73.0°,
Mostly Cloudy Who is Hendrickson? Scout’s project will tell you
For most Boy Scouts looking to earn their Eagle rank, the last step along the way is the completion of a community service project. Troop 116 Boy Scout Daniel Guarneri wanted to celebrate the history of Valley Stream with his project, so he installed a plaque honoring one of the founding fathers of the village.
Guarneri, 18, created a monument at the Arthur J. Hendrickson Park for the park’s namesake. He had a plaque made up honoring Hendrickson, mayor of the village from 1929 to 1932. It was placed on a rock just to the left of the pool entrance. Guarneri, with the help of fellow scouts, also planted flowers in the area.
“It came out really great,” he said. “I felt it was necessary I got his name out there.”
Guarneri said he learned that not only was Hendrickson a mayor in the early days of the village, but he also owned a construction company responsible for building many of the roads and homes in Valley Stream. Hendrickson also spearheaded the effort to turn the southern section of Valley Stream State Park over to the village, which is now the park named in his honor.
But Guarneri noted there really wasn’t any kind of monument at the park for the Hendrickson. Growing up near the park, Guarneri said he has always been familiar with the name Arthur J. Hendrickson, but knew very little about the man.
So he began his research. Guarneri turned to a book put out in 1975 for the 50th anniversary of the village. He said he found the information about Valley Stream’s history, and specifically about Hendrickson, very interesting.
He also received some help from Robert Bogle, the village justice and assistant scoutmaster for Troop 116. Bogle’s two sons are Eagle Scouts and did projects honoring the history of Valley Stream. “He liked the idea of having a permanent marker in terms of village history,” Bogle said of Guarneri. “He liked the two projects of my sons.”
Bogle said he helped Guarneri come up with the wording for the plaque. He also helped the aspiring Eagle Scout reach out to various groups for his fundraising efforts.
