PARIS — As a junior last year at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School, Rowan Cayer set his sights on his senior project. He and a classmate, Derrek Brooker, would restore the walking bridge that spanned Stony Brook in South Paris and provided access to the First Congregational Church of South Paris’ rustic lodge from Route 117.

The lodge is used mostly by the local Boy Scouts, according to Cayer’s dad Jeffrey Cayer, who is also a Scout Leader.

OHCHS seniors Derrek Brooker (left) and Rowan Cayer stand with Rowan’s father Jeff on a suspension bridge over Stony Brook in South Paris. The students planned to repair the bridge as their senior project but the program was cancelled due to COVID-19. They took to fundraising to pay for the materials so they can complete their project anyway. Nicole Carter / Advertiser Democrat

“We do merit badge training here,” explained the elder Cayer. “Scout advancement for them to work up the ranks. Everything from building a fire to cooking. Part of cooking is we take them out into the real world and make them shop. They have to shop before they can cook. We bring up 5 gallon buckets of water from the church.”

The two students made plans to repair the walking bridge during the summer and have their senior project completed by the time school started in September. The church agreed to donate most of the funds for materials.

But then the pandemic came, schools and the economy closed, and the project went into limbo. Church committees were unable to meet and hold fundraising events, forcing them to close their coffers for the time being. The Boy Scouts were in the same predicament and could not pitch in either.

Cayer and Brooker held out hope that OHCHS would restart the senior project; fundraising for projects has strict requirements and accounting that has to be overseen by school officials. Without a means to raise the estimated $1,000 for materials within school guidelines the boys could not proceed.

The bridge had last been re-decked about four years ago with interior grade lumber, a band-aid solution that has started to degrade. Without repair, it was possible that the lodge would become inaccessible.

In early October OHCHS finally took steps to waive the senior project requirement for seniors forced in a hybrid education model, so the two decided to complete the project anyway and raise the funds on their own.

The Cayer family set up a GoFundMe page to start the process.

Consequently, Barbara and Frank Daggett of Harrison came across a link to the GoFundMe campaign and decided to participate in memory of their late son John Daggett. John had been a member of the South Paris Scouts, progressing from Tiger to Eagle Scout as a youth. He had spent many days and nights at the lodge and loved it there.

The bridge providing access to the First Congregational Church of South Paris’ Camping Lodge from Rt. 117 will be named in honor of the late John Daggett, a dedicated Eagle Scout who grew up in Harrison. Supplied photo

“John so enjoyed Scouts, especially camping,” said Frank Daggett. “His first ever camping trip was up in Nova Scotia on an island. I remember how hesitant he was getting in the pontoon boat, he didn’t want to go. He was pretty ticked off at us then, but he came home with a love of camping. For many years he went to Camp Hinds in Raymond, first as a camper and then as a counselor.”

A gifted guitarist and singer, John Daggett’s renditions of John Denver’s Country Roads and Green Day’s Time of your Life became highlights of evenings spent at both Camp Hinds and the South Paris lodge. His camp roles during his career as a Scout included Nature Area Director, Archery Instructor, Lifeguard, and Deputy Commissioner.

John Daggett passed away in 2018 following an eight-month battle against an aggressive form of cancer.

“They were never able to really figure out John’s illness,” said Frank Daggett. “But his doctors told us that they had never seen such a courageous fight against it. He just faced it head-on and on his own terms.

“Right before he passed away, we had one final family night. We watched movies and shared pizza, he ate a half of one himself. And two days later he passed away.”

The Daggetts reached out to the Cayers to offer their support. They agreed to match all contributions to the bridge repair project until the $1,000 fundraising goal was met. The Congregational Church agreed to name the bridge in memory of John Daggett.

The late John Daggett, during his career as a camp counselor at Camp Hinds in Raymond. Supplied photo

“John just loved the outdoors,” said Daggett of his son’s embrace of scouting and camping. “I remember when he was younger and we went out on a long hike. He had outgrown his boots and ended up taking them off and going barefoot. When I realized what he had done – his feet were blistered and bloody and I felt awful – I asked why he didn’t say anything. But he hadn’t wanted to stop. He wanted to keep going. That’s how he lived.”

Donations to pay for materials to repair the John F. Daggett Bridge can be made on the Cayers’ GoFundMe page.