Graves Get Headstones Thanks To Boy Scouts In/Around: Elk

When Travis King looked around for a Boy Scout project, he thought putting a flagpole at the Elk Cemetery would itself be a commitment.

When the Riverside High School senior went out to the cemetery, he got an eyeful.

There was not only a need for a flagpole, but for headstones at several dozen unmarked pauper graves.

“The graves were scattered through the cemetery,” King recalled.

The project, required for King to become Boy Scout Troop 404’s first Eagle Scout, became an adventure, and King, 17, ended up coordinating everything from fund-raising to the pouring of concrete.

Today the cemetery not only has a flagpole but 37 new headstones for the pauper graves.

“He organized all the manpower, went out in the community, and raised money,” said Scoutmaster Bob Kassa. “It’s a leadership thing and meant to involve other members of the troop and the community.

“You can’t do an Eagle Scout project and not involve other people.”

Part of the job was researching the history of the graves through local records and genealogy organizations. He also had to line up community contributions and ended up raising $1,500 from businesses.

Tresco Monument donated the stones, charging only for the engraving work.

King also had to coordinate the troop volunteers who helped spruce up the cemetery. The 26 members of Boy Scout Troop 040 painted the cemetery archway and set the flagpole in concrete.

King, senior class president at Riverside High, hopes to study dramatic arts at Evergreen State College in Olympia.