By LISA SIMPSON STRANGE
TOMPKINSVILLE — Dr. Michael Carter, 54, of Tompkinsville, was the first Eagle Scout in Monroe County. He will agree to that statement initially, but then he quickly adds a qualifier.
“I completed all the requirements and submitted all the paperwork in before two others, but we all three received the rank at the same time,” he said.
The two other Boy Scouts who also became Eagles at that time were Steve Hagan and David Abney. Carter said he just claims to be the first and they let him get away with it.
“We were all at the same time,” Hagan said. “We received our medals and badges together.”
The three became Eagles in 1970 and then U.S. Congressman Tim Lee Carter awarded the rank to each of the young men during the ceremony.
Scouting has had a positive impact throughout their lives, according to Michael Carter and Hagan. They both said the experience of being a Boy Scout and an Eagle helped mold them into the men they are today.
Being an Eagle Scout really made a difference in how he has led his life, Michael Carter said.
“It really did. Scouting teaches so many different things. It is those 12 things,” he said speaking of the qualities listed in the Scout Law, which he still knows by heart and quickly rattled off. “A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent.”
The values and moral code instilled in the boys who become Scouts stick with them through life, according to Michael Carter.
“Overall, all the people in Scouts with us, none of them ever got into any trouble. You could depend on those people,” he said, then added laughingly, “But they’re not always the best cooks. I remember scrambled pancakes one weekend.”
Michael Carter became a Cub Scout in the 1960s for two years and then became a Boy Scout in 1967 when he was 12.
“I’ve always enjoyed the outdoors. Living in a rural area there wasn’t much to do besides being outside,” said the Monroe County native.
He and the others became involved in Scouting when Troop 23 Scoutmaster Bill Abney, David’s father, came to school one day and made an announcement asking for any boys interested in the program. Michael Carter said Bill Abney, now deceased, was a wonderful leader for the boys and helped make the troop a successful one.
“He was a super guy and dedicated to Scouting. There were six boys who all joined at the same time and the group stayed together for five years,” he said.
A sense of camaraderie, working together and helping one another is one of Michael Carter’s best memories of his time in the Scouts.
“We had two older Scouts who had been in before. They came back and helped. We had a meeting house at the fairgrounds and we would meet every Monday night and we had to build a fire. He (Bill Abney) would give us one match and we worked and worked ... to get that fire going sometimes,” he said.
Hagan said during their weekly meetings it didn’t matter if it was snowing, raining or 65 degrees outside because there were always activities to keep them busy.
“We camped out under the stars. We built signal towers, bridges, dammed up creeks, made ponds. Every bit of it was very enjoyable,” he said.
Michael Carter seemed to recall his time in the Scouts more idyllically than anything else. He remembered going to the Boy Scout Camp at Wildcat Hollow near Russellville during the summer of 1968, the first year it opened. He talked about traveling to Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron, N.M., in 1970, where he got to go mountain climbing and hiking. Then in 1971, members of Troop 23 went to the World Scouting Jamboree in Japan where they had the opportunity to meet Scouts from all over the world.
Hagan, while just as fond of his time as a Scout, remembered another side of the adventures the boys had together.
“I was 15-16 at the time. I was the youngest of the three (Eagles) in Troop 23,” he said. “We went all over the world. We went to Japan for the world jamboree and a typhoon came through while we were there.”
Hagan said the second night they were in Japan the typhoon hit. The Scouts were camped at the base of Mount Fuji, a dormant volcano made up primarily of volcanic rock with little or no vegetation. The typhoon dumped 20 inches of rain on the area causing widespread flooding. The Scouts were trapped without food and only rainwater to drink, he said.
“For three days, they couldn’t get to us,” Hagan said. “It was too wet for a fire. We took dried rice and soaked it in rain water. We didn’t know enough to understand that we were starving to death, about to die.”
After their rescuers arrived, the boys were evacuated to a school in the countryside for about a week. Both Hagan and Michael Carter agreed it ended up being a positive memory.
“It was good,” Hagan said. “We got to experience meeting the people and toured the country.”
Hagan also remembers the trips to Philmont and to other places fondly, but a bit more pragmatically.
“They gave us food and we had what we carried in on our backs (at Philmont). The bears would clean out our food the first night if we weren’t watching,” he said. “Then one time we went to the Bahamas and got to go scuba diving and learn life-saving. It was June 1 and the sun there was different from in Kentucky. One boy the first day got blistered and that was it, he was done for the whole time.”
Even during events that were somewhat more mundane the boys weren’t always immune from danger.
“I almost cut one of my fingers off one time building a fire in competition,” Hagan said. “... Yeah, those were good times.
“We didn’t think it was adversity. We thought it was a party. I loved being out there.”
Even though David Abney has moved away from the area and the other two said they have kind of lost touch with him in recent years, Hagan said all three Eagles have tried to give back to the organization through the years.
“I still think Scouting is great,” Michael Carter said. “I was on the board of directors for the local Boy Scout Council and at one time I was Scoutmaster for two years.”
His son, John Michael Carter, was in Scouting and became a Life Scout, one level below Eagle, he said.
“Bringing up the younger kids in the troop – helping with other troops – that’s what it was all about,” Hagan said.
Both men also attribute the success of their troop to the parents and community members who were always supportive of the Boy Scouts.
“We were fortunate to have parents – fathers ... and mothers – who were involved,” Hagan said. “They didn’t pay for it, though. They made us work for it. And they drug us all over the country to events.”
Michael Carter agreed.
“People don’t realize how much time it takes. I really appreciate all the volunteers when I was in Scouting. They went with us every year to Scout camp. They were always there for us. A lot of parents and community people helped with merit badges. They would take us on hikes. Tell us about trees. Community members helped a lot,” he said.
Steve Hagan’s father, Gene, is another parent who helped out with the troop and he now has an additional connection to Michael Carter. Michael married Terry Lynn Hagan, Steve’s sister and Gene’s daughter, so now the men are in-laws as well.
Gene and Steve Hagan run a successful family business in Tompkinsville, Hagan and Son Wholesale.
Michael Carter is a physician in Tompkinsville at the Monroe County Medical Center, with a successful practice of more than 20 years. He is also a school board member and chairman for Monroe County Schools.
Superintendent Lewis D. Carter said he also grew up in the community and knew about Michael Carter’s Scouting background before serving on the board of education with him. He said Michael was a “good little Boy Scout” and becoming an Eagle Scout was a very big accomplishment to attain and he could see the influence of Scouting on the boy in the man.
“He is all about education. He’s 110 percent for the good of the students. He’s all about business at board meetings. All about children and education,” superintendent Carter said. “He’s very easy to work with.”
Steve Hagan said even today Scouting is the best option for young boys and striving to earn the rank of Eagle Scout is something to which young men should aspire.
“Still, for young men, it is the best program out there. Nothing against sports, but in sports you keep track of the score. In Scouting you don’t keep score,” he said. “ ... I am proud even to this day to put on that (Eagle) medal and patch.”
