It’s not an easy endeavor, but for Elijah Johnson it was worth it.

And a legacy he wanted to be a part of.

Joining his dad, brother, uncle, great-uncle and about 7 percent of all Boy Scouts, Johnson recently earned the highest rank of Eagle Scout.

An honor few achieve, the distinction is respected throughout the world for the hard work, leadership, determination, commitment to service and other positive qualities recipients exhibit.

A 2024 graduate of Kingfisher High School and the son of David Johnson and Mechelle Windham, Johnson has been active in Scouting for more than 11 years and is a member of Kingfisher BSA Troop 196.

Under the leadership of his father as Scoutmaster, who rechartered the troop in 2014, and Assistant Scoutmaster Brian Miller, Johnson completed his Eagle Scout service project at the end of 2023, replacing the dilapidated merry-goround at Shaw Park.

In his quest, Johnson progressed through the ranks of Tenderfoot, Second Class, First Class, Star and the last rank before Eagle Scout, Life Scout.

To achieve Eagle Scout, 21 badges are required including citizenship, first aid, cooking, emergency preparedness, personal fitness, camping, family life as well as other beneficial life skills.

Scouts must spend at least six months at each rank attaining knowledge and badges as well as hold a leadership position within the troop.

One of the final steps is to plan, develop and provide leadership to others while completing a service project.

When considering a way to give back to the community, Johnson said he recalled spending his childhood days at Shaw Park and over the years watched the carousel fall into a state of disrepair, to the point of essentially being inoperable.

“The old one I felt was a bit of a hazard since it was lopsided, rusty and wasn’t really suitable for a city park,” Johnson said.

“I just thought that something needed to be done about it, so I figured I might as well do it.”

Working in conjunction with the City of Kingfisher, Johnson chose several different carousel options he thought might work well as a replacement and presented them to city officials.

“I picked out a few that I thought would work best and after talking to city officials about which one they felt would work, in the end they chose the one I figured would be best,” Johnson said.

At a cost of $10,000, the city agreed to provide half of the cost for the merrygo- round and it was up to Johnson to raise the remaining $5,000.

“It took a little while to raise the money,” Johnson said, “but overall, it was a nice experience getting to go around to Kingfisher businesses and raise the money for the project.”

Once all the funds were secured, Johnson said, he worked with the city to order the carousel and once it arrived he, along with members of the troop and other volunteers, spent approximately three days assembling it offsite at Kingfisher Park.

During that time there were some challenges, Johnson said.

The carousel required safety bolts and a special bit, Johnson said, and “the lock nuts tended to seize up and then the only thing we could do was cut them and order new lock nuts, which did delay us a bit.”

Once it was assembled and the concrete foundation completed at Shaw Park, city employees took responsibility for handling the heavy equipment during installation, Johnson said.

Now available for children to enjoy, Johnson said the new carousel sits on the same site and “is similar to the old one, but certainly more stable.”

Reflecting on why he chose to push himself to attain the honor of Eagle Scout, Johnson said, “My father is an Eagle Scout and ever since I was little it was always on my mind, but it was probably about three years ago that I decided I should take this seriously.

“I knew that I could do it, but with only about 7 percent of Scouts achieving the Eagle rank, it was something I ended up getting a bit nervous about, especially as I got closer to my 18th birthday,” Johnson added.

“I actually completed it a week before my 18th birthday, so I was really cutting it close. It is certainly a big honor for me.”

Although he may have cut it down to the wire, Johnson added his name to an elite list, just like his father, brother and others in his family.

Other family history in Scouting includes Johnson’s grandfather (Mike Johnson) and great-grandfather (Don Johnson) who were also involved in Boy Scouts, with Don attending the very first National Jamboree in 1937 under Geen Gilmour as Scoutmaster, as well as his aunt, Lori Johnson, who earned the highest rank of Wohelo Medallion in the Camp Fire organization.

Throughout his many years of Scouting, Johnson said he has held various roles of leadership within the troop including senior patrol leader and assistant patrol leader.

Recounting some of the many things he’s learned, Johnson said, “In general the Scouting program promotes a strong sense of brotherhood and they’re always helping you to work together.

“That’s something that I really do like about the program.”

He’s earned over 35 merit badges, although he admits it isn’t something he’s paid particular attention to keeping up with.

Some of his favorite badges he earned were in music as well as coin collecting, he said. “One of my favorite parts of being in the Scouting program is going on campouts, where every night we would just sit by the campfire, singing songs and telling stories,” Johnson said.

Another favorite experience, Johnson said, was when he attended the National Jamboree in West Virginia this past summer.

“It was a fun and interesting experience getting to meet people from all around the country,” he said.

While working to attain Eagle Scout, Johnson said the process helped him develop leadership skills and sense of community, understanding what the community is about and being a part of it.

With a passion for music and the performing arts, Johnson is a member of the Kingfisher High School choir as well as band and theater.

Upon graduation, Johnson said he plans to take classes at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Mass., and pursue a career in music, specifically the performing arts.

With years of Scouting influence in his life, Johnson said he would tell others interested in joining that “you’ll get to spend a lot of time in the outdoors if that’s something you enjoy and there are all sorts of activities, either while camping or on other events, there will always be fun things you can do.

“You will also get to meet all sorts of people and get to experience a strong sense of brotherhood with members of your troop.”

Additionally, he said if you choose to pursue becoming an Eagle Scout, “It certainly won’t be easy, but I would say it is worth doing.

“Actually I’m not sure anything that’s worth doing is going to be easy.”