Teen Revamps Church Walkway As Part Of Eagle Scout Project

GETZVILLE, N.Y. -- 17-year-old Colton Meyer is on his way towards earning the highest rank in the Boy Scouts, Eagle, something only 7 percent of scouts obtain each year.

One of his biggest tasks though is the service project.

"He immediately said, 'What about the walkway at church?' after he had attended mass here," Colton's mother Denuelle said. "And it was under water. He said, 'What about redoing that?'"

The apple didn't fall too far from the tree when it came to working here at St. Pius X Church, as his father helped to lay the original walkway 20 years earlier, but two decades had caused some wear and tear on the path, which winds through the Stations of the Cross behind the church. Colton, alongside friends, family, and fellow scouts, got to work on the project last weekend.

"We lifted all the brick up, there was sand under it. We had to scrape all the sand out, dump that," Colton said. "Then we brought in 14 ton of stone and compacted that and leveled that and then we started laying it."

The Eagle Project is a lengthy process, requiring a written plan and approval from the scouts and the organization benefitting from service. Colton recruited the volunteers and also received numerous donations from church parishioners, who are eagerly awaiting the path's completion.

"You have to be the overseer and the foreman in charge. Colton is really hands-on and a doer. He had to really use some restraint at time to lead the boys and teach them how to do it rather than trying to fix it himself," Denuelle said.

"They're learning how to do something they've never done and they'll hopefully someday come to me and I can help them with their project," Colton said.

As this project comes full circle, Denuelle said her husband is proud of what Colton has accomplished.

"Scouts are a real bunch of great boys. In today's world, I think we could use the more the better," Denuelle said. "To see the scouts come together and support one another - it has been a wonderful ride for Colton."

Colton hopes to finish the path by the end of this weekend.