EL DORADO HILLS, Calif. — Eagles are by nature solitary creatures, but there's a flock of them in the Ricks household.
Matthew Ricks, 15, this week became the sixth boy in his family to earn his Eagle Scout award — the highest rank in the Boy Scouts of America. He received the honor Dec. 30 at his Mormon church in El Dorado Hills.
Matthew and his brothers are carrying on a family tradition that spans three generations. Matthew's father, Raymond Ricks, was the seventh of his siblings to become an Eagle Scout. His accomplishment, and a subsequent story in the Washington Post, earned the Ricks family a chance to meet President Richard Nixon at the White House.
Artel Ricks, Matthew's grandfather, had six brothers earn their Eagles, although illness prevented him from doing so himself.