Eagle Scout Caden Price Joins Illustrious Group of Young Leaders Building City Amenities

Mayor Heather Filley, right, visits dog activity obstacle built as Caden Price Eagle Scout project. ____________________________________________________________________

By Pauline Masson –

Caden Price entered the world of Scouting at an early age as a Cub Scout. Six years later he graduated to the Boy Scouts. And this month he entered the realm of Eagle Scout.

“I was in Scouts for the full path,” he said. “Fourteen  years from Cubs to Boy Scouts.”

At age 17 he turned his attention to an Eagle Scout project. “I talked with some people in my troop and I went up to city hall and talked with some people to see what might be needed,” he said. From those discussions a plan for a large dog agility obstacle in the city’s fenced dog run took shape.

The project took a year and a half but it felt like it was going by pretty fast. 

“It felt like a really short time because I knew I would age out at 18,” he said.

Caden explained that Eagle Scout candidates don’t do any of the labor on their projects. Their role is more like that of general manager.

“The Eagle Scout doesn’t do any of the labor. It’s a leadership training program,” he said. Where the Eagle Scout learns how to get things done through good planning and management. 

The Eagle Scout candidate designs the project and creates a presentation to gain approval of the Eagle Scout Board and government officials, raises the money to cover the cost of the project, recruits the labor – which is more often than not their fellow troop members some as young as 13 – and supervises the actual installation or construction.

Caden Price and the large dog  obstacle that he built in the citydogpark as an Eagle Scout project.  ______________________________________________________________________

Fourteen members of Caden’s troop built his obstacle in six hours. On hand to see the finished project were troop leaders, fellow Scouts, family, friends, and a group of park walkers attracted to the activity in the dog park.

Caden was officially inducted as an Eagle Scout at a special Ceremony in Pacific City Park Burns Pavilion on Thursday, Aug.14.

He joined an illustrious group of young leaders in our community. 

For more than 80 years, on road sides, fishing ponds, ball fields, abandoned gravesites and bluff tops Pacific Boy Scouts – under the leadership of Eagle Scout candidates – have help define our community.

In recent years Michael Bates Jr. helped us preserve the legend of local athletes of high achievement creating and installing signs identifying ball fields in the city park that had been named for them,

Jeremy Bates, Michael’s brother improved accessibility to the fishing pond near Hawthorne subdivision.The often visited pond was the site of an annual children’s fishing derby, but it was not accessible on all sides due to uneven ground and overgrowth. Jeremy oversaw a crew of 15 Scouts and other volunteers who cleared and improved the area close to the lake and spread a path of mulch around the entire perimeter of the lake as an Eagle Scout project.

Will Colbert and Hunter Ellermann and their troops walking trails in the city park. They  graded and graveled walking trails through the undeveloped area of the city Park between the ball fields and fishing pond.

At age 14, Zach Myers researched and purchased a Civil War canon, a replica of those fired at the 1864 Battle of Pacific, which he and his crew placed in a paved enclosure atop Sand Mountain in Blackburn Park, creating arguably of the most frequently visited tourist attraction  in the city.  The cannon stands on a spot that provides a panoramic view of the downtown where, Zach determined, was where the real cannons fired from on the day of the battle.

Zach Myers, third from left, is the fifth member of his family to achieve the Eagle Scout honor. From left are Greg Myers, Steve Myers, Zach; Luke Myers, Jacob Myers, and Eric Myers. Not pictured is Charles Henry Close Jr., great uncle of the Myers clan became an Eagle Scout in 1925, one of the first Eagle Scouts in the St. Louis region. Right is the canon in Blackburn Park.  _______________________________________________________________________________________________

Welcome to Pacific signs that stand in neatly paved and planted bases greet motorists on East and West Osage.  ______________________________________________

Jacob Myers, another member of the family Eagle Scout legend also had visitors in mind when he built a pair of planter boxes at the base of the “Welcome to Pacific Signs,” that greet motorists entering the city on East and West Osage (Route 66) as an Eagle Scout project.  Each of the boxes was constructed in a single day, with labor provided by approximately 20 of the 28 Scouts in Troop 329, along with some adult volunteers. These planters also involved the Tourism Commission, which organized a Pacific High School art  contest where students were asked to create an original design for an 18-foot entrance sign and were free to use any tourism features. Two students, Amy Ketcherside and Curtis Paglusch, submitted the winning ideas. The young artists each received $2,000 scholarships for their designs.

McKenzie White and his parents Dorothy and Dan White delivered flag retirement box to city hall.  ________________________________________

McKenzie White revealed a patriotic streak with his Eagle Scout project. He wanted people to know that weatherworn and tattered American flags should never be discarded in the trash. They deserve the respect of the Boy Scouts annual burning ritual, which is performed in front of guests in Liberty Field Park. McKenzie created and placed beautifully shellacked flag retirement boxes at Pacific City Hall and at the Pacific and Bowles fire station where they could be collected for the traditional Boy Scout flag burning ceremony.

Entry to ] Wm. C. Inks Cemetery Eureka., restored as an Eagle Scout project.  _____________________________________________________

Dylan Patton, founder of the city dog park, showed his plan for fenced dog run to aldermen in 2014. His idea captivated the community and has been expanded many times. ______________________________________________________________

Dylan Patton’s Eagle Scout project turned out to be a gift that kept on giving. Dylan created the fenced dog park near the city tennis courts in City Park that we enjoy today. Dylan said he first got the idea from the park board. Stephen Flannery III, park board president and 1995 Eagle Scout said a dog park was a frequent topic of  discussion at park board meetings. There were dog parks throughout the area but none in Pacific. “We quickly supported the project,” Mr .Flannery said. Park board chose site and established rules for use of the dog park. Dylan’s brother Sam added some obstacles to the dog park as an Eagle Scout project.Since then the park has been divided to separate large dogs from small dogs, and expanded twice. Caden’s recent obstacle illustrates the popularity of the much used k-9 park.

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There were other Boy Scout projects scattered hither and yon –  flag poles in high pedestrian areas, murals on city buildings, vegetable planting beds, landscaped bases for city entry signs and , T-Ball and U-8 practice fields for young athletes and more. 

An informal survey revealed 42 Eagle Scout projects by Pacific area Scouts. There are probably more. If anyone  knows Eagle Scouts that are not listed in the sidebar, please contact me and we will add their names to the history archive.

Author: paulinemasson

Pauline Masson, editor/publisher. View all posts by paulinemasson