Constable: Teen's Eagle Scout project is a Blackhawks Harley
Boy Scouts installing planters outside an old folks' home is nice. So is putting up a flagpole in a park to honor veterans. And Garret Walton says he admires a friend's recent Eagle Scout project that resulted in the donation of hundreds of blankets to children in the hospital.
“But I wanted to do something different,” says Garret, a 14-year-old Grant Community High School freshman from Round Lake.
His Eagle Scout project is a thing of legend.
“This is different. That's for sure,” says Garret, as he pats the bright red gas tank on the 1972 Harley-Davidson Sportster motorcycle he's restoring, customizing in honor of the Chicago Blackhawks, and donating to the Oak Brook-based Ronald McDonald House Charities of Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana.
Garret says he's been eager to help the charity after relatives stayed at a Ronald McDonald House in Chicago as their home away from home while getting treatment for a child's medical issues.
The unusual Eagle Scout project “is really driven by Garret's personal experience,” says Doug Porter, chief executive officer of Ronald McDonald House Charities of Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana. “He's passionate.”
The charity will auction Garret's motorcycle during the 7 p.m. Saturday auction at the World of Wheels, a three-day auto show that starts Friday at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont. Porter says players on the Blackhawks will add their autographs to the bike this week.
“I've heard of some really big projects, but this is unique,” says Scoutmaster John Nielsen of Port Barrington, who leads the Wauconda Troop 90 to which Garret belongs. “I told him it would be an awesome project, and to make sure he's got the tools to help him. He's got the right help.”
That help starts close to home with Garret's grandfather, George Walton, father Gary Walton, mom Jill and 10-year-old brother, Gabe. His dad, grandfather, little brother and fellow Scouts have all gotten their hands dirty.
“They had Boy Scouts all over my house tearing this motorcycle down for two days,” George Walton says. The following three months of repairing, restoring or replacing parts and putting it back together requires a bit more expertise, and a lot more hours of work.
“Garret didn't want to do a planter box or the traditional Scout projects you see,” says Gary Walton, who figures his sons already put about 150 hours into the motorcycle.
“I'm going to be an engineer, probably,” says Garret, who says he's already learned a lot in his freshman shop classes. Opening the binder where he keeps all the blueprints, Garret shows drawings for the metal box he had fabricated to hold the motorcycle's battery.
“That's cool. You're making stuff from scratch,” says Mike Witt, master technician of the performance division at the massive Woodstock Harley-Davidson dealership, where Garret has been working on the motorcycle. Witt, who lives in Streamwood, and Garrett Urban, service manager and fabricator for the dealership, donate work time and personal time to oversee the project.
“We're a small part of this,” says Doug Jackson, co-owner of Woodstock Harley-Davidson. “It's a powerful statement. It means a lot to us.”
Customizing the Harley with metal likenesses of the Blackhawks' chief logo, paintings, and a headlight that looks like a goalie's helmet, Garret had the years of the team's Stanley Cup championships etched into the metal box.
“I can't draw. I can only draw blueprints,” Garret says. He also designed a “spinner” that fits onto the brake arm and rotates to show “Chicago Blackhawks” on one side and the Ronald McDonald House Charities' slogan — “Togetherness Heals” — on the other.
“We love the creativity of thought to make that connection,” says Porter, who says the motorcycle represents more than just a charitable donation. “Gifts that take so much personal effort and time mean the world to us. When we tell this story to our families, they feel that someone cares. That's so important.”
A longtime supporter of the Ronald McDonald House Charities, Chicago BrushMasters has artists who will hand paint Garret's designs on the motorcycle during World of Wheels.
“It's going to sit in our compound, and we'll have our best two or three (artists) work on it during the show,” says Joel Peters, a Cary pin-striping and locomotive engineer for Amtrak who volunteers with the Chicago BrushMasters. “It's an emotional thing. It can accent the bike or make the whole bike.”
The motorcycle project grew out of personal emotional experiences for Garret. When relatives were staying at a Ronald McDonald House, Garret remembers playing video games with another boy during a visit.
“I asked the kid why he was there and he said he had cancer. That was a real wake-up call,” says Garret, who immediately began working on a way to incorporate the charity into his Eagle Scout project. “I want to help sick kids.”