Eagle Scout project refreshes Townshend ballfield snack shack in tribute to Bruce Cutts

The renovation was led by Ronan Foley, a senior at Leland & Gray High School in Townshend, as his final project toward earning the Eagle Scout rank in Scouting America.

A repaired snack shack at the town’s baseball field now carries a reminder of Bruce Cutts, a longtime supporter of local youth baseball whose influence still resonates in the community.

The renovation was led by Ronan Foley, a senior at Leland & Gray High School in Townshend, as his final project toward earning the Eagle Scout rank in Scouting America. While planning the work, Foley said a discussion with Town Clerk Ellenka Wilson helped shape the decision to honor Cutts with a plaque at the front of the building.

Wilson recalled Cutts as a steady presence around the diamond, first as a commissioner during her own playing days and later as an umpire who stayed involved while her son was in the program. She said he regularly stepped in to help young players and treated instruction as part of the job.

The project began as a simple repainting effort, but once Foley examined the long-unused building, he found the structure needed far more attention. Several boards on the side had deteriorated badly enough that repairs became necessary before the cosmetic work could be finished.

WW Building Supply’s Newfane location provided the materials, with manager Rob Symonds saying the company wanted to contribute to a project that gave back to the town. He noted that the family who now owns the business all attended Leland & Gray and considered the work a way to support a place tied to their own upbringing.

The job took about a week. Foley said the work felt meaningful because he had spent much of his childhood at the field before the soccer program relocated elsewhere. Now a soccer player himself, he said returning to the site brought back memories of elementary school years spent there.

Bruce Cutts’ son, Mike Cutts, said the family’s connection to baseball runs deep. He said his father helped found the local Little League, coached for years and later served as an umpire after stepping away from coaching. Mike Cutts and his brothers played under their father, and he said he later coached all four of his own children. He expects the next generation in the family will also take part soon.

He also said the program has changed over time and seems less active than it once was, in part because children now have more sports options, including soccer and basketball. Still, he said he remembers when the snack shack was used for fundraisers and when his grandmother helped run it during the season. He said the building works best when someone with time and patience can operate it and involve local kids in the process.

For Mike Cutts, seeing the structure repaired was welcome even if the baseball program is not quite what it used to be. He said any improvement is worthwhile, especially when it includes cleaning up and preserving a place with so much history.