WEST SUNBURY — At the corner of Main and State streets, a bit of history is being rescued from neglect and polished up for posterity.

Boy Scout Ray Dean III, 17, of Troop 31, is working to restore the West Sunbury veterans memorial as his Eagle Scout project.

Well, at least, that's how it started out.

Ray, who will be entering his senior year at Moniteau High School this fall, said the project has become more than just earning his Eagle badge.

“It needs repair. It hasn't been well-maintained,” Ray said of the monument.

“I want to make it look better. It's in the middle of West Sunbury. It didn't look bad, but it could look better.”

Ray has a plan and has put 200 hours into the renovation project so far.

He dug trenches on both sides of the memorial's sidewalk and around the memorial's sides. He then laid in concrete lintel block and removed 2 inches of dirt in trenches between the lintel and the sidewalk.

Thursday found him laying down plastic and adding shredded rubber mulch to the trenches.

He plans to cut plastic PVC pipe in segments to create makeshift planters, cut holes in the plastic and mulch so the planters reach the soil, and fill them with perennial plants such as dianthus and vinca.

After that, Ray plans to trim the existing shrubbery, cut or move a mulberry tree, power-wash the stone monument, clean the metal plaque, and add solar lights and a post to illuminate the American flag in front of the monument. He also intends to replace the cracking and falling mortar between the monument's stones.

“And I haven't even seen the top (of the monument) yet,” he said.

Asked if he knew how to work with mortar, Ray said, “I don't exactly know what I'm doing. It's a learning process. I'm learning how to organize.”

Project projection

Digging, planting and cleaning have been easy compared to the paperwork he had to fill out before starting his Eagle badge project and the documentation he will have to fill out when it's completed, he said.

Troop leader Carl Thompson presented Ray with a list of potential projects.

As for the veterans memorial, Ray said, “He mentioned it at some point and it kind of stuck.”

Ray started the work two weeks ago and isn't putting a timetable on finishing the project, but he said once the mulch is done he'll take stock of his progress.

“Hopefully, by the end of summer I will have everything done,” Ray said.

With the monument work done and his final two merit badges earned, he hopes to become an Eagle Scout before his 18th birthday next June.

It will be the culmination of a 12-year Scouting career.

Facing challenges

While Ray has to juggle a part-time job, his travel baseball team and church volunteer work, he found the COVID-19 pandemic is also impacting the renovation, cutting down on volunteer help.

On Thursday, two fellow Troop 31 members turned out to give Ray and his father, Ray Dean Jr., a hand.

Boy Scout Jacob Stocks, 12, said that while it was his first time helping out at the memorial, “I think it looks really nice. I want to do whatever I can to help.”

Fellow Troop 31 member Gabriel Sowa said, “It's my first time being out here doing this. Honestly, I might as well help somehow to make things brighter.”

Ray's efforts did not go unappreciated.

Reid Campbell, assistant fire chief of the West Sunbury Volunteer Fire Department, stopped by to get a picture of Ray to put on the community's Facebook page.

Campbell said, “He's taken on quite a project. He's put in a lot of hours.”

He said there had been efforts to maintain the monument in the past, but it always seemed to fall into disrepair.

“Today we speak poorly of our young people, but here is someone out doing something,” Campbell said.