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Eagle Scout Bridge Project 

Dedication ceremonies were held July 16, for the new footbridge over Creamery Brook at the Donald Francis Recreation Park on Rt. 6 in Brooklyn.  As his Eagle Scout service project, Life Scout and Eagle Scout Candidate Richard L. LaBonte Jr. led a group of 16 Scouts, other young people and adults in demolishing the old footbridge and assembling the 40-foot wooden span. LaBonte, 16, from Pomfret, is a member of Boy Scout Troop 21. Shown at the dedication ceremonies were, left to right: Brooklyn Parks and Recreation Department Director Matthew “Bucky” Lohbusch, Troop 21 Scoutmaster Peter A. Lombardo, LaBonte, former Brooklyn First Selectman Donald Francis and a Scout from Troop 21. Photo by John D. Ryan

 

 

 

 

BROOKLYN —  Brooklyn town officials and Putnam Boy Scouts dedicated a new, wooden footbridge July 16, at the Donald Francis Recreation Park.

Bridging Creamery Brook, the 40-foot span is at the beginning of two recreational trails that end at the town’s Prince Hill Park. 

It replaced the decaying wooden bridge that Brooklyn Parks and Recreation Department Director Matthew “Bucky” Lohbusch said was built when the park opened in 1987.

“This new bridge fits in perfectly with the park. We can’t say for sure how many people use the trails, but they’re very popular. We have people on them all year, from hikers, horse riders and mountain bikers in the warmer months to snowshoeing in the winter,” he said.

Work began in March, when 16-year-old Eagle Scout Candidate and Life Scout Richard L. LaBonte Jr., started planning demolition of the old bridge and assembly and staining of the new one. 

LaBonte lives in Pomfret and is a member of Boy Scout Troop 21, chartered to St. Mary Church of the Visitation in Putnam.

 This fall, he’ll be a junior at H. H. Ellis Technical High School in Danielson, where he studies electronics. 

The Boy Scouts of America requires that a candidate for Scouting’s highest rank plan and lead others in completing a significant service project to benefit the candidate’s school, church or community.

Since LaBonte works as a paid summer camp counselor for the recreation department, he asked Lohbusch if he had any potential projects available. 

The new bridge topped the list, so Lobusch and LaBonte agreed that the town would provide lumber, nails and tools, cut the lumber to size and deliver it to the park.

 Lohbusch said the lumber and nails cost the town about $500.

Scouts and other project volunteers then took over, handling demolition, laying new planks and assembling new railings, staining everything when that was done. Volunteers also cut down brush at the bridge’s four corners. Led by the young man, the project’s 16 youth and adult volunteers, including the Scouts from Troop 21, spent almost 190 man-hours on the job, finishing July 9.

“The whole thing went better than I thought at first it was going to, even though it rained a couple of times,” LaBonte said. 

“I learned (from doing this project) that when you’re the leader, everyone looks up to you to make the right choice.”

In addition to a service project, an Eagle Scout candidate must also earn a total of 21 required and elective merit badges covering various subjects, including citizenship, camping, the environment, family life, first aid, physical fitness and financial management, among others.

 LaBonte said he has 10 merit badges to go. He has until his 18th birthday to earn them.

Former Brooklyn First Selectman Donald Francis, whom the park is named after, was at the dedication ceremonies. Francis was the town’s top elected official from 1987 to 2001.

 He smiled as he looked at the new bridge, saying he was extremely pleased with LaBonte and his volunteers.

“I’d hire that young man to work at my house,” he said.