Published: August 15, 2009 12:12 am      

Scout’s Eagle project includes flagpole for Greenhouse Park

The entrance to Greenhouse Park near Tire Hill is much brighter and more patriotic thanks to a young man from Davidsville and his friends.

Joshua Naugle, who is working toward his Eagle Scout badge with Troop 114, Davidsville, led a project to erect a flagpole and beautify the area surrounding it with a flower garden, a trellis, a bench and a couple of trees.

Naugle and his fellow Scouts dedicated the 30-foot-tall flagpole during a ceremony on Flag Day in June.

“I have had the idea to do this project since I was 11,” said the 15-year-old. “My troop held a Flag Day ceremony at Greenhouse Park on Memorial Day when I was 11, and we had to put up a temporary flag.

“I wanted to give Greenhouse Park a permanent flagpole.”

Joshua still has just a little more work to do on his project.

He wants to install lights to shine on the flag.

The dedication ceremony went well. About 75 people attended, he said.

Tom Hiravi, an Eagle Scout from his troop, played taps and the national anthem on the trumpet during the event.

Steele Venet, another member of his troop, sang “God Bless America.”

“It meant a lot to me,” Joshua said about the project.

He said he couldn’t have done it without the support of many people and businesses.

“Everybody was a big help,” he said.

The helpers included fellow Scouts; his parents, Brian and Michele Naugle; his older brother, Robert, who is an Eagle Scout; his uncle and aunt, Larry and Lisa McCracken; an uncle, Bill Naugle; and his grandmother, Donna Thomas.

Area businesses, Rosa Masonry Construction, Township Hardware, Bruce Nursery At Davidsville, Fi-Hoff Concrete Products, Follow Charlie Car Wash, Lowe’s of Johnstown, Pinnacle Chiropractic Spine and Sports Center, Sleek Trucking and Yoder Electric donated materials. Joshua’s aunt, Dwynell Boyer of Hollsopple, donated flowers.

Conemaugh Township, which owns the park, donated the use of its equipment to deliver donated mulch to the site. The township also stored the flagpole at its building and delivered it when it was ready to be erected.

Joshua raised money from family and friends to purchase the pole.

U.S. Rep. John Murtha, D-Johnstown, donated an American flag as did Joanne Rightnour, a friend of Donna Thomas.

The total cost of his project was $3,500.

Joshua said he started planning the project in late winter with work starting when the weather got nicer.

The project took 275 man-hours to complete, he said.

Joshua said he belongs to a good troop that is active in the community.

Troop projects include mowing the grass at Davidsville Cemetery; visiting residents at Laurel View Village, Davidsville; and collecting food for food pantries.

Joshua said that all the Scouts in his troop help one another with projects.

Currently, Joshua and others are helping fellow Scout Travis Dorian to make improvements at the Benscreek Lutheran Church Grove, located near Thomas Mills.

Joshua is looking forward to the start of school and another season as a member of Conemaugh Township Area High School’s golf team.

Joshua, who will be a sophomore, also is a member of the school’s Ski Club and Students Against Destructive Decisions club.

Joshua, whose aspiration is to become a civil engineer, enjoys building items out of wood. His work includes a checkerboard and calendar plus a wooden crane that he made as a Christmas gift for a cousin.

Cletus McConville Jr., scout executive for the Penn’s Wood Council, said Joshua’s project is beautiful.

“I think that the project will be a centerpiece for the park for years to come,” he said. “It was so colorful and appealing that you could not help but notice it and say wow.”

Scoutmaster for Troop 114, Bill Miller, said the project turned out well and sets the entranceway apart from the remainder of the park.

“It’s inviting,” he said.

Joshua takes pride in being a scout and showed the leadership skills necessary to get the job done, he said.

The chairman of the Conemaugh Township Supervisors, Steve Buncich, said Joshua’s project enhances the park and far exceeded anything that the township envisioned.

He said the attractive project recently captured the attention of newlyweds, who had wedding photographs taken at the

site.

“The township is very proud of what he did,” he said, adding that they will submit his project to the state Association of Township Supervisors for recognition.