Carter Wilburn, 17, built five picnic tables for Riverton Memorial Park
Carter Wilburn grew up playing baseball and soccer at Riverton Memorial Park, so, when it was time for him to pick something to do for his Eagle Scout project, he decided to improve the park.
The 17-year-old junior at Palmyra High School built five picnic tables around the old railroad shed in the park to provide additional seating.
“Ever since I was little, I played sports here. I played baseball on that field and that field and soccer on those fields over there,” Wilburn said, pointing to different locations around the park.
“I went to camp here, since I don’t know, ever since I can remember, so I’ve always been here,” he added.
“I just wanted to help give back a little bit,” Wilburn said.
Wilburn still has to finish a few merit badges to become an Eagle Scout, but he said completing the project is the most important part of the process. He has been a member of the Boy Scouts since fifth grade.
He heard there were plans to convert the shed into a snack stand and noticed there weren’t too many places for people to sit in the park.
“There’s nothing over here,” Wilburn said. “You have some old benches over there, but they’re not really that comfortable.”
It’s unclear whether the park will get a snack stand this summer, he said, but the tables were unveiled last month. Riverton Borough officials presented Wilburn with a proclamation recognizing his donation during a ceremony on April 28.
Wilburn said he started the project by raising money to buy the materials for the tables. He raised $927, most of which came from a crowd-funding page he set up online and shared on social media.
He bought the materials from Schwering’s Hardware Store in Palmyra and then called together family, friends and members of his troop to help build and paint the tables.
Wilburn said he hopes the tables can become a gathering spot for the community.
Wilburn said he’s looking at colleges and is planning to study mechanical engineering. He also hopes to finish his merit badges and become an Eagle Scout sometime this summer.
