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Asbury Park Press Staff Writer Michelle Gladden. Printed Thhursday November 20, 2008
HOWELL — Tim Johnson of Howell decided he would look to improve the state of affairs at his favorite park when it came time to pick a Boy Scout Eagle Scout service project.
"I've been coming to this park forever," the 17-year-old said of the Historic Village at Allaire in Wall. "I just thought it would be nice to give back."
The Colts Neck High School student said he decided to do just that by building a set of stairs that would safely allow park visitors to not only stop by the popular blacksmith shop in the village, but also the less-visited tinsmith shop at the rear of the brick building.
"This is a project we have wanted to see happen for a long period of time," said Diana Ioanid, the park's assistant executive director.
An Eagle Scout service project is the most comprehensive one a Scout undertakes in order to earn the organization's highest accolade — the Eagle Scout Award.
Johnson said he has worked since last spring to bring his vision to fruition and is now acting as a project manager, overseeing fellow Scouts who are helping to finish the project.
Once his measurements and plans were finalized, Johnson and his fellow Hope Lutheran Boy Scout Troop 150 members of Freehold Township began by cutting the wood to proportion and digging out a slope next to the structure.
"In the beginning, we cut a lot of the wood at home in the garage because of bad weather," Tim Johnsons's father, Kevin, said.
The stained wood was laid and the area was filled in with larger rock and a gravel composite that matched the village's historic cadence.
 Now the Scouts — 40 in total — are taking turns working at the blacksmith shop on weekends to create decorative metal brackets that will hold the steps in place, adviser Stephen Meier said.
From a design perspective, the brackets are configured to compliment the park's historic look.
Johnson, who joined the Scouts when he was in second grade, said he held a garage sale to help raise money for the supplies, but most of the funding came from donations from Home Depot and Lowe's, both of Howell, and NJ Gravel and Sand of Wall.
The park donated the larger rock and some of the wood, he said.
Once all the funding was in place, Johnson received approval from the park, as well as from the state, to move ahead with his project.
In the beginning, the challenge was determining the proper length, depth and height of the stairs, the teen said. Later, the difficulty was determining how much fill to use.
The troop has spent the last nine weekends working at the site, at an average of four to six hours a day, Meier said.
 When the project's complete, Tim Johnson will go before the Monmouth Council Board, which will determine if the project was executed properly, said Joseph Pate, chairman of the Boy Scouts' Advance Committee for the Battleground District. At that time, a full review of Johnson's years in Scouting will be conducted.
"It's the cream of the crop that receive Eagle Scout awards," Pate said.
Allaire State Park officials said they hope another Scout would consider adding a ramp for those with disabilities next to Johnson's stairs some time in the future.
"He's made these stairs wide enough though," said Abigail Murphy, a group development manager. "They have a low grade down, making it easy to maneuver."
Reproduced with permission of the Asbury Pasrk Press. Copyright 2008 the Asbury Park Press© All Rights Reserved.
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