Peters Eagle Scout candidate builds 5 Little Free Libraries on Montour Trail
Ginger Hollander and her daughter Isabella Hollander, 9, of Peters Township notice one of the new Little Free Libraries that are scattered along the Montour Trail as they walk in Peters Township. Boy Scout Pratik Kaushiik built the boxes as part of his Eagle Scout project.
From left are Venkatesh and Mala Kaushik, Tom Wilk, Myra Oleynik and Pratiik Kaushik.
For his Eagle Scout project, Pratiik Kaushik of McMurray decided to combine his love of scouting and reading by building five Little Free Libraries along the Peters Township section of the Montour Trail.
“I really love to read,” said Pratiik, 16, a junior at Peters Township High School.
With the guidance of Tom Wilk, his scoutmaster, and Myra Oleynik, director of the Peters Township Public Library, Pratiik raised $600 through the sale of handmade bookmarks and donations from family and friends to conceive and fund the project.
Pratiik unveiled the Little Libraries he placed along the trail on Sunday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
“He is very kind, helpful, courteous and respectful,” said Pratiik’s mother, Mala.
Added Venkatesh, his father, “I thought it was going to be a big challenge.”
The project began in February, Pratiik said. Once he was able to raise the money, he then had to build and place each of the five libraries, which look like an oversize, unpainted wooden mailbox on a pole with a glass door. The libraries can be found along the trail by the Simple Greek restaurant, the Pit Pooch, the parking lot at Peters Lake Park, and by Shelter Four the soccer fields at Peterswood Park.
“I am very pleased when an Eagle Scout can better the community,” said Michele Harmel, Peters Township Parks and Recreation director. “It’s a good opportunity for residents.”
Little Free Libraries was started in Wisconsin in 2009 as a kind of neighborhood book exchange. Since then, there are now 40,000 Little Free Libraries in all 50 states, as well as 40 countries in all shapes, sizes and colors.
“It is a great way to promote libraries and fitness,” Oleynik said.
Community members, as well as the library, have donated 200 books to Pratiik and his libraries. A person can take a book from a location and replace it with another book. Pratiik has placed a small, bound notebook and pencil in each location so his patrons can write down the book they took to read. Unlike community libraries, Pratiik does not charge overdue fees.
Pratiik said he expects to become an Eagle Scout sometime during the first quarter of 2017 because he still has five more merit badges to earn. And even though college is still a couple of years away, Pratiik said he is thinking of either a career in medicine, or engineering.
Regardless of the career path that he will eventually choose, Pratiik’s parents said they could not be prouder of their son.
“It’s an awesome achievement,” said Mala Kaushik. “It is a lot of hard work and an opportunity to give back to the community.”