PHIPPSBURG

“Alfred L. Smith was a fisherman and lobsterman who spent every single day possible out on the water. He took pride in what little he had, but among his most prized possessions was his little pie slice boat. He had it for decades and took it everywhere fishing and lobstering in Casco Bay.”

And so begins Truman Slocum’s Eagle Project description. The project, nearly two years from concept to realization, aimed to provide a welcome attraction to his small coastal community.

“When (Alfred Smith) passed away, I approached his family (brother Forest Smith is a lobsterman in Phippsburg) and asked if I could use the boat for my Eagle Project,” Slocum continued. “My thinking was that the boat’s history and its late owner fit the culture of our community. They graciously gave their consent and now, Alfred’s boat welcomes all who visit Phippsburg.”

Slocum, a member of Boy Scout Troop 648, painted, scraped and prepared the boat to be used as housing for the “Welcome to Phippsburg” sign.

The project was a time-consuming one, not only in the planning stages, but in its execution. For the actual sign, he hand-burned each letter into a clear piece of birch plywood and seal-coated the wood. The letters — which will never peel or fade — took almost two hours each to burn correctly.

Slocum credits his father, Curt Slocum, with teaching him the proper technique. His hard work and efforts went beyond the physical project, too, as he worked at Spinney’s Restaurant at Popham Beach to purchase the wood, hardware and paint.

Slocum is the son of Kristen Cara-Donna Slocum and Curt Slocum of the Sebasco area of town. His family has a long history in Phippsburg, according to his father. The family has been in the area since the 1700s and is one of the original families on the peninsula.

The high school junior began his long journey toward scouting’s highest honor back in 2001 when he joined Cub Scouts in Pack 696 as a first-grader.

He progressed through the ranks and even included a temporary stint living in Wisconsin where he joined Troop 329. It was actually there, in Wisconsin, that Slocum began hand-lettering the Phippsburg sign, according to his father. It was always his intention to return to Phippsburg and Troop 648 to complete his project.

The project went beyond just the sign, though. In fact, he wrote in some of the copious paperwork required to submit an Eagle Scout project, without a generous donation of land the project never would have happened.

“Not only did I receive the boat, but as a more than generous donation, I was also granted the perfect spot to place it,” he writes. “Nancy Coffin, wife of the late Gene Coffin, granted me a land easement to her property on the main road leading into Phippsburg. It is on Route 209 and Heron Cove Road.”

He explained that her husband, Gene, was a friend of his father, Curt Slocum. Coffin died from Lou Gehrig’s disease a couple of years ago, before Alfred Smith died.

In appreciation and memoriam, a plaque now hangs with the sign commemorating the two men for their donations and that of their families. Under the names of Alfred and Gene, the plaque reads:

“One’s acquaintances may fill the world, but true friends are like family one meets along the way!”

Truman Slocum made the plaque in school and attached it to the boat under the sign. Brian Coffin, a friend and supporter of the project, donated his time and equipment as a service to the Phippsburg community.

“He helped dig the holes for the posts, mixed cement and helped hang the sign” which weighs about 300 pounds, Slocum wrote.

In the first week or so after hanging the sign, the Eagle candidate received no less than two dozen notes, calls and comments of appreciation. Among them, Stephen Medlicot, Boy Scouts of America’s director of communication and marketing, and Roger Morgan, one of the national council’s top photographers, gave the project a thumbs up.