Orland Park Scout Honors Route 30's History With Eagle Scout Pursuit

ORLAND PARK, IL — Jack McDonnell has always been infatuated with history. So when it comes to pursuing the highest honor that the Boy Scouts of America hands out, it only makes sense that the Orland Park teenager would combine his passion for things past and scouting.

McDonnell, a freshman at Lincoln-Way East High School, is setting out not only to earn the prestigious Eagle Scout award but is doing so by paying honor to the Boy Scouts that went before him. McDonnell is hoping to raise nearly $2,000 that will go toward refurbishing a historic marker that was put into place by the Boy Scouts nearly 100 years ago along Route 30, which is known more commonly as Lincoln Highway.

In 1928, Boy Scouts of America set out to place 3,000 mile markers along Lincoln Highway, which stretches 3,389 miles from New York City to San Francisco. The project was deemed a safety initiative by the Boy Scouts as part of a project that made national news at the time with a story appearing in the New York Times.

The markers were put into place by the Boy Scouts after the highway had not yet been paved in 1925 when state officials across the country came up with a new highway numbering system. The numbering system made the 1913 highway markings obsolete, adding to the historical significance of the Boy Scout project.

The New Lenox marker is one of a few that remain intact that pays homage to the efforts of cross-country highways before the nation’s interstate system of automobile transportation began in the 1950s.

The mile marker that McDonnell is focusing on sits on the property of Lincoln-Way Central High School and includes a gazebo that was built by Will County officials in 2015 to help recognize the efforts of the Boy Scouts so many years ago. McDonnell said that he first noticed the marker while at water polo practice at the school and knew immediately he wanted to know more.

McDonnell, who is a member of Boy Scout Troop 318 in Orland Park, first joined the Cub Scouts in the sixth grade and has slowly risen through the ranks ever since. The fact he can now work toward the biggest honor the Boy Scouts hand out while building on the history that the scouts added to his local community nearly a century ago brings even more significance to his pursuits.

“The fact that Boy Scouts from across the country put the markers in shows the teamwork from each scout troop,” McDonnell told Patch. “So that’s what has really inspired me to try to help renovate this (space).”

McDonnell admits he didn’t really know much about Lincoln Highway before setting out to beautify the marker that sits on the Lincoln-Way Central property. Research taught him Route 30 was the first transcontinental highway in the United States and was constructed in 1913. While the marker placed by the Boy Scouts in 1928 remains in decent shape, the area has become overgrown and the gazebo that was built in 2015 has fallen into disrepair.

Between the chipping paint and the bushes and shrubs that are part of the marker are dying and in need of replacement. Moss has started to grow over the marker itself and the paint has started to fade, McDonnell said. As part of his Eagle Scout project, McDonnell is raising funds that will go toward power-washing and repainting the gazebo as well as planting new tall grasses and shrubs that will improve the area that honors the efforts of the Boy Scouts.

McDonnell said he has met with Lincoln-Way Central school officials who he said believed that the marker was on Will County property rather than on the school grounds. He has also met with members of the Will County Historical Preservation Committee, who were the ones who indicated that the marker was actually part of the school property. His project has been approved by the school district and the Boy Scouts, giving McDonnell the green light to move ahead with his efforts to improve the area.

Lincoln-Way Central Principal Beth McNamara told Patch she has been impressed with McDonnell's efforts to make a difference in his community.

"Jack is an extremely impressive young man who I am confident has a very bright future ahead of him," McNamara said. "Jack's passion for history and excitement to make a difference is apparent through his hard work and attention to detail in the planning process. We look forward to working together with Jack to complete this project and we are excited for the positive impact his efforts will have on both the Boy Scouts and our Lincoln-Way school community."

McDonnell has recruited members of his Boy Scout troop as well as members of his ROTC class at Lincoln-Way East to begin work on the area once funds have been raised. McDonnell will host a fundraising dinner at Gatto’s Italian Restaurant (in the Atrium) at 1938 E Lincoln Highway in New Lenox on February 11th.

The fundraising dinner will run between 5-10 p.m. and includes a full buffet. Tickets will be sold in advance or at the door for $35 per person and $10 for children under age 10. Donations can also be made through Venmo at @Jack-McDonnell-26. Work on the site is scheduled to begin with the first of two work dates in late April.

For McDonnell, the honor of achieving Eagle Scout is significant as he means he has developed leadership skills while also moving through the scouting trail. The fact that the honor also encompasses recognizing the work put in by Scouts before him, however, only adds to the work he will put in over the next few months as he hopes to bring even more attention to the historical marker and those who were part of the original safety project.

“I’m trying to honor the Boy Scouts of 1928 and trying to keep what they made as clean and as prestigious as it was when the (marker) was first put into place,” McDonnell told Patch.

“I hope (the work) will make the gazebo more noticeable from the road and I would hope that people would come to learn the history of the road that they’re driving on. I’m really big into history and I want people to be able to understand that (history) and why the Boy Scouts planted the marker and to see the history of Boy Scouts and Route 30.”