Chris and Sharon Hill celebrated the achievements of their sons Aaron (l-r), Travis and Michael, now all Eagle Scouts, during a pig roast at Albert Road Park in Milltown in July. SPOTSWOOD — In a span of five years, all three brothers in one Spotswood family have achieved the Boy Scouts’ highest honor — earning the rank of Eagle Scout.
Travis Hill, now 23, earned his award in 2008; Michael Hill, 20, received his in 2011; and Aaron “A.J.” Hill, 18, just earned his this year. All served with Boy Scout Troop 84 in Spotswood.
The three brothers have been involved with Scouting since they became Tiger Cubs in first grade.
Travis, a Rutgers University graduate, was the first to plan out his Eagle project, which improved the grounds of St. Peter’s Church on Main Street. He began the project in October 2007 and completed the effort in June 2008.
“We power-washed the mold that was found on the outside of the church and rectory, pulled out a lot of weeds, filled in the cracks of the masonry and put in a flowerbed,” he said.
During the cleanup process, Travis and his helpers came upon a previous Eagle Scout’s project — a display case of a map laying out the locations of graves — that needed some refurbishing.
“We added that into my project,” Travis said.
The group had to be careful not to change anything physically because St. Peter’s is one of the oldest parishes in New Jersey, dating back to the 18th century.
The expected man-hours on the project were 120, but the project ultimately involved 244 man-hours.
Michael’s project included two parts — building five benches to be placed outside Spotswood High School and cleaning up an outside courtyard space near the school library.
“Before the benches, there was nowhere to sit [for students] waiting for the bus,” he said. “It was in 2010 when an art teacher suggested to me the benches. … They are well-used.”
Michael said he spent a weekend cutting up the wood for the benches and spent time taking out the weeds and rocks in the courtyard.
“There are four trees out there now,” he said, adding that his project took 96 manhours.
Michael Hill is now a student at Montclair State University.
A.J., a student at Brookdale Community College, created a flowerbed garden in front of the Monroe Township Jewish Center on Cornell Avenue.
Over the 2012 Labor Day weekend, A.J. and his friends and family spent 161 manhours creating the garden with a brick perimeter.
“It’s a seasonal garden,” he said. “The extra mulch that we did not use was donated to the Jamesburg Library.”
All materials for the projects were do- nated by businesses in Middlesex County.
A.J. said he still keeps an eye on the garden with the help of his mom, Sharon.
“We maintain it,” he said.
Sharon said she could not have asked for three better kids.
“They are respectful, they help other people, they know emergency and first aid, and they are self-sufficient,” she said.
Their father, Chris, said the life skills they learned in the Scouts will stay with them forever.
Contact Kathy Chang at [email protected].