Brad Scroggs walked into Lucas Schwaller's childhood home Monday, carrying a small wrapped gift for the father-to-be and his wife, Courtney. "Bradleigh Jo" was written across the gift's tag.
"We always said your firstborn would be named after me," Scroggs joked to the now 29-year-old Schwaller standing before him.
Inside the package was a St. Louis Blues onesie to remind Schwaller - who now lives in Chicago and works at a software company - of his Missouri roots.
Scroggs and Schwaller reminisced, bantered and teased each other like old friends.
In a way, they are.
Scroggs remembers when he and 8-year-old Schwaller first met, bonding over Baskin-Robbins' mint chocolate chip ice cream on a cold November day.
"Once we met, everything just kind of snowballed from there," Scroggs said.
Schwaller laughed.
"Looking back, I don't think I fully comprehended what this would be," he said.
The duo was matched as a Big and Little in the Missouri Valley Big Brothers Big Sisters program in 1992 when Scroggs was 30.
After the loss of Schwaller's father and stepfather early in life, his mother, Carol Harrison, felt her son needed a male role model.
"My wife and I didn't have kids yet," Scroggs said. "I knew I wanted to do something to give back to the community. Big Brothers Big Sisters was a wonderful opportunity to give directly back to someone without much time or financial commitment."
Every question posed to the duo Monday triggered another memory shared.
"I remember we took a trip to St. Louis and went to the Science Center, a Cards game, the art museum and the Arch," Schwaller said. "It was like Ferris Bueller's Day Off in St. Louis."
He remembers Scroggs attending many of his sporting events, playing hockey in the driveway and catch in the backyard.
Many of those interests stuck.
Schwaller still plays hockey in a league in Chicago. He's also taken a liking to jazz music, courtesy of his mentor.
"I always felt like I could introduce him to art and literature," Scroggs said.
"With Brad, it wasn't like "Hey, let's go see a movie,'" Schwaller said. "We did, but there was always something new with him, something to explore. There was always a fun and unique experience to be had."
Scroggs found that as a Big, he wasn't a parent, but someone to be there for Schwaller, spend time with him and be a role model.
He was part of Schwaller's support system when his grandmother passed away unexpectedly during his childhood.
"For us, it was like he came instantly," Harrison said about Scroggs. "I have three words to describe Brad: role model, mentor and friend always. He was always there for Lucas when things came up in life."
Scroggs was a reader in Schwaller's 2012 wedding.
And, even the Little has become a role model for Scroggs' two sons.
"We still talk regularly, and they're like nephews to me," Schwaller said.
Lee Knernschield, program director for Missouri Valley Big Brothers Big Sisters, said relationships like Scroggs and Schwallers' are common within the organization.
"We have a lot of Bigs and Littles come back years later and say how much it means to them," she said.
Schwaller admitted he didn't realize how important the relationship is to him until much later.
"As I'm becoming a father myself, the impact he (Scroggs) had on me as a man is very important," Schwaller said. "I hope to get other people to consider the program."
Missouri Valley Big Brothers Big Sisters currently has 50 Littles waiting for a Big - both in the organization's school-based and community-based programs. It's one of the United Way of Central Missouri's 24 partner agencies.
"You're not a dad (or a mom), just a man (or a woman), and once I realized that, the whole world opened up," Scroggs said. "I want to instill in anyone that is considering (being a Big) that it doesn't take money and a whole lot of time. Having done this, I learned so much, grew so much and became a better person.
"I learned that as an adult, you have so much to give."
For additional information about Missouri Valley Big Brothers Big Sisters, visit www.mvbbbs.org, call 634-3290, or email [email protected].