Recent Two Harbors graduate Noah Mecklin has earned the rank of Eagle Scout, completing a project that added long‑needed safety improvements to the high school baseball field. Mecklin installed protective fencing in front of both dugouts, a feature common at most fields but missing locally.
A talented baseball player, he chose the project because he wanted to give back to a program that has been part of his life since childhood.
“He’s played baseball his whole life,” his mother, Erin Mecklin, said. “He decided he wanted to install those fences to help the program a little bit.”
Noah planned the project, raised funds from family and friends, and coordinated volunteers. Two Harbors Lumber provided a discount on materials, and Mecklin Contracting assisted with digging the post holes. Noah and a small group of volunteers installed the fencing last fall so it would be ready for this season.
Mecklin was the final Scout in Troop 160, which has now disbanded after more than a century in the community. Participation in local Scouting has declined sharply in recent years, mirroring national trends. Cub Scouting in Two Harbors lost all of its youth during the COVID years, and without younger Scouts moving up, the troop could not sustain itself.
“They are trying to get the Cub Scout troop going again,” Erin said, noting that the council has been working with families to rebuild interest.
Despite the troop’s closure, Noah’s achievement marks the continuation of a long local tradition. Troop 160 has produced several Eagle Scouts in recent years, even as membership dwindled. Mecklin graduated this spring and will attend the University of Minnesota Duluth in the fall to study economics.
