Decorah Girl Scouts help to build a kiosk in the Freeport Park

Girl Scouts Gracia Taylor, Jordyn Hussain and Sydney Landstrom with Dale Kittleson

Members of Decorah's Girl Scout Troop 346 have built an informational kiosk in the renovated Freeport Park.

Jordyn Hussain, Sydney Landstrom and Gracia Taylor, all of Decorah, collaborated with Dale Kittleson of Wild Rose Timberworks to complete the project.  Kittleson served as advisor on the project, teaching the scouts traditional building techniques.

The scouts began by learning shop safety, wood selection, and how to use traditional hand tools.  The first homework assignment was to determine the best wood to use for the kiosk.  The scouts and Kittleson selected cedar. Although they used a power drill to start the mortises, they hand chiseled the majority of the wood to make the mortises; and carefully measured and chiseled the wood to make the tenons. They also chiseled the pegs that hold the structure together.  The scouts appreciated building tips from Kittleson, which included "Measure twice and cut once," "You can never put the wood back," and "The magic square is the best tool in life."

The girl scouts wished to support a community initiative that was useful and sustainable. They found out through Kittleson that the Winneshiek County Conservation Board wanted an informational kiosk at the Freeport Park along the Freeport Trail, and the planning and building began. The kiosk will display a trail map, donor wall, and possibly more. It has a similar design to the shelter currently being built by Wild Rose Timberworks that will be installed in Freeport Park later this fall.

Working on the project helped the three girls in pursuit of the Girl Scout Silver Award. The award is the highest award a Girl Scout Cadette can earn. It is an opportunity for scouts to look around their neighborhood, school, or community to find areas where they can make a change for the better. The suggested minimum time for earning the Girl Scout Silver Award is 50 hours per scout. Hussain, Landstrom, and Taylor each exceeded 50 hours to achieve their goal of making a difference in their community.

When asked about the project, Hussain shared, "I love to help out the community and I think this is very useful to the community since the trail is used often. I also enjoyed using the hand tools." Landstrom commented, "The project wasn't only writing a paper or making a display board. It was both hands-on and mental, challenging me in many ways that I haven't experienced in school." Taylor said, "I wasn't sure about the project at first, but when we got into it I saw just how important the kiosk sign would be to people and that made me appreciate communities more."

The wood and supplies were paid for by the girl scouts through troop money earned over the years from cookies sales, plus additional fundraising this fall with family, friends, and at local community events. The work hours by the girl scouts and Kittleson were all a volunteer donation to support the project.

The Winneshiek County Conservation Board assisted on the project and they will manage the posted information and the maintenance of the informational kiosk.