By Mills Harasta / Special Contributor
At Saint Joseph Cemetery in Swedesboro, there is a small pavilion, donated by the Nucifora family, that sits on an old water well. Through the decades, the paint began to chip away, and the wrought iron began to rust. The once-beautiful pavilion stood, slowly deteriorating, against a backdrop of headstones. That is, until 16-year-old Miguel Santos showed up, leading a group of his fellow Scouts from Troop 13.
Santos has been with Troop 13 for 11 years. In that time, he has worked his way through countless projects, has shown leadership amongst his peers and earned 21 merit badges. Included are all four Religious Emblem Award Medals, awarded by the Catholic Committee of Scouting.
“A BSA Scout earning all four Catholic Religious Emblem Medals is a great accomplishment that is not often accomplished,” said Ken McGill of the Scouting Youth Ministry Committee in the Diocese of Camden.
Hailing from Swedesboro, Santos chose to better his hometown by beautifying the Nucifora pavilion at Saint Joseph Cemetery for his Eagle Scout project. In addition to fundraising, he coordinated and led fellow Scouts in the restoration project.
After receiving approval from his troop leaders and the local district council, and reaching out to and coordinating with Paul Martin, diocesan South Jersey Catholic Cemeteries director, Santos and his crew got to work on the pavilion. Sanding all of the wood and painting it with a couple fresh coats of white paint was the first step. Next, the team restored the wrought iron and planted new shrubs at each corner. Finally, they built, painted and installed flower boxes around the pavilion that will bloom with perennials.
“Miguel did an excellent job planning and executing his Eagle Scout Service Project. We are delighted and thankful that he chose to help beautify St. Joseph Cemetery,” Martin said.
Mario Nucifora, for whom the pavilion memorializes, was a Sicilian immigrant who settled in Woolwich Township in the 1930s. He was a founding member of the Swedesboro Auction House, one of the largest vegetable auctions on the East Coast. Nucifora and eight fellow Sicilian-American farmers also founded the Societa Gloria Italo-Americana, which had close ties to Saint Joseph Parish in Swedesboro, which is now Saint Clare of Assisi Parish. The society aided in bringing to the area an annual festival celebrating the Feast Day of Saint Alfio, a popular holy day in Italy. All proceeds from the festival went to Saint Joseph Parish.
After completing the project and receiving final signoff from South Jersey Catholic Cemeteries, Santos was awarded his Eagle Scout rank. While attending a troop meeting to award Santos with a Certificate of Leadership Appreciation & Community Service, Martin was awarded a mentor pin. Santos presented the honor to Martin, which highlights a non-parent adult who coached, assisted, instructed and encouraged a Scout as he worked to achieve the rank of Eagle.
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