Eagle Scout project connects with early Anaheim settlers

Scout cleans headstones, preserves history

By Loreen Berlin

William Stoughton, 17, of Garden Grove, has just completed his Eagle Scout project.

The Eagle Scout Service Project is an opportunity for Scouts to demonstrate leadership of others who volunteer to help them on their project, while performing a project that benefits the community.

Stoughton followed in his brother’s footsteps in preserving history within a local cemetery and cleaning gravesite. He chose Anaheim Cemetery, 1400 E Sycamore St., which was founded in 1866 and has approximately 8,500 in resting.

Both Stoughton brothers chose historic cemeteries. The Anaheim Cemetery’s 16 acres house the oldest mausoleum on the West Coast and are located in a quiet Anaheim neighborhood, which is the final resting place for more than 500 war veterans and several thousand early settlers of Orange County, along with members of families currently living in the area.

Asked if his older brother’s project inspired him to also do work at a cemetery, where he cleaned headstones and photographed them, he said, “Yes, I really enjoyed my brother’s project because his volunteers seemed just as enveloped in the whole process as he was, because of the fascinating nature of reflecting on life and death while helping others.”

Stoughton said he wanted to have the same effect on people with his Eagle Scout project as his brother’s Garden Grove Magnolia Cemetery project. “Luckily I was blessed to have a great group of people who volunteered and enjoyed the project,” Stoughton continued. 

“I wanted to make an impact in the community that would also apply to those around the world. Choosing the Anaheim Cemetery gave me the opportunity to learn more about the Anaheim community,” he said.

Stoughton said cleaning headstones at then cemetery allows families visiting their loved ones to feel they are being properly honored and taken care of. “Documentation of the headstones through BillionGraves.com, a database that gives free access to anyone with a BillionGraves.com account, allows people around the globe an opportunity to view relatives they would otherwise have to make a big trip to see,” he explained.

An Eagle Scout is the highest achievement in the scouting program that began in 1911. Statistics show that only four percent of Scouts earn that rank, which is approximately 2.5 million youth in the world to date.

Receiving the award shows perseverance, discipline, motivation, leadership and accountability of the individual Scout and that skill is recognized when a person enters college or joins the U.S. Military. It is a positive factor on the Scout’s record for life.