WHITE RIVER JUNCTION - On Monday afternoon a 16-year-old working on his Eagle Scout project added a landmark enhancement to Veterans Park in the form of a 35-foot flag pole that will stand next to the town’s war memorials.
Leo Snyder Hamalainen spent over a year pulling together the plans and the permissions from the town’s Monuments Committee to make his project a reality, guiding his fellow scouts from Troop 45 in Hanover through the site prep and the installation of the half-ton granite base and the trenching work for the electrical system for the lights that will eventually illuminate the flag pole at night.
“This came about from lots of late-night conversations with my parents and lots of fundraising from local businesses in White River Junction,” Leo said. He added, “My family originally lived in Hanover before we moved to Hartford but I stayed with Hanover troop because I have lots of friends there.”
The project does have a connection to Hartford’s Troop 260 in the form of structural engineer Tim Shaw, who agreed to act as Leo’s Eagle Project mentor. “He’s probably the most qualified guy I know to do this,” Leo noted.
The aluminum pole itself cost $4,500. “That was a lot of fundraising,” Leo noted. “It was the most expensive part of the project. Thankfully all the other components such as the granite slab, the concrete, the electrical was contributed by others. Without the people in the community and their donations it would not have been possible whatsoever.”
The scouts will be back in the spring to complete a set of flower beds around the base of the pole.
Leo’s older brother Jamie just finished his own Eagle Scout project, a mural at the VA Hospital, and his twin brother Kai is planning one of his own as well.
“This has been an incredible learning process for me,” Leo said of the Eagle effort. “Obviously, I’ve never done something this scale, and I’ve never put up a flag pole before, so a lot of trial and error and a lot of mistakes have happened. I think the best thing if you are trying to do a project like this is to talk to and use the people you know and their input, all of which has been super valuable for me. It would have been impossible if I had tried to do it all on my own.”
Leo unwraps the newly delivered flag pole next to the World War I monument in Veterans Park first thing Monday afternoon. All photos © Eric Francis.
Leo assembles a locking mechanism that allows the ropes carrying the flag to be secured from a panel near the base of the pole. Seemingly simple, the flagpole actually has dozens of small parts that needed to be assembled before it could be raised into position.
Leo (center) pored over the instruction sheet with his twin brother Kai and their father Scott Synder as they completed the surprisingly intricate decorative ball assembly at the top of the pole.
With the help of a Green Mountain Power utility crew and their bucket truck it was time to lift the pole to a vertical position above the granite base the scouts helped install months ago.
With the help of Lineman Chance Lister of White River Junction the pole was lowered into place.
Using a plum bob, basically a length of string suspending a heavy weight, Leo checked to make sure that the pole wasn’t leaning…
…before he tightened the bolts at the base and locked it into position.
Leo and Kai get ready to send the first flag up to the top.
Success! Old Glory ascends over the park as the scout’s little sister Isa watches.
