The road to achieving Eagle Scout is a long one. Full of merit badges, volunteer service hours, a project, and board of review, achieving Scouting’s highest rank is no overnight task. But for 65-year-old Hugh White, the road to Eagle didn’t take a couple years like most teenage Scouts – his journey took 50 years.

After completing his Eagle Scout project at age 15 in which he controlled erosion and cleaned his local creek, going before an Eagle Scout board of review was the final task before receiving the honorable rank. Yet, scheduling for the review and a change in his troop’s leadership seemed to derail the, usually timely, Eagle Scout process.

Decades passed but White didn’t give up on the award. He petitioned for the Scouting rank several times through the years; however, his lack of documentation in the form of his Eagle Scout application hindered the process from moving further.

The situation seemed futile until a day in December changed everything.

After cleaning his mother’s attic, White encountered a surprising discovery: his completed Eagle Scout application.

Find out how Hugh’s unlikely finding and 50 years of persistence led him to become a new Eagle Scout at age 65 by checking out the full story at the Ledger Enquirer.