Flying like an Eagle in North Attleboro
By JUDEE COSENTINO FOR THE SUN CHRONICLE | Dec 30, 2017
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Trevor Tormey 17 of North Attleboro a member of Boy Scout Troop 33 is working on his Eagle Scout project clearing the land around the Falls Fire Barn and some renovations. In the extremely cold weather on Saturday morning he was helped by other scouts from Troop 33, parents and volunteers. Trevor Tormey cuts down a tree. |
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| Josh Shockley, Troop 33. pulls a branch to a waiting truck. |
The frigid temperatures of Saturday morning did very little to slow the efforts of Trevor Tormey as he worked to clear the landscape around the Falls Fire Barn.
Tormey, 17, a local resident, was joined by more than a dozen other volunteers, many of whom were fellow members of Scout Troop 33, as they took up hand saws, clippers, weed whackers and rakes to clear the overgrown land around the historic building. The work is part of Tormey’s efforts to become an Eagle Scout, the highest rank in Boy Scouting.
Even with the biting cold enough to numb the volunteers’ hands and feet, there were no complaints to be heard, in true Scout fashion.
“It’s actually not as bad as I thought,” said Craig Desrosiers of North Attleboro, whose son, Dylan, is also a member of Troop 33. “You just dress in layers, keep moving and you’ll be fine.”
Tormey’s mother, Beth Beauregard, was also bundled up against the elements and lending a hand.
“I’m very proud of him for working so hard to put this all together,” Beauregard said.
Scoutmaster Chad Winship also proudly observed the work of Tormey and the volunteers.
“I think it’s fantastic,” Winship said. “Trevor has been pushing really hard to get this done.”
With his birthday less than a month away, there was a bit of urgency for Tormey to finish his project and earn the rank of Eagle Scout before he turns 18. Tormey is also considering a career in the military, which looks favorably upon such an honor as being an Eagle Scout.
In the years since his first visit to the Falls Fire Barn in third grade, Tormey observed the steady increase in overgrowth around the site. Among the work Tormey and the other volunteers accomplished was disassembling the flagpole, which Tormey planned on taking home and refinishing, and sanding and painting the barn’s wooden steps.
Built in 1893, the former Attleboro Falls fire station is on the National Register of Historic Places. It’s now a museum for the North Attleboro Fire Department and North Attleboro history in general
In only an hour’s time, thanks to the efforts of teamwork, the improvement was clearly visible.
Cryan Landscaping brought a truck out to help clear the debris and send it to Osbourne Nursery to be disposed of.
“The grounds look better, definitely,” Tormey noticed.
With his birthday less than a month away, there was a bit of urgency for Tormey to finish his project and earn the rank of Eagle Scout before he turns 18. Tormey is also considering a career in the military, which looks favorably upon such an honor as being an Eagle Scout.
“I’m definitely excited...” Tormey said.
But Tormey knew his work was accomplished through the help of the community’s teamwork, as Dennis Dion, a leader of Troop 33, noted.
“It’s a culture of trying to help the community, and working on something that’s bigger than yourself is part of what we try to teach in Scouting,” said Dion.