Posted on 09/22/2013 1:57:26 PM PDT by SandRat
The Southern Arizona Veterans’ Memorial Cemetery landscaping looks a bit nicer due to the efforts of Life Scout, Matthew Bean, and his crew of assistants.
On Sept. 14, Matthew planned to improve the landscaping at the Southern Arizona Veterans’ Memorial Cemetery for his Eagle project. The work was done at the base of the four columbarium walls. The dirt and rock at the base of the walls, when dry, is so hard that it takes a hammer and spike to put a hole in the ground for people to put flower vases into the ground for their loved ones.
Matthew and his family showed up at the cemetery at sunrise to prepare for the long day ahead. After the safety briefing, tasks were assigned to individuals. There were 18 people who showed up to assist him with his Eagle project, to include his immediate family, the American Heritage Girls, friends, and a cemetery worker.
Their work was cut out for them — flowers had to be removed; old dirt and rock had to be dug out and moved, and dumped about 40 yards away.
After the removal of the dirt and rock, the depth varied from 2 inches to 6 inches. Eight tons of Red Apache rock was laid down in its place and the flowers returned to the original locations. Approximately half of the pile of rock was used on the first wall.
After completing both sides of the second wall, it was obvious that there was not enough rock to complete his project as expected. After mid-day, Bean’s crew broke for the day and Matthew did his cleanup and called it a day as well.
Matthew conducted a fundraiser to help pay for the rock and tools for his Eagle project. The completion of this project could not be done without the donations that were received from the VFW, American Legion, family, and friends and the hard work and dedication of all the volunteers who showed up. Matthew is happy and proud of what was accomplished and would like to thank everyone who donated and came out to help.
The only thing is...a story like this just cries out for more pictures (hint, hint), LOL!!
Congratulations to ALL who helped with this excellent work and service project - well done!
That’s the only picture the paper had on the story.
Well done. Thanks for posting. Trail Life USA has already developed its advancement program with heavy emphasis on service.
My son just finished his project last weekend. He may be able to earn the Freedom Rangeman too. Our troop is going with Trail Life.
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