I
t started out as an effort to help his uncle clear brush and debris one weekend.
But 14-year-old Alec Sager’s contribution to the Lehigh Portland Trail’s opening south of Iola soon grew exponentially, and has since led to an Eagle Scout badge.
Sager oversaw construction of one of the trail’s centerpieces, a shelter overlooking Elks Lake.
The shelter was completed in late May, just in time for the trail’s grand opening celebration a few weeks later.
The shelter, a concrete pad with poles and a roof, provides a spectacular view of the lake, which formerly served as the old Lehigh Cement rock quarry.
The shelter’s location near the east entrance is a perfect resting stop for walkers traveling the nearly 2 miles of the crushed limestone track that loops around the trail complex.
The idea for the shelter came in February, when Sager was asked by his uncle — and one of the key volunteers behind the trail’s development — John Sager.
“He asked several of us if we’d want to help,” Sager said. “While we were there, they mentioned they needed a shelter.”
That got the Boy Scout’s attention.
In order to earn an Eagle Scout rank — the highest rank available to Boy Scouts — Sager was required to oversee a community service project, complete with helping draw up a design, recruit volunteers and see the project to completion.
The trail provided a perfect marriage.
Thrive Allen County, the leading player behind the trail’s development, secured a grant to pay for the shelter’s materials.
First up was to pour the concrete slab, affixed with a pair of metal brace plates.
Steel posts were next before a cover was installed, and shingles added.
