Milton Mills Boy Scout soars like an Eagle

Boy Scout Troop leader Raymond Guilmette confers the rank of Eagle Scout on Joey Boulanger of Milton Mills during a ceremony April 19 at St. Anthony's Church in Sanbornville, N.H. (Courtesy photo)

MILTON MILLS - Joey Boulanger of Milton Mills is one busy man.

The 22-year-old Nute High grad volunteers at the Wakefield Food Pantry, works a day a week at Helping Hands in Milton, recently took up glassblowing, snowshoeing and waterskiing and oh yeah, last month achieved Eagle Scout status as a member of Troop 198 in Sanbornville.

Boulanger, who was born with a rare autism-like disorder called Fragile X, organized and spearheaded a project to install a dry hydrant along Guptill Road in Milton Mills for his Eagle Scout project.

The waterless hydrant provides a conduit to a local pond so that firefighters can extract water without the need for cumbersome pumps if a fire should erupt along the road. Now they can run a hose directly to the dry hydrant, explained Roger Libby, Boulanger's stepdad.

Eagle Scout Joey Boulanger stands by the dry hydrant he installed in Milton Mills. (The Lebanon Voice/Harrison Thorp photo)

Boulanger's Eagle Scout installation took place last month during a Court of Honor at St. Anthony's Church in Sanbornville in front of a packed house of more than 100 family, friends and fellow Boy Scouts.

Boulanger smiled and excitedly pointed at pictures from the ceremony on Wednesday at the kitchen table of his Milton Mills home.

Asked what the best thing is about being a Boy Scout he said without hesitation, "Being an Eagle."

Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in Scouting, and it is something Boulanger and his family take great pride in. His younger brother, Dawson Libby, became an Eagle Scout last year.

Milton selectmen plan to honor Boulanger Wednesday in a special ceremony at Town Hall where he'll be named an honorary selectman.

"When we were growing up, he would have been institutionalized," said Roger Libby. "Now we can see that they can do productive things."