The Sanatoga Post

HE EARNED SCOUTING’S HIGHEST HONOR – The ranks of Eagle Scout award recipients – which includes some of the nation’s most decorated military heroes, astronauts, business executives and community leaders – grew by one Sunday (Jan. 23, 2011), as Pottstown resident Alan James “AJ” Ebersole III received the honor during ceremonies conducted at St. Aloysius Catholic Church’s Begley Hall in the borough. Leaders of Scout Troop 249, left at top, and his father, Alan, at right, watched as his mother, Rita, pinned the red, white and blue-ribboned medal to Ebersole’s uniform in the mid-afternoon event. Ebersole, bottom left, of Third Street, Pottstown, is a senior at Pope John Paul II High School in Royersford PA. He reciprocated in turn, bottom right, by presenting both his parents with mementos of the occasion. In addition, state Rep. Tom Quigley, and Pottsgrove American Legion Post 244 Commander Ed Clark and Adjutant Billy Worrell, attended to offer their congratulations and commendations from the community, the post, and Pottstown Chapter 656 of the Vietnam Veterans of America.

Photos from Billy Worrell

POTTSTOWN PA – When players chase after run-away balls at Soccer Field 3 in Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township‘s Gerald Richards Park, they now have 17-year-old Matthew Kendra to thank for making their effort a little easier.

Eagle Scout candidate Matthew Kendra presented his finished project, installation of steps at a Lower Pottsgrove soccer field, Monday night to appreciative members of the township Parks and Recreation Board.

Kendra – a Royersford PA resident, an Eagle Scout candidate, and a student at Pottstown’s St. Pius X High School – recently built and installed a new set of timber steps at the field on the southwest side of the park along Buchert Road, Pottstown PA. He officially presented his work, which was part of his Eagle Scout education, Monday (Sept. 28, 2009) to appreciative members of the township Parks and Recreation Board.

The set of 19 steps is constructed of 6-inch-square timber railroad ties,  and is meant to help soccer players retrieve errant balls that hop the field’s fence and roll down a steep embankment on the other side.

The new steps represent the fulfillment of months of planning and coordination. Kendra personally solicited money and supplies for the project himself; of its $1,445 cost, all but $14 was covered by donations. He worked with professional engineers to design the steps, and then organized a group of volunteers for a weekend construction event.

In fact, Kendra said, he had plenty of help from several sources.

• Family members donated cash and materials.
• So did the Pottstown Roller Mills, and Home Depot.
• The township Public Works Department excavated the area.
• And 18 volunteers supplied 20 hours of labor.

In addition to construction, Kendra learned a few things about adversity, too. His volunteer corps raced against inclement weather on the second day of installation, he told board members, and when they encountered a large boulder found in Lower Pottsgrove’s typically rocky soil, the steps had to be built around it.

For its part, the Parks and Recreation Board worked with Kendra and his Boy Scout leader, Rich Wood, in understanding his project, granting permission for the installation, and offering suggestions. Board members, for example, favored step treads of wood, bricks or pavers, rather than dirt or gravel. Kendra made requested changes, and got under way.

Board members inspected his final product Monday, during their September monthly meeting. “Job well done!,” board member Dennis Cimino said on behalf of the group. “We sincerely appreciate your project.”

The township Parks and Recreation Board also is working with several other Boy Scouts of America troops on other projects within it parks. Lower Pottsgrove has more than 200 acres of active and passive recreation area.

Related:

• Board Tromps Outside For Look At Land
• Park Master Plan Discussion On Board Agenda

Photo by Jennifer Corley

Editor’s Note: The Post thanks Jennifer J. Corley for e-mailing the material used in this article. The Post welcomes reader contributions! Got news for us? E-mail The Post.

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