At the Parker town council meeting on Aug. 10, Mayor David Casiano and the council honored David J. Pack, a Youth For Parker officer and member of Crew 53, for achieving the Eagle Scout rank and for his unusual and extensive leadership service project. David received his Eagle Scout award at an earlier Court of Honor held on June 6.
David Pack's Eagle Project saw him lead 46 other scouts, friends and adults in verifying the records and photographing all of the tombstones and markers in Bear Cañon Cemetery in Sedalia. The cemetery was founded in 1873. The records had been damaged in flooding during 1965 and had proven difficult to reconstruct due to the Sedalia County Courthouse fire in 1978. As a result, despite the best and continuing efforts of the Sedalia Historical Society, the final resting place of 144 of those buried in the cemetery was unknown when David began his project in October 2007.
By diligently comparing tombstone data with the cemetery database, duplicate records were combined, data on known burials was enhanced, burial records were tagged with photographs, and 109 of the unknowns were identified with their burial sites. By the end of the project in March 2008, the volunteers had visited the cemetery five times and contributed 653 man-hours.
The final result of the project was presented in the form of a website which readers can see at http://eagledavid.johnpack.org, at the Sedalia Historical Society, onsite at Bear Cañon Cemetery, at the Family History Centers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Parker and Castle Rock, or online as part of the Colorado Photo Tombstone Project.
The website links all of the pictures with the data and cemetery maps.
This allows visitors to the website or the cemetery to quickly find the relative, friend, or genealogical data they're looking for.
There are so many pictures (over 1,650) that one can recreate a stroll through the cemetery virtually. As David has remarked, "To know ourselves, we must know the character and traditions of our ancestors."
David's project will enable many local residents and distant relatives to re-connect with their ancestors.
In addition to the Eagle Scout rank, David Pack has received the Bronze and Gold Eagle Palms. David is also one of the first two Venture Scouts in the Pioneer Trails District to receive the Venturing Silver Award.
David currently serves the district Order of the Arrow as Vice-Chief of Activities. David is an enthusiastic, long-term volunteer with the Youth For Parker. Congratulations and thank you, David.
John Pack is David's father and the committee chairman for Troop, Team and Crew 53.