HP_062118

10 | June 21, 2018 | The highland park landmark news
hplandmark.com
Highwood Boy Scout fixes
broken train station clock
Harrison Raft
Editorial Intern
For approximately 10
years the clock at the
Highwood train station
has been frozen in time.
That was, until Christopher
Cizek made it his
Eagle Scout project to repair
the clock and bring it
out of the past.
Starting out as a Cub
Scout in Pack 35, Cizek
has risen the ranks of the
Boy Scouts in Troop 324.
After roughly eight years
of hikes and camp outs
he is in the process of becoming
an Eagle Scout,
upon completion of his
Eagle project, and presentation
of the project to the
board of review where he
will have to describe the
project step by step and
how he took on the leadership
position.
The Eagle Scout project
is a task done for the
benefit of the community,
and also a demonstration
of leadership by the scout
undergoing the project.
In addition to completing
the actual project,
there are mounds of paperwork
to complete.
The Highwood train
station clock was something
that the community
members have been asking
to be fixed, but Highwood
mayor Charlie Pecaro
said at a Highwood
City Council meeting that
“multiple corporations”
said they “couldn’t figure
out” how to fix the clock.
It wasn’t until Cizek
took notice of the complaints
of the town that
he decided to make it his
project.
“It felt good to give
back to the community,”
Cizek said. “I always
Christopher Cizek, a Boy Scout from Highwood, fixed
the clock at the Highwood train station, which had been
broken for more than 10 years. Cizek repaired the clock
as part of his Eagle Scout project. Photo submitted
heard people talk about
the broken clock and it
felt good to end the complaints.”
Cizek started his project
last summer, working
to trace down the parts
necessary for the repair.
When it came time for the
parts to be put into place
Cizek worked out of his
basement using a manual
the company of the clock
had sent to him to screw
in the proper pieces.
After multiple tests to
make sure the clock was
in working order, it was
then mounted back onto
the train station.
Cizek also enlisted the
help of a team of younger
scouts that volunteered
after Cizek emailed out
a call to action. They all
worked to wield shafts together,
tighten loose gears
and oiled anything that
squeaked.
Scaffolding was constructed
so the Highwood
lettering on the train
station could be power
washed and re-painted for
a cleaner appearance.
“It gives Highwood
a more complete look,”
Cizek said.
“For him to take that
project and overcome every
obstacle there is and
get it done is amazing,”
Pecaro said. “It’s true persistence
on his part for
a Boy Scout to do what
the city couldn’t. It just
tells you if there’s a will,
there’s a way.”
With the clock fixed
Cizek is one step closer
to becoming an Eagle
Scout, and the community
of Highwood, against the
odds, has a working clock.
“I think it’ll put a huge
smile on everyone’s face,”
Pecaro said.
The clock now is just
ticking down until Cizek
is an Eagle Scout.