RICHLAND TOWNSHIP (KDKA) — Ryan Farbacher, 13, is the youngest Eagle Scout in his troop. Yet he dreamed up one of the most ambitious service projects: constructing a pavilion behind St. Richard Parish in Richland Township.
He got the idea while playing soccer.
“There was no outdoor facility if it rained,” he says. “You had to get in your car. You couldn’t have fun in your car. So now there’s an opportunity to hang out with your friends.”
An architect followed Ryan’s specifications. So did the volunteers who built the structure – an estimated 700 man hours.
“We dug post holes,” he recalls. “Put the posts in, and gradually worked our way up until we had a room with trusses, and the wood roof, and finally a metal roof.”
The Pine Township boy says they went to several roofing companies to find a match for the church itself. Though the labor and some of the materials were donated, he says, “I had to raise almost $6,700.”
Needing 21 Merit Badges for Eagle, Ryan has 44. And the pavilion is a lasting contribution to his community
“I wanted some kind of a structure that would not collapse by the end of the winter,” he says. “And we’re at the end of the winter, so I think it turned out well.”
It shows no signs of wear.
“Every time I come to church,” he says, “and come over the hill, I say, ‘That’s mine.'”
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