Sloatsburg — On a cold, clear morning a small group gathered at the Grove in Pine Grove Lakes, an acre-plus block of tall pines that is a favorite deer haunt during berry season. Two people worked a cement mixer near the basketball court, while deeper amid the trees Boy Scout Troop 2146 was busy as support crew for Justin Leanza, Troop Patrol Leader and Eagle Scout candidate, the highest individual award possible given by the Boy Scouts of America.
The lone adult pouring concrete into post holes was Leanza’s uncle, Robert Leanza, himself an Eagle Scout and New York City fireman. “My father and my uncle were Eagle scouts,” said the younger Leanza, “and that made me want to go get it too.” Both men are also firemen. Asked if he intended to follow that tradition as well, Leanza, a junior at Suffern High School, smiled and said, “no, I want to be an engineer.”
It’s been a long-time coming for Leanza, who staked out a community project that he believes will enhance the Grove and benefit Pine Grove Lake residents. “I’m building an exercise/walkpath that’s an 1/8 of a mile and has 3 side stations,” said Leanza. He started on the path toward becoming an Eagle Scout two summers ago when he attended an Eagle Week camp to work through the remainder of his 21 badge requirements.
The undertaking has been huge, said his mother Marianne Leanza. “Justin has put in more than 375 hours of his time and volunteer time,” she said. “He had to go before an Eagle Review Board and the Pine Grove Board. He sent out letters to all the homeowners in the area. It’s been a lot of work. 20 kids just in Pine Grove showed up to help one weekend. It was amazing.”
Leanza’s plan constructs a pathway through the Grove that has three stations for people to work out on and includes a sit up bench, bar work and a bounding bar station. The area will be turned into a mini community field. “I made all the stations dark green,” said Leanza, who was trying to keep the required gear for the stations camouflauged with the surrounding area. “I wanted to build something that was good for the Pine Grove community. The colors are as close to nature as possible so they won’t stand out.”
The path to becoming an Eagle Scout is long and arduous. After earning all related badges, the next step is to plan, develop and lead a service project that demonstrates leadership and commitment for the benefit of a religious institution, any school, or the community. But, as the BSA motto goes: Once an Eagle, always an Eagle. If Leanza earns his rank, that will make just 3 new Eagle Scouts from area troops, all from Sloatsburg. The other two are Danny Green and Justin Kraus, both from Pine Grove Lakes.
Dan O’Leary, who also lives in Pine Grove Lakes and goes to Suffern High School, is a member of Leanza’s Troop 46, and is making his own run at the honor. “He went to camp for Eagle Week,” said O’Leary, about the intensive week long program. “I didn’t go, I couldn’t make it. That’s where they teach you to do all this.” O’Leary just pitched his Eagle Scout plan to the Sloatsburg Village Board as it involves badging streets throughout the village. He hopes to be ready for execution of his project in the spring. “I think it’s going to be good,” he said.
Leanza arranged widespread support and sponsorship from across the community for his project. Contributions or reduced rates were made by Perfect Cut Tree Service of Suffern, Sorice Landscaping, Sloatsburg Hardware, DeMartino’s, and Haywards Deli, among others.
The first Eagle Scout medal was awarded in 1912 to a 17-year old member of Troop 1, Arthur Eldred from Long Island, New York. Other well-known Eagle Scouts include filmmakers Steven Spielberg, David Lynch and Michael Moore, famed biologist and researcher Alfred Kinsey, Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, former CIA director and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, poet and owner of City Lights Bookstore Lawrence Ferlinghetti, and astronauts Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, Roger Chaffee, who died on the Apollo 1 mission, and James Lovell, who flew to the moon on the Apollo 8 and 13 missions. Approximately 40 U.S. astronauts have been Eagle Scouts.
