At age 71, Edward Holbrook of Canby may be the oldest Boy Scout to ever receive the cherished rank of eagle scout.
It all happened because of a silly paperwork mistake more than 5 decades ago.
“Edward is getting his eagle because he earned it,” his son David Holbrook said in a touching Saturday ceremony. “The only reason he never got the award was a paperwork snafu in the dim distant past.”
Ed Holbrook learned about the paperwork mistake a few months ago when he asked a friend for some old scouting photographs from camp Baldwin on Mount Hood.
His friend found the pictures, but also a piece of paper with Edward’s name on it. It was the missing merit badge certificate that had kept him from earning his eagle scout rank 55 years ago.
“I didn't bring anything up,” said Holbrook. “I simply thought it was cool to finally know I really had earned the award all those years ago.”
However,when daughter-in-law Becky Holbrook heard the news, she quietly sent the paperwork to national
Boy Scout leaders which led to Saturday’s incredible moment in front of a packed 4-H hall at the fairgrounds in Canby.
Holbrook raised two eagle scouts and also has three grandsons and a granddaughter in scouting. All of them helped present him with his cherished eagle medal.
“I’m not that emotional, but that moment really tore me up,” said Holbrook.
