When David Harnage decided to pursue becoming an Eagle Scout, he did so not for personal accolades or to scratch off a goal on his to-do list.
Scouting ran in his family. His grandfather, Richard R. Adicks Jr., was an Eagle Scout in the 1940s and ended up leading troops for the majority of his life. Three years ago he passed away and Harnage dedicated his project to the man he said changed his life.
“I never saw him get angry, he was the nicest person I’d ever met,” Harnage said. “When he passed away, that had a huge effect on me. There were a lot of things that made me ultimately decide to do this, but being able to dedicate my work to him, that just meant a lot.”
He toyed with the idea of attempting to become one of the small percentages of scouts who ascend to the rank of Eagle for quite some time. As he became wrapped up in the busy life that comes along with entering high school that dream slowly began to take a backseat.
Then his mother, Jennifer, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer. The world shifted on its axis and he said it didn’t take long for him to realize the clock was ticking.
“It slowed me down and kind of sped me up at the same time,” Harnage said. “For a while, I didn’t, I just had no resolve to work for a couple months. Then I realized she might not be around forever, that no one was going to be around forever, that I wasn’t going to be around forever. You can’t just wait for things to happen. You have to go out and do what you want. It motivated me to finish this.”
His mother is a teacher at Willis Peters Exceptional Center, right next door to Dover Elementary. Through her connection, Harnage found out Dover had a special need. A space on campus was not being utilized and he wanted to transform it into an outdoor classroom that all of the teachers could use to help their students learn about the environment and agriculture, which plays a large role in the Dover area.
The journey following her diagnosis was difficult, his mother said, but watching her son excel, watching him grow as he poured his heart and soul into his Eagle project, has played a massive role in her healing process. She is now cancer-free — a fact both she and Harnage attribute to a miracle from God — and said she knows his grandfather would have been beaming with pride if he saw all that Harnage has accomplished over the past year.
Harnage set to work on renovating the spartan area into a perfect classroom. While there was already some work completed from a prior project, Harnage began converting it to a “comfortable spot” for the students. He learned to build bench desks, constructed a walkway and sturdy border, mulched the area and wove vines up a pergola.
He worked for approximately six months on the project and said he learned a variety of new skills while constructing the fun venue. The new outdoor classroom is right next to the school’s garden. Harnage said he hopes as the students go through the years at Dover they will come to think of the classroom as a fun place to learn about agriculture and that it will further encourage their curiosity for the world in which they live.
“It was a great learning experience for me, it taught me so much about leadership and planning,” Harnage said. “Scouting in general is just such an amazing way to learn regardless of your age. You learn to be gentle with your surroundings and with other people, but to also be firm in what you believe. Everyone should give it a try. It teaches you to be prepared for anything.”
The Boy Scouts of America is a faith-based organization and Harnage said it has helped him grow into someone that is ready to “tackle the outside world.” He has faced immense obstacles over the past several years, but faith and scouting helped get both him and his family through.
When speaking to the students at the dedication ceremony on Oct. 11 Harnage said he hoped they would be able to use the outdoor classroom for years creating numerous happy memories. He also encouraged them to pursue their dreams and never give up on something they believe in.
“I think the kids are really excited about it,” Harnage said. “More importantly, I think the teachers are excited for it. I hope they get a lot of good use out of it for years to come. It was an honor to get the chance to help in this way.”