Red Brush Cabin Sees Upgrades From Eagle Scout Projects
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
There's the idea of being prepared and then there's putting the motto to the test.
Every Eagle Scout candidate faces this reality check when they undertake a project for the coveted badge.
Brian Gambill and Nick Stiles put their preparation skills to the test this summer as they worked on and around the two-story cabin at Red Brush Village on the Kosciusko County Fairgrounds.
Gambill, 15, spent 185 hours on the handicapped-accessible ramp on the cabin's south side, front steps and a rail around the cabin's porch.
"My project had to be done by fair time," he said. "I spent three or four hours a day on it for three or four weeks."
Brian's father, Tom, is the leader of Troop 730. Jim Smelser of Back to the Days of Kosciusko contacted him about the needed work.
Stiles, also 15, began the brick path a few days ago. It still needs to be leveled and cleared of sand.
He said his project went a lot faster than he anticipated. He didn't count on pumping water out of the 9-inch deep pathway, though.
Eagle Scout projects have to be approached in a methodical order, with concept, design, donation lists, pictures and other statements recorded in a 12-page journal.
Eagle Scout projects have to benefit the community. The boys must personally solicit donations instead of doing fundraisers.
Gambill said people often didn't show up when they said they would and that came as a surprise.
"I often had to change plans because materials or people hadn't arrived," he said. "I also had to manage things. Mr. Smelser just let me do it."
Smelser, dressed in his town crier re-enactment garb, leaned on his staff, shrugged and smiled.
"They said they could do it, so I let them," he said.
"The deck is as close to being period correct as possible. Of course they didn't have ramps in the 1850s, but we have children in wheelchairs that would like to get inside."
The cabin has electricity but no running water yet. There are materials, wood for frames and the glass for windows, which may be another Eagle Scout project opportunity. [[In-content Ad]]
Latest News
E-Editions
There's the idea of being prepared and then there's putting the motto to the test.
Every Eagle Scout candidate faces this reality check when they undertake a project for the coveted badge.
Brian Gambill and Nick Stiles put their preparation skills to the test this summer as they worked on and around the two-story cabin at Red Brush Village on the Kosciusko County Fairgrounds.
Gambill, 15, spent 185 hours on the handicapped-accessible ramp on the cabin's south side, front steps and a rail around the cabin's porch.
"My project had to be done by fair time," he said. "I spent three or four hours a day on it for three or four weeks."
Brian's father, Tom, is the leader of Troop 730. Jim Smelser of Back to the Days of Kosciusko contacted him about the needed work.
Stiles, also 15, began the brick path a few days ago. It still needs to be leveled and cleared of sand.
He said his project went a lot faster than he anticipated. He didn't count on pumping water out of the 9-inch deep pathway, though.
Eagle Scout projects have to be approached in a methodical order, with concept, design, donation lists, pictures and other statements recorded in a 12-page journal.
Eagle Scout projects have to benefit the community. The boys must personally solicit donations instead of doing fundraisers.
Gambill said people often didn't show up when they said they would and that came as a surprise.
"I often had to change plans because materials or people hadn't arrived," he said. "I also had to manage things. Mr. Smelser just let me do it."
Smelser, dressed in his town crier re-enactment garb, leaned on his staff, shrugged and smiled.
"They said they could do it, so I let them," he said.
"The deck is as close to being period correct as possible. Of course they didn't have ramps in the 1850s, but we have children in wheelchairs that would like to get inside."
The cabin has electricity but no running water yet. There are materials, wood for frames and the glass for windows, which may be another Eagle Scout project opportunity. [[In-content Ad]]