(not 7 years ago today, more like 7 years and 3 weeks ago to be exact)...
Part I.
For weeks prior to my birthday, my son and others (and my wife and I, on occasion), had ventured out to Camp Tekakwitha, a closed primitive camp owned by the Diocese of Birmingham. It had fallen into a state where there was no upkeep at all, and no reason to keep it open.
Enter the vision of the Youth Director of the Diocese. My son, Andrew, was one of the kids who attended various youth outings, and "Don" had been talking to him. Don prodded Andrew to approach the Diocese with the idea of reopening Camp Tekakwitha with an Eagle Scout Project of building a rustic outdoor chapel.
And he did. With Don's support, the Diocese approved the plan, and Troop 71 Scoutmaster approved Andrew's project, and it began.
First, major clearing had to be done. They had a perfect spot chosen by the lake for the outdoor chapel. And for weeks, every weekend was spent at the Camp clearing. And more clearing. And more clearing.
Meanwhile, the benches and pylons or whatever were being constructed. Lists were being made of items needed. Fundraising was taking place, as the Diocese provided no funds for the project.
I rented a truck. Went to Home Depot and bought bags and bags of cement. More on that later.
Finally, the weekend arrived for the final construction. Andrew had solicited funding for the major part of it, there were some donations "in kind," including rental of a gas powered heavy duty major auger drill thing, and the like.
We met at our church and school with those who were contributing to the project--boy scouts, from the youngest to those who were Andrew's age, to Scoutmasters and assistant Scoutmasters, and a few Dads that were there to help where they could. All total, maybe about 30 people made the trek to Springville, Alabama, about 30 miles northeast of Birmingham (40 miles from where we are).
We embarked.
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