Athens Girl Scouts work to earn Silver Award

Boneske cousins are beautifying downtown On The Square with flowers

Cousins Amia and Bianca Boneske, who are both Athens Girl Scout cadets, are determined to finish their Veterans Memorial landscape project On the Square in downtown Athens before the 118th Athens Fair being held August 17-20.

The Boneskes were sweating while planting perennial flowers in Friday’s hot weather but all their hard work will pay off when their Girl Scouts Silver Award is completed.

One year ago, the girls presented their layout plans for the Veterans Memorial landscape project to members of the Athens Chapman-Belter American Legion Post 4 and Athens VFW Post 8527 to get their approval.

The Athens American Legion donated money so the girls could purchase supplies for the landscaping project. The Athens VFW donated money for the wood border and flagstone rocks that the girls placed on the pathway to the Veterans Memorial and around the American flag pole.

Winter Greenhouse donated day lilies, spiderwort and potentilla. The girls chose those low maintenance flowers for the landscaping project.

Memorial Gardens in Athens donated fertilizer for the flowers. Many other local companies donated towards the project: Frahm Wood Products in Athens donated the excavation work for the landscaping project, Nubby’s Service in Athens donated the use of its skidsteer, Athens Concrete is donating large rocks that will have the sponsors names on them, EO Johnson donated the landscape tarp to keep the weeds out, and Westfall Construction of Athens donated a dump truck to haul the rocks to the site.

Amia Boneske will be a seventh grader this fall at St. Anthony de Padua Catholic School in Athens and Bianca Boneske will be a freshman at Athens High School.