Like great-grandfather, like great-granddaughters.

Two girls with Butler County ties, Kana and Ari Walsh, recently earned the rank of Eagle Scout, following in the footsteps of their great-grandfather, who, throughout his life, had been a proponent for Scouting and the values and skills it teaches.

Kana, the older of the sisters, said she and Ari got involved in Scouts BSA while in Africa, and she did a project based on the type of home her family was living in at the time, which was made of scrap metal. This was followed by a project where she looked at coastal flooding and flood zones.

Kana said she combined her Scouting knowledge with service with the American Red Cross while in Africa.

“I was one of the youngest volunteers for Red Cross,” Kana said. “I was able to be an interpreter through Scouting.”

The Walsh family lived in Saxonburg, but Kana said they are now in Europe where their father is doing research for a university.

They travel the world with their father, Michael Walsh, whose grandfather, Thomas King Jr., was not only an Eagle Scout, but also a Butler County commissioner later in life.

Walsh said King was a huge influence on his life, which could be why Kana and Ari opted to join Scouts BSA after a brief stint with Girl Scouts when they were young. Walsh said the route his daughters took lines up with his family history.

“They thought BSA Scouting was more in line with their interests,” Walsh said.

Kana completed her project that netted her the rank of Eagle Scout last year, when she raised funds for her school’s track team.

Ari completed her Eagle Scout project this year, which was to build a flower garden at a community center. According to Kana, she and her sister each got merit badges through Moraine Trails Council, the Scouts BSA district that serves Armstrong, Butler, Lawrence and Westmoreland counties.

Kana said her project came out of noticing a need and working to fill it.

“It was something I saw needed to be filled, and it was personal to me,” she said.

This mindset has been a trend throughout Kana’s life. She said that in 2020, during the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic, she started a “mapathon” project with the Red Cross.

The Red Cross even has an article on its website which, written by Kana, explains how the program works. Volunteers used Red Cross’ tasking manager to pick a project to support, which includes reviewing satellite imagery for their area and tracing missing features. Through the app MapSwipe, volunteers pinpointed where critical infrastructure and populations are located, allowing mappers to focus only on areas where they know features need to be mapped.

Kana writes “each year, disasters around the world kill nearly 100,000 people and affect or displace 200 million. Many of the places where these disasters occur are literally ‘missing’ from digital maps, so first responders lack the information to make valuable decisions about relief efforts.”

She said the mapathon was an effort to bring people together to help populations worldwide that are not on the maps.

“We did edits and had participation around the world, and it was an amazing bonding experience,” Kana said. “The unity we got through doing this service together was so amazing.”

Kana said the COVID-19 pandemic allowed her and her sister to continue growing their life and survival skills through Scouting. Skills like “being able to protect myself and others, just the idea of being prepared,” are some of the most appealing parts of Scouting to Kana.

“In BSA, we were doing jamborees online and campfires and merit badges online around the world,” Kana said. “My sister and I set up a six-person tent in my living room, appreciating everything and we take it for granted a lot.”

Now 18 years old, Kana said she hopes to continue Scouting in at least one way. She mentioned Sea Scouting and Adventure Scouts USA — both offshoots of Scouts BSA — as potential organizations she would like to get into and stay involved in for as long as she is eligible. Sea Scouting is a sea-oriented leg of Scouting, and Adventure Scouts involves hiking and climbing, Kana said.

“I'm hoping to get into those,” she said.

Walsh said King had served in the military during World War II, prior to being a county commissioner in Butler County. He was named a Distinguished Citizen of 1998 by the Moraine Trails Council. Walsh said that even after all of his service, his grandfather still venerated his time in Scouting, and his accomplishments in Scouting were included in his obituary in 2008.

“He was proud of three things in his life,” Walsh said. “His government work, his military service and his Scouting.”

His appreciation of Scouting also was evident in his home.

“He had the Boy Scouts USA stuff in his bedroom,” Walsh said.

Walsh took his grandfather’s enthusiasm for Scouting to heart, and still remembers the way he spoke about his time in Scouting. It was like he never left the field, because, in some ways, he never did.

“It wasn’t just something he thought was important,” Walsh said, “for my grandfather, it was a fundamental part of your life.”

Kana, too, maintains a similar view to her grandfather when it comes to Scouting. She and her sister were involved in Scouts BSA councils in Pennsylvania, where her father’s side of the family is from; Hawaii, where the Walsh sisters were born; New Hampshire; Washington, D.C.; Maine; Vermont; and internationally.

She also said she is happy to have reached the rank of Eagle Scout, knowing that her great-grandfather would probably be proud.

“It’s something that stays with you forever,” Kana said. “It’s an honor and privilege you have to maintain.”