EAST BERLIN, Pa. — You wouldn't typically find a teen willingly cleaning, let alone doing so in a cemetery.
But Clayton Hackman is far from your average 16-year-old.
This past April, the Eagle Scout helped fix more than 120 headstones on the grounds of East Berlin Cemetery.
"I think it's a duty of the community to help these people," said Hackman. "East Berlin has been here since the late 1700s and I think we should honor them and honor their lives."
The headstones were weathered, damaged and some centuries old.
"They were covered in moss, mold and just really gross," said Hackman.
This effort took a lot of elbow grease, scrubbing and polishing the headstones.
"We cleaned the stones, we straightened the stones at their bases, we repaired the stones," said Hackman. "It was relatively a long process that took two days to do."
It also took teamwork. Help from his father and fellow Troop 88 Lake Meade scouts made it happen.
As part of his Eagle project, Clayton led a group of volunteers over those 48 hours. He says the entire crew felt compelled to leave the space better than they found it, to honor those who are no longer with us.
"A lot of Civil War veterans are in here and a lot of veterans from World War I," said his father, Ray Hackman. "This is the history of your community."
Clayton's father credits his son's values and work ethic to the Boy Scouts of America Program.