MONROE, CT — Maxton Busa, 17, a Masuk High School senior and a Boy Scout with Monroe’s Troop 63, collected donations of bulky items for a Library of Things in the rear parking lot of Edith Wheeler Memorial Library for his Eagle Project on a chilly Saturday morning.
A Library of Things consists of items one may not often need, that require considerable storage space, are expensive or are otherwise not found around most homes. This will help patrons save money and space, while practicing sustainability.
Busa’s mother, Sandra, had shown him an article she read about a library of things at The Westport Library.
“I thought, ‘that’s a great idea for an Eagle Project,'” Busa recalled. “I wanted to do something that would benefit the most people. It’s a community thing people can be excited about and something that can last and evolve into something bigger.”
On Saturday, Busa, who was accompanied by his parents, Jim and Sandra, had an impressive early haul, including a wheelchair, a floor fan, a pet taxi, a Kan Jam lawn game and a suitcase with wheels.
His table was covered with items such as a shaved ice machine, a coffee maker, a juicer, a lacrosse helmet and a grilling skillet.
State Rep. Tony Scott, who had worked closely with the Busa family while helping to pass a bill allowing people who use bioptic lenses, like Maxton, to acquire a driver’s license, stopped by to donate two fishing rods and a tackle box.
Busa’s Eagle Project is about more than collecting bulky items for library patrons.
“I’m building shelves as well to store this stuff,” he said.
Busa planned to buy some of the supplies that Saturday, before directing his fellow scouts and a few adults in building the shelves on the weekend of Nov. 23.
For the leadership aspect of his project, Busa cannot take part in the actual construction himself.
“Some adults need to do cutting and use some of the tools the scouts can’t use,” he said of assistance the Boy Scouts will receive.
Patricia Day, who has been involved with the Boys Scouts for a long time, is Busa’s Eagle advisor for his project.
A prestigious ranking
Busa has been involved with the Boy Scouts since he was six-years-old. “It was something that my brother, Ethan, did,” he said of his initial interest.
Ethan, now a 20-year-old student at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, earned his Eagle Scout ranking as a member of Troop 63 in 2021. His project was building benches that can be flipped over, also serving as tables, at Masuk High School.
Nationally, only about four percent of Boy Scouts go on to earn their Eagle, the highest ranking possible, according to the Boy Scouts of America.
Among the most famous people to earn the ranking were astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, President Gerald Ford, baseball great Hank Aaron, basketball legend Michael Jordan, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., and filmmaker Steven Spielberg to name just a few.
Busa said he thought earning the ranking would be good for his college applications.
“It’s a very difficult thing to achieve and it’s looked at highly by people,” he said. “I thought it was a lot more common to get because most scouts in Troop 63 get it.”
Jim Busa, who is a scout leader, said Troop 63’s Boy Scouts are not pushed to go for the ranking, rather it is just something that has happened naturally as young men see their peers do it and decide to achieve it themselves.
“You see the ceremonies and you want to be one of the next ones,” Maxton Busa said.
Sandra said Troop 63 gives its members an amazing experience.
Of being a Boy Scout, Maxton Busa said, “I think it makes a person into a citizen by helping their community. It just teaches you life lessons that school doesn’t teach you. It gives you life skills like financial stuff, what to do if you’re stranded. It sticks with you when you get older.”
He said Boy Scouts start out learning skills, before assuming leadership roles when they are older, teaching the younger kids what they’ve learned.
“It reinforces what you know, because you’re teaching people,” Busa said, adding Boy Scouts is also a great way to meet new friends and have fun.
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