Lebanon
The site, with its swings, grills and picnic tables, holds many fond memories, said Gilligan, the son of Tom and Jodi Gilligan, of Lebanon, and a member of Boy Scout Troop 45 in Hanover. But the equipment was worn.
Last spring, he and a team of volunteers spent more than 50 hours sprucing up the place where as a boy he’d played games and enjoyed an ice cream social. With support from city employees, they built and installed four new picnic tables to replace the old ones, bought and installed two new grills, and planted two young trees — Northern red oaks.
The work was funded by a $1,300 grant from the Jack and Dorothy Byrne Foundation.
Gilligan appreciated the chance to give back to the community, his Boy Scout Troop said in a news release. And the support from the Byrne Foundation, city employees, businesses and volunteers was “greatly appreciated.”
Eagle Scout is the highest rank in the Boy Scouts, and Gilligan’s Eagle ceremony was held last weekend at Lebanon United Methodist Church.
His six years in Scouting have taught him a lot — from leadership skills, to problem solving, to the ability to deal with different kinds of people, said Gilligan, who formerly served as senior patrol leader in a different Boy Scout troop.
And it’s given him experiences he never would have had otherwise, such as scuba diving, the Lebanon High School junior said in a phone interview.
This summer, Scouting provided him with another experience: the satisfaction of fixing up a place he cared about. “It was nice because I know a lot of people stop there for picnics,” he said. And it didn’t take long to see it in use.
Just as they were putting the finishing touches on a the picnic tables, a couple arrived and started grilling hamburgers.
— Aimee Caruso