When my son Daniel was approaching his 18th birthday he had to scramble to complete his BSA Eagle Scout project. He got a lot of help from his mother and others, but it was quite a bit of work. It involved gathering clothing, utensils, toys, and other usable items to donate to a migrant farming camp outside nearby Hillsboro. These migrant workers would come up from Mexico (or further south), often with their families, to work the fields here in the summer. Since they didn’t have permanent housing there were camps set up with living quarters for them to use.
Needless to say, the families were fairly indigent and would greatly appreciate the donations. First, numerous items were collected from donors and stored in our garage. Then multiple vehicles were arranged to transport the items to the camp.
Daniel and his mom had worked with county authorities to arrange to deliver the goods to the camp. What an exciting time it was to see the joy and excitement at the camp.
We were particularly pleased to see our rocking horse, which had gone through all five of our kids, find a new home with a happy child.
We were very proud of our son.
OK, date check. I remember this really well, but I remember it happening earlier than Daniel’s 18th birthday. So depending on how close to 18 you mean by “approaching,” my memories might be totally wrong. I wrote about it briefly here – I remember trying to speak a little bit of Spanish to them since I had just started studying Spanish at MP (and also that Mom promised me a pack of Rolos if I helped). What do you think? Is that the same event you’re describing here? If so, was this really more like 1994 rather than 1997?