DARLINGTON — Donating his time, equipment and manpower to the cause, the owner of a local excavation company has taken it upon himself to revamp a community landmark in northeast Montgomery County.
Bart Maxwell, owner of Maxwell Trucking & Excavating, is spearheading and sponsoring a rebirth of the Darlington Conservation Club on Stockwell Road.
Club board member Rich Maxwell said a face lift of this magnitude — nearly $130,000 in total projects — would have never happened if it weren’t for the generosity of his cousin.
“We’ve got new windows, doors, tile upstairs, carpet ... we put in a new restroom upstairs, new furnace, air conditioning — it’s all coming back around,” Rich said. “It’s an awesome donation here. It wouldn’t have been possible without that. Between him and his guys, they’ve done an awesome job.
“Bart has donated his equipment and labor and we (the club) are supplying the fuel for the machines,” Rich said.
Others in the community have chipped in as well, monetarily or otherwise. Roughly $7,500 has been raised through various donations at Fountain Trust Bank in downtown Darlington.
The machines to which Rich refers are a combination of excavators and other heavy machinery working to drain, clean, dig and refill the pond located on the property. The site is a popular fishing destination for locals and provides a scenic backdrop for campers.
“We’re taking donations to cover that charge,” he added. “We’re gonna be, estimated, about $15,000 for the fuel and putting new piping in and getting everything back to where it should be.
When efforts are complete, Bart will have donated more than $100,000 of the $130,000 project, Rich said.
“He really stepped up to the plate for the community.”
Some have donated in other ways, as well. After draining the pond into nearby Sugar Creek, crews removed several tons of mud and silt from the bottom and deposited all of it in a nearby field to dry.
The silt deposits stand nearly five-feet deep in some areas — showing just how badly the pond needed attention.
“This field here belongs to Gayle Lough,” Rich said. “He’s allowed us to dump all this material out here and stockpile it. That’s another great thing — somebody else in the community has allowed us to move this here.”
Two 31-ton haulers, two excavators (one a 50-foot “long-stick” excavator) with buckets capable of scooping 2.5 tons of material per grab were all donated by Bart to be used for the project.
The reasons why Bart and others are willing to donate to the renovation of the club are many, Rich said.
Not only does the club offer camping and fishing to its members, it also donates the use of its building to organizations around the county as a nonprofit.
“The (club) is the charter for Pack #343 for the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and Cub Scouts,” Rich said. “We also support the local 4-H — they’ll meet here when we get done. We also do hunter-safety courses out here through the DNR (Department of Natural Resources). We support about any family organization.”
The pond project is estimated to be complete by summer of 2021.
The club is available for rent for various events for $650; club memberships are steady at $50 a year per family, and camping fees total $5 per night.
Those interested in renting the venue, located at 6342 North C.R. 700E, may reach out through the club’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/darlingtonconservationclub).
Anyone interested in donating to the continued renovation project may do so at any Fountain Trust Bank.
