THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, April 6, 1995 TAG: 9504040127
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JOAN C. STANUS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 63 lines
The first three wanted to be able to drive the family car.
But the youngest Graham brother never cared much about driving. Even now, at 18, Jeff Graham still doesn't have his driver's license.
No, what spurred him into becoming the fourth, and last, Graham son to earn the highest level in Scouting, the Eagle Scout, was constant ribbing and not-so-subtle pressure from his three older brothers.
``Slacker,'' older brother Jon mercilessly teased Jeff just before the younger sibling received the prestigious badge of honor at a March 25 ceremony at Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church on Little Creek Road.
``He made it just under the wire, didn't he?'' added James, 25.
Jeffrey Graham, a senior at Granby High School, completed the Eagle requirements just four days before his 18th birthday, the deadline for earning the award.
``I had a goal to have it done before September, but I didn't finish a project I was doing at the Lafayette Villa Nursing Home,'' Jeff explained. ``I built them a mobile storage cabinet, and it took a lot longer than I thought.''
At that comment, his three older brothers looked at each other and rolled their eyes.
``Sure,'' they said, laughing in unison.
The Eagle Scout legacy in the Graham household began when parents Linda and David Graham dangled a carrot in the form of the family car in front of their older sons. They told the boys they would be allowed to drive the car, dubbed ``The Green Monster,'' alone once they earned Eagle Scout.
The ``grandmother principal,'' as Linda calls it, worked.
``We figured they needed to show us some measure of responsibility before they could drive by themselves,'' she explained. ``In my eyes, that was getting to be an Eagle. It worked for all of them, except for Jeff. He had no desire to drive.''
``After the first one, each one basically shamed the others into it,'' added David, a retired Navy submarine yeoman.
A warmly competitive, close-knit clan, the Graham family are avid campers and backpackers, so it was natural they should join the Scouting program. Each son signed up for Cub Scouts at age 8 and stuck with Scouting for the next 10 years. When David Graham was transferred to Norfolk in the early '80s, the boys joined Troop 180 based at the church.
``They've always been the most active guys,'' noted John Matroni, the troop's Scoutmaster for the last 35 years. ``They all have great character ... and they really stuck to it. It's very rare for one family to have all four sons earn Eagle Scout.
``Nationally, only 2 percent of Scouts go that far. But in the Graham house, it's 100 percent.''
Not quite. Although Dad was a Scout, he never became an eagle.
``I wasn't an eagle, and I let them know early on it was mistake,'' admitted David, not quite 50 years old. ``They all took my advice.''
His wife added: ``We're very proud of them. I couldn't be happier.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo by GARY C. KNAPP
Clockwise, from back left: Jon Graham, James Graham, Joel Graham,
Scoutmaster John Matroni and Jeffrey Graham.
by CNB