Eagle Scout candidates aid Ocracats

January 28, 2020 | Island Features | From The: Ocracoke Observer

Eagle Scout candidates from the Cary/Apex area set up shelters they made for homeless cats on Ocracoke. Photo: C. Leinbach

By Rita Thiel

Craftsmanship, dedication, and leadership were in evidence as three Eagle Scout candidates from Cary delivered their final projects to Ocracoke–handmade feeding stations for the island Ocracats.

“My guess is that these are gonna be their favorite spots,” said Melinda Sutton, an Ocracat volunteer, as she stuffed straw into one of the new cat shelters on Jan. 18. Soon after, one of the dozens of cats she feeds behind her Tradewinds Tackle business wasted no time in jumping into the shelter.

The young men, Patrick, Andrew and Collin, their fathers and scout leader left the Raleigh area around 5 a.m.hauling a trailer with the five hand-made wooden shelters, and caught the 10 a.m. Swan Quarter ferry. Boy Scouts USA rules prohibit the Observer from listing their last names.

The three, who have passed their Life Scout rank and are nearing the end of their Eagle Scout quest, decided to help the community cats of Ocracoke after reading about the devastation from Hurricane Dorian Sept. 6.

“After I read the Facebook posts about what had happened and the need for cat shelters, I thought this would be a great project for the boys,” said Tommy Grubbs, the boys’ ScoutsBSA Troop 200 leader. “I approached them with the idea and they jumped on board.”

Patrick has visited the island, vacationing at Edwards of Ocracoke with his family several times.

Unloading the shelters at one of the feeding stations. Photo: C. Leinbach

“I love Ocracoke and I love coming out here and I thought I’d get more out of it doing what I really wanted to support,” he said about the project.

The scouts used the shelter design plan that is on the Ocracats website. The shelters, built with one sheet of plywood and one 2 X 4, are multi-level with two compartments on each level, a hinged door, and some even had extra insulation.

After they made the first shelter, they saw that the plans called for the roofs to be flush with the walls.

“It would have been flush, but we thought it would be better with an overhang,” said Collin. So they added a piece of plywood to that first one and then adjusted the plans for the subsequent shelters.

Each boy made his own shelter(s) and tweaked the design with individual touches. The boys did all the planning and construction, with only a small bit of assistance.

“The boys showed excellent leadership skills throughout the completion of these projects,” said Grubbs.

“I really like that we could do something that was needed,” said Patrick.