The date was Oct. 12, 1929. Long before the ivy began creeping along the brick walls of Wrigley Field. Even before the brilliant, blooming azaleas first grew across Augusta National. On this date, the most famous flora in football, the distinctive privet hedges ringing the field at Georgia’s Sanford Stadium, were first planted.
Now, Haddonfield Memorial High School Stadium has the same distinctive flair thanks to sophomore Nick Bateman.
For his Eagle Scout service project, Nick, 15, wanted to give back to his hometown community. No better way than combining his love of Haddonfield with his love of his Bulldawg football team.
Nick chose to build a brick and stone pedestal for a six-foot long fiberglass bulldawg and to plant a total of 60 privet hedges flanking the statue behind the end zone at the HMHS stadium.
“I talked with Mr. Banos (Haddonfield’s athletic director) and people on my end with the Scouts about what I wanted to do by planting the hedges in the stadium,” Nick said. “I had to get approval before moving forward with the project and to make sure I could use it as my Eagle Scout project.”
The addition of the bulldawg came unexpectedly as Nick’s mom, Tracy, found the fiberglass statue in an antique store. After a bit of refurbishing, the bulldawg was donated to the school by the team after last year’s state championship.
“I thought it was a good addition to the field and the stadium,” Nick said.
His teammates thought the same.
“They told me it was pretty cool to have it in the stadium,” Nick said. “It’s cool to have something modeled after Georgia.”
The installation of the bulldawg, hedges and pedestal are to commemorate Haddonfield’s 2013 state football championship.
Nick has achieved the rank of Life Scout in Haddonfield’s BSA Troop 65, and a major requirement in earning the rank of Eagle Scout is to lead a project that will be long lasting and beneficial to the community. The project totaled 188 man-hours and a price tag of $3,540.12. Donations from the public did not entirely cover the cost of construction, forcing Nick to “reach into the Bateman bank” to see it to completion.
“I still need to raise approximately $965.12 more. If I raise more money, I would like to add lights,” Nick said.
Knowing that, much like success on the field is a team effort, Nick thanked the more than 30 people who physically donated their time as well as those who donated money and materials to complete the project.
If residents wish to donate to the project, checks can be made payable to BSA Troop 65 with Nick Bateman in the memo section. Checks can be mailed to 63 Truman Ave., Haddonfield. For more information or questions regarding the project, contact bateman63@comcast.net.
