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FAIRFIELD – It’s a bittersweet moment for Fairfield’s Boy Scout Troop No. 64.

The troop is celebrating the Eagle Scout badge earned by Cooper Kraft, who accomplished the feat by completing a community service project, building storage containers for Cradle of Hope Pregnancy Resource Center in Mt. Pleasant. But sadly, this Eagle Scout badge will be the final one earned by a scout in Troop No. 64 because the troop doesn’t have enough members to continue.

Troop No. 64 Scout Master Joe Garretson said the troop must register with the parent organization every year, and it must have at least three members. Now that Kraft has completed his final project and has aged out of Scouts, the troop has only one member remaining, not enough to re-register in 2026. That final member is Alex Hudson, a junior at Fairfield High School who just turned 17. Garretson said Hudson could finish his Eagle Scout project before he turns 18, but it won’t be with Troop No. 64.

Garretson said he’s sad to see the troop’s tenure come to an end, a troop he has been involved with for the last 14 years or so, ever since his son Tristen was in kindergarten. Tristen completed his Eagle Scout project last year, and before him, Dre Smithburg also accomplished that feat. Kraft said this small group of Boy Scouts has formed a close bond over the years, going on camping trips together and serving their community.

“It kind of stinks knowing that other people aren’t going to have that,” Kraft said about the troop ending this year.

Kraft said he’d love to be involved in Scouting in some fashion when he’s older, perhaps through his own children or a friend’s.

“It’s something that is both fun and practical,” he said. “My biggest takeaway from Scouting is the leadership and confidence it gave me, being comfortable delegating a task but also following directions as well. My speaking skills have also grown a lot.”

Kraft said the highlight of his time in Scouts was the summer camp at Lake of the Ozarks two years ago, where he and Tristen stood in front of all the campers around a campfire and sang a song.

For his Eagle Scout project, Kraft had to think of a community service project that neither he nor his troop benefitted from. Kraft is a senior at Van Buren County High School, and his first thought was to undertake a project at the school, but nothing jumped out at him. He reached out to Cradle of Hope Pregnancy Resource Center in Mt. Pleasant, where his mother Alisha Vandenberg works, to see what the organization needed. Vandenberg said she and others at Cradle of Hope gave Kraft a few suggestions, and mentioned that they could use more storage space for the moms who stay there.

Kraft and others in the Construction Academy at Van Buren built three wheeled storage units, each with a 2 by 3 foot base that stands 6 feet tall. These lockable storage totes are stored in the garage but can now be easily moved to wherever the moms need them. Vandenberg said the project brought a smile to her face.

“I’m extremely proud of him,” Vandenberg said of her son.

Garretson said he’s been around Kraft since he was 5 years old, and that he’s become an “awesome young man.”

“He came up with this project by himself, and got everything arranged,” Garretson said. “He’s matured into a responsible young man. If I dropped my billfold, he’d be the one to bring it back. He’s involved in his church, and plays in the band there, too.”

Garretson said Scouting has been a great way for him and Tristen to spend quality father-son time together, doing things they likely would not have done otherwise, such as tent camping.

“We as a family go camper camping, but tent camping is a totally different ballgame,” he said. “You figure out how to make do with what you have.”

Kraft lives in Stockport, and joining a Boy Scout troop in Van Buren County was not possible for him since that county lost its troop years ago. Today, a youngster in the Fairfield area would have to join the Boy Scout troop in either Ottumwa or Mt. Pleasant if they wished to participate.

Garretson said Scouting was hit hard by the pandemic, which caused participation rates to drop by a third. He has such a high opinion of Scouting that he’s sad to see this Fairfield chapter’s time come to an end.

“Boy Scouts is not just camping; it also teaches the basics of life, stuff that’s kind of been dropped by the school system,” he said. “It teaches you how to get along with people, how to be a productive member of society and not a drain on it.”