alum Zach Gordon orchestrated the construction of a garden shed at the Wayland synagogue, Temple Shir Tikva, in 2022. Karpacz remembers Gordon’s multi-step process of obtaining a permit, designing the shed and then raising money.
“Every project is really reflective of that [particular] scout’s interests,” Karpacz said. We walk away very proud of the scouts accomplishment, and the legacy of whatever project they did for the community.”
