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Logan Miller, a senior atAlexander Central HIghSchool, donated more than150 hours of his time - afterschool and on the weekends -creating a picnic table andhorseshoe pits for theBethlehem CommunityCenter.

The Boy Scout from TroopNo. 275 labored for a monthon his Eagle Scout projectfundraising by collectingscrap metal donations fromfamily and friends. Next,Logan said he purchasedlumber, sand, cement andbolts at Lowes. He then pre-cut the lumber to size andlandscaped the horseshoe pitoutside of the BethlehemCommunity building.

A special Eagle Scoutrecognition ceremony tookplace inside of the BethlehemCommunity building andfamily and friends recognizedLogan's achievement onMonday, May 13, 2013.

“He definitely showedleadership skills,” said AlanGarren, assistant Scout mas-ter. “He wanted to do some-thing that would improve thecommunity and give back tothe community. It was good tosee him earn a sense ofaccomplishment.”

During the ceremony,Logan honored Garren,assistant Scout master, withthe mentor pin for motivatinghim along the way. He alsothanked his parents for theirsupport.

He is the son of Jon Millerand Marquita Pope.

“I'm proud of him. Hedrew the design and wentabove and beyond the idea,”said Jon Miller, Scout leaderand his father. “He earned allof the merit badges.”

Paying close attention toall of the small details, Logansaid "he learned how to man-age time, how to lead othersin work and teach youngerpeople skills they need toknow."

In scouting, he is an Orderof the Arrow member and isactive in Mt. Bethel UnitedMethodist Church and workspart-time at Lowe's grocerystore.

In addition to providingfamily members a place toplay with their children, thepicnic tables also provide thecommunity with a place to eatoutside and enjoy the out-doors.

Logan said he plans onstaying involved in scoutingby volunteering in the com-munity.

Garren said in the past sixyears, the troop has had fourboys earn their Eagle Scout.

According to the Scoutswebsite, The Eagle ScoutAward is the highest rank ofscouting, the last major stepin the advancement program.Less than 2 percent of allscouts in the U.S. reach theEagle rank.

Scouts must receive 21merit badges and carry out acommunity service project.

Miller earnsEagle Scout inBeth. Troop 275

BETHLEHEM PACK 275 - Members of the Bethlehem Scout Pack 275 arepictured above during Logan Miller’s Eagle Scout presentation. Pictured fromthe left are. First row: Allen Garren, Jr., Joshua Huffman, Jeremy Starnes,Alex Cozad, Donovan Smith and Robbie Huffman. Second row: Allen Garren,Tyler Gant, Logan Miller and Jon Miller. Back: Jason Foster and Chris Starnes.

Have you ever wonderedwhy June is the most popularwedding month? Historically,June has always been themost popular month, for it isnamed after Juno, Romangoddess of marriage. Thisgoddess supposedly broughtprosperity and happiness toall who wed in her month.June also signified the end ofLent and the arrival ofwarmer weather. In medievaltimes that also meant it wastime to remove winter cloth-ing and partake in one'sannual bath.

Weddings also have ahodgepodge of traditions andcustoms that vary significant-ly from country to country.The multi-billion dollar wed-ding industry has played onthe idea of customs as a salespitch for their services.Paying for maintaining thetraditions has definitely light-ened the finances of manyparents of the bride. For allof history, the joining of abride and groom, and theestablishment of a newhousehold, has been viewedas such an important devel-opment that a great deal ofsuperstition has cropped uparound the event.

Let's take a look at someof the most prevalent tradi-tions in the WesternHemisphere. One of themost common traditionsinvolves what the bridewears. You have probablyheard the saying "somethingold, something new, some-thing borrowed, somethingblue, a silver sixpence insideyour shoe." No one is reallysure when this custom start-ed. It is believed by many tohave begun during theVictorian era, while othersargue that it started muchearlier. The old is to stand fora bride's ties to her past; thenew represents her hope forthe future; and the borrowedmeans friendship. The bluecustom originated withancient Israelite brides, whowere instructed to wear gar-ments bordered with thecolor blue, which represent-ed purity, love, and fidelity.Something silver is any typeof silver coin that is tuckedinto one of the bride's shoesto represent wealth and pros-perity.

Many other marriage tra-ditions have become part oftraditional and non-tradition-al marriage ceremonies.Some of the more commontraditions include:

The Bouquet and Garter -Today, the bride carries flow-ers that often match thebridesmaids' dresses.Ancient Roman brides carriedgarlic and dill under theirwedding veils as symbols offertility and fidelity and as away to ward off evil spiritsand the plague. Over time,brides added better-smellingflora to the arrangement.Also, each type of blossomrepresented a special aspectof the couple's future.Throwing the bouquet is tra-ditionally the bride's way ofwishing luck to the unmar-ried girls in the crowd. Singleladies in attendance at thewedding reception are invit-ed to come up and try tocatch the bride's bouquet.This is a custom that repre-sents which lady will be thenext to be married. As thecustom goes, she is to take asmall piece of the weddingcake home and slip it underher pillow that very night.She will then have a dreamabout the man she will soonmarry. Throwing the garterusually occurs when the bou-quet is tossed. Throwing thegarter replaced the practiceof French guests rushing thebride at the altar to snag apiece of her dress, which wasconsidered a piece of goodluck.

At the "Altar" - The reasonthe bride traditionally standsto the left of the groom at thealtar is symbolic of the now-defunct practice of marriageby capture. It enables thegroom to keep his right(sword) hand free to defendher from attack and captureby jealous rivals.

The Wedding Gown - Thebridal gown as we know ittoday was first introduced byEmpress Eugenie, a leader offashion. She wore the whitegown at her wedding toNapoleon III, who ruledFrance from 1853 to 1871.The early Romans wore whiteon their sacred days todenote purity. The church hasalways considered white afestive color emblematic ofpurity.

Flower Girl - The flowergirl's role in the weddingdates from the Middle Ages.Two little girls, usually sis-

ters, dressed alike and car-ried wheat before the bridein the marriage procession,symbolizing the wish that themarriage would be fruitful.Later, flowers replaced thewheat, and it became cus-tomary to strew the flowerson the ground before thebride.

The Bridal Shower - It isbelieved that the first bridalshower took place in Hollandwhen a maiden fell in lovewith a poor miller. Her fatherforbade the marriage, butthe miller's friends "show-ered" the bride with gifts soshe would be able to marrywithout the benefit of thetraditional dowry whichhelped most brides set uphousekeeping. Years later, anEnglishwoman heard of agood friend who was to bemarried and wanted to giveher a gift to express her con-gratulations. But the giftseemed too small.Remembering the story ofthe Dutch girl and the miller,she called the bride's friendsand suggested they presenttheir gifts at the same time.The party was so successfulthat others tried it, and bridalshowers have been held eversince.

The Ring - The idea of thewedding ring itself dates backto ancient times, when a hus-band would wrap circles ofbraided grass around hisbride's wrist and ankles,believing it would keep herspirit from leaving her body.The bands evolved intoleather, carved stone, metal,and later silver and gold. It islikely that the first "weddingrings" were used by theEgyptians. The circle of thering represents mutual loveand affection roundly flowingfrom one to the other. Thewedding ring is placed on thethird finger of the left handbecause it was believed thatthis finger is connecteddirectly to the heart by the"vena amoris," or vein oflove. The diamond engage-ment ring is a fairly recentphenomena based on mar-keting strategies of diamondsellers such as DeBeers.

The Wedding Cake - Thewedding cake originated inearly Rome, where a loaf ofwheat bread was broken overthe bride's head to symbolizehope for a fertile and fulfill-ing life. The guests ate thecrumbs which were believedto be good luck. The tradi-tional white, frosted weddingcake is an updated version ofthe grain cake. It has alwaysbeen a "special" food, atleast symbolically, because itis communal: everyone eatsfrom it, both as a sign ofunion and also as a way ofwishing luck to the newly-married couple.

Wedding Attendants - Thecustom of having attendantsin the bridal party has its ori-gin in superstition. It was for-merly believed that havingthe attendants all dressedsimilarly to the bridal couplewould confuse the evil spiritsso they would not knowwhich ones were being mar-ried. An old Roman customdictated that every weddinghave at least ten witnesses.The earliest tradition inbridesmaid fashion involveddressing the bridesmaidsexactly the same as the bride.As with many older tradi-tions, the idea was that bysetting up lookalikes, anytroublesome spirits in thearea could not fixate on thebride. Today, brides pick thecolor of bridesmaids' dresses.Some say that the use of limegreen, tangerine, or fuchsiaensured that the bride wouldbe the best-looking girl in thechurch.

The Wedding Kiss - Thewedding kiss symbolizesmore than just an endear-ment. In Roman times, a legalbond or contract was alwayssealed with a kiss. Therefore,when newlyweds kiss, it rep-resents an agreement toenter into a life-long contractwith each other. Somebelieve the wedding kisssymbolizes an exchange ofone's soul with another.When the bride and groomkiss, their souls mingletogether.

The Bridal Veil - The wed-ding veil probably originatedas a way to ward off evil andprotect the purity of thebride. The veiling of the bridehas origins in the idea thatshe's vulnerable to enchant-ment, so she must be hiddenfrom evil spirits. The Romansveiled brides in flame-coloredveils to actually scare offthose spirits. Some say it wasa way for grooms in arrangedmarriages not to see thebride in case they did not like

what they saw. The Honeymoon -

Honeymoons began as aNorse tradition in which thebride and groom went intohiding for 30 days. Duringeach of those days, a friendor family member wouldbring them a cup of honeywine, so that 30 days of con-sumption equaled a "honey-moon." Some villages inAfrica required an olderwoman to accompany thenewlyweds into their bed-room on the first night oftheir marriage in order to"show the bride the ropes".Although this was usually avillage elder, sometimes itwas be the brides own moth-er. And you thought your par-ents were nosy!

The Other Half - The term"the other half" stems froman early Greek superstition.The Greeks believed thatwhen a man fell in love with awoman and married her, hewas simply being reunitedwith the half of himself thathad been severed from himearlier by a supernaturalpower. Love at first sightproved he had found his"other half," later to bedubbed "the better half."

Throwing Rice - Throwingrice, grain, or nuts at a wed-ding is one of the oldestsuperstitions, and has itsroots in fear of evil spirits.Today, throwing rice at thenew couple after their wed-ding ceremony signifies thatthey wish the couple happi-ness and prosperity. In recentyears rice has been replacedwith things such as birdseedand even blowing bubbles. Ithas been thought that rice ishard to clean up, and birdscould just eat the birdseed.Bubbles are festive, so theyhave become quite popularover the years as well.

Carrying the Bride acrossthe Threshold - Originating inRome, the bride used to haveto be carried across thethreshold because she was(or pretended to be) reluc-tant to enter the bridal cham-ber. In those days, it was con-sidered ladylike to be hesi-tant at this point - or at leastto look hesitant. Another leg-end has it that the bride wascarried over the threshold toprotect her from any evil spir-its lingering there.

Wedding Cars - Cars areusually decorated with flow-ers, or a sign that says JustMarried, or hung with tincans. These tin cans clankalong the pavement as thecar moves. The noise it makesis believed to ward off evilspirits. It's interesting to notethat the decorating of the caris generally done by thegroom's male friends -- menwho effectively have losttheir chances with the bridewho is being whisked away.

Weddings in America arejust as diverse as the couplewho comes together to sharetheir lives forever. Today,fewer couples chose the tra-ditional church wedding, butchoose other places such asbeaches, a garden, or otheroutdoor locations. Othercouples are more adventur-ous and pick an assortmentof venues to exchange their "IDos". Some couples go all outwith their creativity to maketheir wedding unique. Somecouples have gotten marriedairborne, under the sea or upthe mountains. Whereverthey marry, they are creatinga whole new set of traditions.

Sources:http://www.elitedresses.com/American_Wedding_Customs_s/63.htmh t t p : / / w w w. h o w s t u f f -works.com/culture-tradi-tions/cultural-traditions/10-wedding-traditions-with-sur-prising-origins.htm#page=4http://www.limarriages.com/customs.htmlh t t p : / / l i s t 2 5 . c o m /2 5 -extremely-strange-wedding-traditions/http://www.theamerican-wedding.com/blog/2009/wedding-traditions-and-super-stitions-part-1/

“WEDDING TRADITIONS”

HARBINSON & BRZYKCYJOEL C. HARBINSON • CARYN LEE BRZYKCY

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