Roosa’s Eagle Scout project brings new life to 1929 Goldfield Boy Scout log cabin

Only one in four boys (or about 2 percent) in America become a Boy Scout. An average of three out of every 100 Boy Scouts reach Eagle Scout status, the highest achievement/rank they can achieve. Noah Roosa, son of Jennifer and Bobby Roosa, is one of them. Noah first joined the Clarion Cub Scouts in second grade.

“I joined because I thought it was fun. I wanted to learn more and grow up and be a man,” he said. “I also wanted to be an example for people. I love being an example for kids.”

As he grew into the Winnebago Council Boy Scouts of America Troop 1047 Clarion, Noah continued to follow the Boy Scout oath - to do his duty to God and country, to keep himself physically strong, mentally awake, morally straight, and to help other people. He did exactly that, earning 21 Merritt Badges, but on Sunday, Nov. 17, he earned his most prestigious...the Eagle Scout Badge for his renovation of the Boy Scouts log cabin that was originally built on the banks of River Park in Goldfield in 1926. It was built by the Boy Scouts, their leader (Reverend D.M. Simpson), and their fathers and used as their meeting place.

By 1976, deterioration had set in, and the City took notice. They decided, with the help of local farmers and townspeople, to relocate the building (rolling it on logs pulled by a tractor) to the south side of City Hall and renovate it. In just six weeks, they had it ready for the town’s Bicentennial celebration on the Fourth of July. With it being such an important piece of their past, they also took the time and effort to get it registered on the National Registry of Historical Places. The improvements were great, but again, unfortunately, over time, the building once again started deteriorating.

“It was so bad, animals could go in and out of the logs,” said Noah’s grandfather, Arlo Edwards, who helped his grandson with the project. So when someone suggested he restore the cabin for his Eagle Scout project, he immediately loved the idea.

“I was around 15 or 16 and was looking around for what I wanted to do as a Scout project. At first I was going to do the softball field at the park, but then some of the members said ‘Do you want to do the log cabin?’ and I said ‘Definitely,’” said Noah. “I started looking at it and it really needed attention badly. It was about to fall apart by itself. So I was like, ‘Sure, let’s do it.’”

Noah knew this project was going to be more than he could tackle alone, so he asked his grandfather for help. They started the project together in late July of 2018. They made sure to use “used” materials to keep with the authentic look of the log cabin. For example, Noah and a friend tore off all the shiplap boards of Arlo’s old corn crib and used that for the cabin sheathing and old lumber for rafters to correct and support the roof that was sagging eight inches down and the sides that were bulging eight inches out.

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