Pickaway Ross Students Create Garden For Area Veterans

Article Presented By Rathkamp Financial…

(PRCTC) – A community service project to create a healing garden for veterans continues to grow thanks to students in Pickaway-Ross’ SkillsUSA chapter. 

Started in 2017 by English teacher and chapter advisor Tea McCaulla, the Veterans Healing Garden at the Chillicothe VA features trees, walking paths and raised flower beds. 

The chapter’s addition to the garden for the 2022-23 school year is a children’s garden, with a drum set and three pieces designed and created by SkillsUSA members in the Welding program. 

The pieces — two flowers and a butterfly — were the brainchild of Sydney McGlone, a senior in Welding. Tea said Sydney created a model of each out of cardboard.  

Then senior Laramie Grubb and junior Hayden Flowers in Machining & Advanced Manufacturing used the models to make a 3-D version. Senior Avery Hartshorn, also in Machining, used that model to create a code for the lab’s plasma cutter.  

Avery, Sydney, Pheonix McCoy (Welding) and Nadia Hendershot (Electrical) welded the faces of the pieces, which in addition to being artwork, are also part of the drum display. 

Sydney then welded on pipes for stems and passed it on to junior Joel Houser (Auto Collision Repair) for painting. The paint was donated by Vitatoe Industries.  

“This was going to cost over $4,000 and our students were able to make it out of scrap metal and donated items,” said Tea. “This was such a beautiful project to watch come together.” 

Tea said the chapter’s next goal is to raise money for buy a xylophone for the garden.