Braving cold temperatures on a Saturday morning that even included a fresh dusting of snow, Eagle Scout candidate Owen Thomas and his crew of volunteers constructed a raised flower bed at the new Paul J. Cochran Veterans Memorial Park.
Located in Philomath on the corner of South 16th and College streets, the park as a whole is not quite finished with a few more features to be added, including a memorial. But the public has discovered the new playground and benches that can be accessed on the grounds.
Thomas, a 17-year-old Philomath High School senior, secured donations from participating organizations to build the raised bed in an area of the park that faces College Street.
“First of all there was a leveling process that needed to be done,” Thomas said. “People were working on the irrigation at first. It wasn’t completely leveled so I had to go up there with some gravel and flatten out the grounds and that took a while.”
ShelterWorks, a Philomath-based manufacturer of eco-friendly building materials, donated prefabricated boards that could be used as part of the project.
“We had to basically screw them together and place them onto these leveled areas that I had laid out,” Thomas said. “And then we shoveled in dirt … those were the main steps.”
Owen estimated that the project took roughly nine hours in all, which includes time spent on the leveling process. He had up to a dozen volunteers helping on project day, which fell on March 2.
“I wasn’t expecting that many people to come out, especially since it was kind of a bad day,” Thomas said.
Thomas is one of three Philomath candidates pursuing the Eagle Scout rank in the Boy Scouts of America program — the others being two other PHS seniors in Tanner Dowless and Thomas Smith. Boy Scout Troop 161 will likely hold a Court of Honor ceremony sometime this year for the three scouts.
Eric Niemann, former Cub Scouts leader in Philomath, suggested the idea of a project at the new veterans park to Thomas two years ago. Plus, the raised beds concept fit well with a family connection to Shonnard’s.
“My mom, she works at Shonnard’s, and I’d say I’ve always kind of been around plants and stuff,” Thomas said. “So it kind of made sense for the project to be involving plants.”
Thomas has been involved with Boy Scouts going back to the first grade. Reaching the Eagle Scout rank holds great importance and provides a sense of accomplishment.
“It feels really good. I mean I’ve been working towards that for 12 years,” he said. “When I was in elementary school, it seemed kind of distant where it didn’t seem very achievable. … It’s definitely one of the biggest achievements in my life so far.”
The educational and social aspects of the Boy Scouts stand out as positives.
‘I feel like it made me a better person,” Thomas said. “I really learned a lot of stuff whether it’s through the trips or just through certain lessons. I feel like that really stays with me and will stay with me.”
Part of the project at the veterans park was lining up needed materials.
“They were completely donated,” Thomas said. “It involved a lot of calling, especially with ShelterWorks, who was one of the main contributors. They were the ones that made the beds but also Shonnard’s and the Bark Place were also big donors. The soil was completely free and Shonnard’s donated a significant amount of money toward the beds as well.”
The corner lot where the new park is located was donated to the city by the late Beverly Durham, who died in August 2018. The gift did come with conditions, including that it would serve as a memorial to the son she lost in Vietnam in 1968. Niemann was the city’s mayor when the donation occurred.
“I definitely think Eric was the main reason that I really became familiar with him,” Thomas said when asked if he knew much about the park’s namesake. “I know he really made an effort to familiarize the community in general but me specifically.”
Completing the project is one of the last major hurdles for Thomas to qualify for the Eagle Scout rank.
“There’s some paperwork left — I think is kind of just the main thing … talking to some people and sending some letters,” he said. “Besides that I’d say all of the heavy lifting is done.”
