While the Roanoke Rapids man who has devoted 65 years of his life to scouting cried briefly, it was a proud moment for him, a proud moment for the troop, of which he has been a part since 1969.
“I’ve still got scouting in my blood,” Lewis said before the ceremony, wearing his uniform. “I still get the mail. I call Scott (Joyner, the troop’s scoutmaster) up and tell him I’ve got a check.”
Lewis said he had no idea how many boys he has helped become Eagle Scouts. Joyner, however, said the number is 65 and will probably grow to 75 in Lewis’ lifetime.
“He taught me to do your best even if you’re not too good at it,” Troop 144 scout Joseph Thomas said before the ceremony.
“It means a lot to us,” Joyner said before the ceremony. “He was my scoutmaster. He was Joe Long’s scoutmaster.”
The ceremony was not only held to honor Lewis, but to celebrate improvements to the hut on Madison Street, which the scouts lease from the city for a dollar a year.
Mayor D.N. Beale said during his remarks he was going to work so the hut would belong to the troop.
Improvements to the hut began in 2002 and took the work of many volunteers to complete, Joyner said.
Troop 144 is arguably the oldest troop in Roanoke Rapids, started in 1930 and maintaining a charter all these years except one year during World War Two.
“There’s been a lot of effort put into this,” Joyner told the audience during the ceremony.
Lee Bone, troop committee chairman, said Troop 144 is a proud troop consisting of seven Silver Beavers, which is the highest honor an adult can receive in scouting.
On Lewis, Bone said, “He’s been like a father to me and many, many boys.”
Long, also a scoutmaster in the troop, said of Lewis, “He guided me and put me on the right path.”
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