Many of us will be giving thanks for the good things in our lives over a Thanksgiving meal in couple of weeks. However, at the Lemont Area Historical Society Thanksgiving came a little early this year, according to secretary Susan Donahue.

Donald Kirk, a 17-year-old member of Lemont Boy Scout Troop 149, restored a collapsed retaining wall on the historical society’s property for his Eagle Scout project.

“We are extremely thankful for Don Kirk coming forward,” Donahue said. “The wall is quite old and very solid (since it’s built from limestone blocks), and it hasn’t needed any major repair for more than 20 years. But with all the rain and snow and ice we had over the years, a portion simply gave way and toppled into the neighbor’s yard.

“And this year, with the steeple repair we had to make on our museum in the Old Stone Church, it would have been hard to find funding to do the wall repair,” she added.

The project was a straightforward one, but it was a time-consuming venture, Kirk said. He was required to attend Village Board meetings, meet with village officials, and consult both the historical society and property owners of the adjacent lot — lots of hoops to jump through to achieve the prestigious Eagle Scout ranking. Once Kirk’s design was approved, permits were completed and he had the go-ahead, it went smoothly.

“The wall is made from uneven blocks of limestone,” Kirk said. “So we took down the weak part and repaired it.”

The project was completed in three steps. First, the Public Works Department took down any loose stone that had not yet fallen. Next Kirk gathered volunteers who helped do the actual repair and cleanup work. Then public works staff returned to remove excess dirt, gravel and debris that Kirk and his helpers moved to the historical society’s parking lot.

Last month on project day, as he directed the undertaking, Kirk got his hands dirty along with about 20 others including Scouts, friends and a few adults. He said the group was pretty enthusiastic and things moved right along.

“The hardest part was moving the limestone. It’s very heavy!” Kirk said. “But I was surprised how fast it went. We started at 8 a.m. and expected to be through by 3:30 p.m. But even taking a lunch break, we finished by 2 p.m.”

Pleased with the work, Kirk’s mentor, Mike Finnegan said, “These projects give the boys a taste of real life and what it takes to accomplish things in a community. It will be useful to the community and it also met the criterion of a project that shows the leadership ability required to be an Eagle Scout.

“This was a good project,” he added. “It wasn’t that simple doing it, but Don did a good job, and I hope the wall will be there for a long time to come.”

Also pleased with the outcome, Donahue said, “It was important not only to the integrity of our property, but also to the look of our neighborhood and to the good will of our neighbors. Don is now part of our history, and the way he and his friends came together in this project, it makes us more confident in the future generation.”