No one expected what greeted them Friday morning. Aaron Stennett, an Eagle Scout candidate from Boy Scout Troop 345, sponsored by the Church of Latter Day Saints, had gathered a group of about a dozen volunteers to help with his
No one expected what greeted them Friday morning.
Aaron Stennett, an Eagle Scout candidate from Boy Scout Troop 345, sponsored by the Church of Latter Day Saints, had gathered a group of about a dozen volunteers to help with his Eagle project.
“We had two full truckloads,” said Andy Stennett, Aaron’s dad and one of the volunteers. “There was all kinds of rubbish: a lot of large items, appliances and parts of appliances, tires, shopping carts, bicycles and bicycle parts…”
Aaron’s Eagle project was inspired by a visit to the Grove Farm Homestead Museum’s restored locomotive “Paulo” a few weeks ago.
“Jordan, one of Aaron’s brothers, was one of the Cub Scouts who came to visit the train,” said Sharon Stennett, Aaron’s mom and another volunteer. “I think from that visit, they were asking for people to help, and Aaron was looking for a project.”
The Cub Scout visit coincided with the 50th anniversary of the final sugar haul by a steam locomotive. GFHM engineer Scott Johnson extended an invitation to the Aloha Council Cub Scouts which resulted in a large group of scouts and their relatives and parents taking advantage of the invitation.
On Friday, Aaron took advantage of school being out for the week and with help from some of the other scouts from Troop 345 and his family, started out by cleaning up some of the rubbish starting from the Kalena Street portion up through the Wa‘a Road right-of-way.
“We’re just helping Grove Farm (Homestead Museum) with the clearing of their right-of-way so they can move ahead with installing more track for the locomotive,” Aaron said.
Sharon said this was her third Eagle project and by far the “funnest.”
“The other two projects involved painting,” she said. “This one was a lot of work with a lot of trash, but I never knew a place like this existed on the island.”
Sharon said if she hadn’t gotten involved with the project, she would never have been able to visit the area that lies below the more familiar facades people see from the streets.
Her daughter Katherine also had an insight into how items were disposed of in the years before the strong educational and awareness thrust in recycling and the environment.
Jesse Sherrill, another of the Boy Scouts volunteering, used his hands in the fashion of an archeologist in trying to unearth a fluprescent tube that was partially embedded in the soil. But his biggest find was an old toilet that was upended among the brush. The porcelain fixture sent a shower of dirt and water when it was moved from its resting place by the Boy Scout.
“But that’s not the gold mine,” Sharon said. “Back there, there were about 50 bowling pins and a bowling ball. But the best was finding those brand-new Sears sockets in a bag.”
Throughout the morning, the volunteers unearthed pieces of homes that had been blown into the gully from previous hurricanes and left untouched until the volunteers came to clean the area. Pieces of history were recorded in the bottles, toys, discarded appliances and other items that quickly filled the back of Andy’s pickup.
Starting at 8 a.m., the scouts collected and transported two overflowing loads to the Lihu‘e Transfer Station in less than two hours. When Andy spotted a stainless steel sink counter with the sinks attached, he noted that it was an item for Abe’s Metal Recycling.
Unfortunately, the morning passed too quickly for the industrious group. Two of the volunteers had to prepare for the Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation football game, and another had to leave to get ready because he plays in the Kaua‘i High School band.
But the morning was not without its reward. Scott Johnson said Harold Rosa of the GFHM suggested that since there was no school, it might be a nice gesture to fire up “Paulo” and give the scouts and volunteers a ride aboard the restored steam locomotive so they would have a better idea about why they were helping out.
There was no objection to this suggestion. Soon the steam whistle signalled the end of work and the start of an educational ride aboard a flatcar and one happy Eagle got a lesson in history.
