A Questionable Eagle Scout Project for a Veterans Memorial I rejected but yet was approved and no one knows is even there

On a hillside along Brownsville Road in Carrick 29th ward of City of Pittsburgh sits what looks like a tombstone high on a hill side where people walk and drive by and hardly notice.

It's intent was to be a universal honor to the Military Veterans who served our country and while the vets where  involved with and held   a small ceremony to acknowledge it . Very few outside of them  know its there on the hill side of  the South Side Cemetery.

It was an Eagle Scout Project conceived back when I was in troop 224  which I belonged to and left in 1970's after there very un-scout like behavior. Part of the rub is I did not want involved with the project as I was quickly going up the ranks to Eagle Scout  I did not like  its location and the over-sized  dedication plaque.
I wanted it where people could see it and with out my name on it. It was to honor veterans not me. If I was to be involved. 

While my Project with troop 383 involved the research and publishing of Carrick's history which goes on to this day.

This is not want the scout master of 224 wanted he wanted a veterans memorial  with his name on it for all to see only problem you do not see it  as you drive or walk by it is to far up the slope and the Dairy Queen once open across the street from it has closed and is boarded up as well so the few who possibly did see it and possibly wonder what it was and possibly walk over and try to read it  are no longer around as well .

The fact that the panel with Scout Masters and Eagle Scouts name is so prominent on it  has lead to much speculation was this more to honor them or the Vets they are honoring.

Most Eagle scout projects you see just a small mention or none at all of the scout who did it and Very Rare to the Scout Masters name.

 Carrick itself has slid down hill and is considered a ghetto by many who pass thru it now since the community has gentrified and steel mills collapsed and the Eagle Scout and Scout Master no longer even live in town and so many of the vets who served have passed with time and There are no longer any Boyscout troops in carrick . But with all the downsides there is still a small group of veterans who are dedicated to the town and take care of the marker. and hopefully some day it can be placed where it can be properly seen and read.So veterans can know they are still appreciated in Carrick

Its Hard Losing childhood friends I was in Cub Scouts with in 60's

Hard to believe back in 67 I joined Cub Scouts  Pack 224  in Carrick  29th ward of city of Pittsburgh
and now 2 of them are dead. We lost Johnny Drevitch last year and Patrick Halligan   this June

I lost all track of them after grade school and neither joined Boy Scouts with me. In fact only 3 of us 6  in the picture   below of Den 1 which I was in went in to Boy Scouts .  Don L. and Jim R.  and me .  John and Pat came into scouts a year after we made the plaque
I lost contact with many of them after attending St Basils Grade school never to hear from them again  or knowing where they ended up.
You see Pittsburgh is the Buckle in whats known as the Rust Belt one of the many east coast city's that saw almost all of its steel mill and other manufacturing jobs disappear.

Plaque we made at a den meeting that's me 2nd from right 

So almost half the population moved all over the country in an effort to get jobs and raise family's
I however decided to stay and fight and try to keep the city going  and moved to the suburbs out of disgust with way city is run .  I took the shit ass jobs and bad working conditions I did not want to leave the area  and I was lucky enough to start my own business and travel the tri state for work I was willing to do what it takes to make it like some of those in my cub pack  instead of running away like many others did. Brian was working as a Coal miner got laid off not heard from him since . Ken was working for MSA  Dave  now lives in Ohio works for a refractory division  Jim is a building inspector  owns his own agency and Don do not know what he is doing but he was in military for a while  and jack runs his late fathers business.
But at age 54 to loose 2 of my cub scout friends it is hard to believe of course I almost joined them having been diagnosed with stage IV colon Cancer myself  but thru the good lord and great doctors I am still here.
hard to believe  almost 45+ years have passed us by.

Passing of Community Relations Officer and Explorer Post Leader and Explorers who failed to notice he was even gone

Sadly I have not been in contact with Sam Caltagerone in many years since he retired from the City of Pittsburgh Police Force and he passed last year.
But back in the 1970's I was a member of Law Enforcement Explorers Post 777 which Sam ran.
Over the years well over  200 young men and women where members of this post which was out of old No  7# Police station on Jane Street  in South Side and we meet at the Sarah Kaufman House .
I had a lot of fun in the post and we got to travel to many places to learn and see law enforcement officers at work I considered a career some where in law enforcement at one time but had to give it up when I had surgery to repair a congenital knee problem and ended up in private security where I was able to establish an electrical and electronics  business doing alarm systems. As far as I know I am the only one involved in any kind of security /law enforcement activity at this point. I have never run across any of the others with all the times I have been in court for customers and law enforcement agency's I interact with.
I really enjoyed the post though not some of the members . We went to Toronto to see the Royal Mounted Police train and an officer dressed in a traditional red  uniform for use to take pictures we also went to Florida to see how police handled bikers week in Daytona and got to see temporary police headquarters in the Daytona 500 race track. Unfortunately it did not go as well with housing  as planned but that's another story.
We also went to Wright Patterson Air-force base to observe military police and stayed over night at the now closed Rickenbacker Air Field . I missed the trip to NY no one bothered to call and tell me anything about it as I had missed a meeting because I was sick but that's just the way people are never check to make sure your OK but call you friend.
I left the post in 79  when I hit maximum age your allowed to join and was off trying to get my career going.
I would last see Sam when I went to his house in early 80's to fix his AC unit he was talking about moving to Florida at one point.
Unfortunately I found out too late to go see Sam at his funeral but I signed his quest book online and was contacted by his daughter who thanked me for mentioning all the good Sam did with the explorers as no one  else had bothered to show up or say anything about it.
Dam shame an officer does all this good in his life to get forgotten in the end.
But then again many of those I was in the explorers with may not even be in Pittsburgh any more many moved to pursue jobs after the mills closed.
Unfortunately one of our members Herb was murdered in a horrific beheading  after he was robbed at adult book store where he was a clerk in 1980's I am sure it broke Sams heart if he knew about it .

The passing of a Famous Pittsburgh DJ brings up bad memories of how I meet him and got Screwed by Horse Owners Group

He was known as " Pork the Tork " Porky Chedwick recently passed away at a fine old age of 96
He never got the national recognition he should have because he helped introduce race music as it was known to the rock & roll radio scene of the 50's

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porky_Chedwick

I meet Porky as his friends called  him at a veterans Parade in Mt Oliver Pa. in 1980's  where he came up an shook my hand and thanked me for trying to save a WWII Veterans life after he collapsed from heart failure  by using CPR on Him

the group of veterans was marching right in front of  one of the  Saddle Club's  which  my sister and brother  in law belonged to  in Plum Boro and I would haul her horse trailer for her with my truck and walk along the route with them as a Wrangler to assist the riders with there tack and horses if they needed help. 

Some times a horse would get spooked and rider needed help calming it or needed a strap tighten or loosened etc. 

Now strangely enough the group of veterans where standing in front of us as parade formed up along Calhoun street in carrick which is the 29th ward of city of Pittsburgh  and they  made a funny remark and joking  about my sister in laws old pale horse named Cisco. 

he was old and slow but a lovable old horse. and I jokingly said they better watch there step you know the story in the bible about death rides a pale horse and we all had a good laugh.

The parade went well but it was a warm day it got up to the 80's and only lasted a little over a mile down Brownsville road into Mt Oliver and then stopped in front of the Alma Horne  VFW post on Hays street 

It was here that one of the vets I knew who marched in all the parades  Mr Baker collapsed . Myself and Brenda L. a registered nurse  from our group went to work checking on him as my boy scout training had kicked in and then started CPR with help of couple others as we switched on and off. 

In mean time Pittsburgh Paramedics where called who have a contract with Borough for Mt Oliver to provide services . But in usual fashion the  worthless dispatchers for the city of Pittsburgh Screwed Up the call sent medics to wrong place and it took them 20 + minutes to arrive. It was too late. They took Mr. baker to hospital where he was pronounced we later found out even had they been there his heart attack was so massive he did not have a chance.

As I got up from the street There was an older man who I thought I recognized and he asked me to come over to him. he shook my hand and introduced him self and said he was Porky Chedwick  and thanked me for trying to save the mans life  and did I know him? why of course I did and told him I knew him from radio.  I got a smile from him as I left and went down beside the now closed Mt. Oliver school parking lot to join up with my relatives to get cleaned up put horses in trailer and head home. 

But later on I would find out the now closed VFW post sent a letter to  Saddle club asking 

that Brenda and myself attend a dinner they wanted to recognize us for the life saving attempt.

Except club officers kept it from me and Brenda till it was too late to attend. I will never forgive them for that.
Then I find out after my sister in law left the club and moved to Ohio  , I ran into one of the club members who told me how those officers laughed at what they had done and also laughed how they had gotten all that free electrical work I did over a couple weekends when they had enough money in the bank to pay off the mortgage on the property and how they had screwed a Eagle scout doing what he thought was a good deed to help the club.

Needless to say I was steamed about it and never got an apology from the club . But the lord has a mysterious way of getting back at those who do wrong and has deal them there own bad cards with time. 

and this was just at the time the mills where all shutting down and life going to shit for many of the club members who lost everything which included those who wronged me and Brenda. 

The club all but closed and I had not heard the name for many years till couple years ago when they where at a parade in there fancy red n black  outfits  but it was an all new club and members from what I could tell. 

No one from the old days I remembered. 

Apparently they had enough of the old officers and got them out. 

Long before Boy Scouts Flag Plaza and Flag foundation in Pittsburgh there was Woodman of the world who are very Patriotic as well

Yes ever since the late  1960's when Allegheny Trails Council now  Laurel Highlands Council  built
there Flag Plaza which includes the National Flag foundation  it  has been ballyhooed about for there collection of historic flags  which have flown over this country and ceremonies conducted there.
http://www.lhc-bsa.org/Flag%20Plaza

Yes as a cub scout raising a 30 ft flag was thrilling but for all the patriotism scouting once showed there is a much older organization known as Woodman of the World an insurance based organization has been giving away american flags since at least the 1930's

http://www.woodmen.org/Members/patriotism.cfm

http://www.woodmen.org/Members/fraternalism.cfm

I ran across this group when a member of Troop 383 when we where invited to the bicentennial Parade in Next door Brentwood and we brought along  flags from flag plaza to carry in the parade.
But standing right beside us where another group of young men  with flags just like ours  called Woodsmen of America
 Seems they had just as big an enthusiasms as boy scouts and thou national they where a much smaller group from butler county .
It was great seeing other youth involved in this and that was first and last time I ever saw the group again but with my travels I run across one of there insurance offices occasionally.
Yes the boy scouts are not the only patriotic group but many would try and make you think it

A New Boy Scouts Alternative Program Plus other programs you can be a real scout not a Politically Correct One

Well looks like some people have gotten feed up with the nonsense of the Boy Scouts and started a new program .

http://www.christianpost.com/news/christian-alternative-to-boy-scouts-launches-on-new-years-day-with-close-to-500-troops-111930/

While not the first alternative scouting program which is christian faith based it is a brand new organization

and I wish them the best just wish my health would allow me time to help them. 

Yes if you want your son to be able to enjoy the benefits of Boy scouts  with out all the Political Correctness and big corporate shenanigans this may be it.

 Another organization which has been around  along time with scouting concept and christian based is Royal Rangers  associated with assembly of gods churches 

http://www.royalrangersinternational.com/howtochurch.asp

One of the churches I provide services to has a local unit and this is real scouting not what the Boy scouts teach any more . 

There are also Camp Fire  and YMCA Guide and other programs as well  many established well before Baden Powell formed the Boy scouts 

http://www.troop97.net/scout_like.htm

also there is the Woodman of the world programs and camps for youth

http://www.woodmen.org/Members/camps.cfm

So tired of Boy Scouts and there corporate and political correctness  horse shit  check out some of the original scouting programs .