Girl Scout improves signage along Interurban Trail

PHOTOS PROVIDED

Wadsworth’s Interurban Trail boasts new and improved historical signage thanks to local Girl Scout Skyler Smiechowski.

By EMILY CANNING-DEAN
BGNN staff writer

WADSWORTH  Thanks to local Girl Scout Skyler Smiechowski, Wadsworth’s Interurban Trail boasts new and improved historical signage.

“I had heard Friends of Wadsworth Trails needed help with the signs and during cross country, I would run along the trail, so I knew the signs that were there weren’t in the best shape,” said Smiechowski.

“So, I thought it made sense to redesign the signs in a way that would make them last longer and also easier to fix if they get damaged.”

Smiechowski embarked on the project to earn her Gold Award. In order to earn a Gold Award, a girl scout must identify a root cause of a community issue and take action to create a sustainable, lasting solution.

Smiechowski installed a total of 10 posted signs along the 2-mile trail which connects downtown Wadsworth to the southeast corner of the city. Each sign includes a picture with historical facts about the area and a plaque with the mileage in between the signs.

“We have a sign talking about the trolley line and another about the matchstick factory and injector factory,” she said. “There is another about the garage that is still there which was used to repair the trolleys and also a sign talking about the Trolley Line House near Silvercreek. We talked with Roger Havens who is a local historian to make sure we had all the history right.”

Smiechowski said some of the old signs were beginning to warp so she decided the new signs should be installed in shadier spots to avoid sun damage.

“We also built it so that if the picture part of the sign gets dirty and it can’t be cleaned, it will be really easy to replace it,” she said.

While it took only two days in December to physically install the signs, Smiechowski said she started planning for the project last February. She said she communicated with the city and with Friends of Wadsworth Trails to secure donations for the project and to ensure sign installation didn’t disrupt any plumbing or electrical lines, especially in the downtown area. Smiechowski also managed a team of eight volunteers who helped with installation and worked to make sure the team was able to purchase enough concrete to secure the posts and signs.

Smiechowski, who is a senior at Wadsworth High School this year and plans to attend college to study technology, biology and ecology after graduation, said she thinks leading this project has helped to prepare her for the future.

“I think it helped me to learn to be open to new ideas on how to get things done,” she said. “And to not give up when things get difficult, but to keep trying to find ways to make things work.”
Smiechowski said she has been involved with Girl Scouts since she was in kindergarten and would highly recommend it to other girls.

“You get to go on field trips and do campouts and arts and crafts and go on adventures,” she said. “It’s a really great experience.”

Since the installation back in December, Smiechowski said she has had the opportunity to walk the Interurban Trail and see that her signs are still holding up well.

Smiechowski’s mom, Kelly, said it was exciting to be in the downtown area near the start of the trail and see some people checking out one of the signs that her daughter worked to install.

“It was a proud mom moment,” she said.