Aaron Purser, a scout of five years and a member of Roanoke Rapids Troop 238, plans to use the proceeds from the sale to build birdhouses and duck boxes to place along the Roanoke Canal Trail.
“I like the wildlife on the canal trail,” he said today. “It will actually bring more wildlife there.”
The duck boxes will provide a place for the waterfowl to live, he said.
Purser and other scouts under his leadership will build about 15 to 20 birdhouses and duck boxes. The birdhouses will vary, according to species, he said.
(The yard sale at Purser’s house on 100 River Road North will be Saturday from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. Ford’s house, where another sale for the project will be held, is nearby. As of this report, plans for other yard sales in the neighborhood for the project had not been finalized)
Obtaining Eagle Scout, he said, is part of a family tradition. “It’s the highest rank you can get. Everyone else in my family is an Eagle.”
That includes his father and his two uncles. “That challenged me to want to get my Eagle,” he said.
Purser, who will be a sophomore at Roanoke Rapids High School in the upcoming school year and has earned 30 merit badges, said the rank of Eagle is about leadership. “It’s made me a better leader.”
In planning the yard sale, Purser has enlisted the help of others in his River Road community to either donate items to his sale or have yard sales of their own.

Purser with some of the items for the yard sale.

Henry Ford, who also lives in the neighborhood, will have his own yard sale but plans on donating the proceeds to Purser. “We’ve got an attic full of baby clothes,” he said. “I’d just as soon sell them and give him the money. We’ve been trying to sell them for two years. It’s a good way to help him out.”
Ford said the clothes he plans to sell are for children aged 0 to 10.
The Purser garage is already full of items for the sale and includes furniture, waterskis, televisions and electronics.
“I thought it was a good way to raise money and get rid of stuff,” Purser said.

This grill set is among the items for sale.

Purser will begin the planning of the birdhouses and duck boxes soon after the yard sale. “I need to see how to build them and get the supplies. We should be done by the end of summer.”
Purser’s father, Allen, said he is obviously proud of his son. “If you look at the Eagle Scout oath, it’s a plan on how to approach life and how to be a leader.”
The timing of the yard sale was fortuitous, his stepmother, Jan, said. “He’s been very resourceful with the timing of me moving and combining households. He’s been very resourceful. I like the way he invited other houses in the neighborhood. One of the principles in scouting is community. I think it goes with the scouting tradition.”