Way to Go! Bayport-Blue Point senior rebuilds grape arbor
John Stafford, a senior at Bayport-Blue Point High School, rebuilt the 16-foot-long arbor on the grounds of the Bayport-Blue Point Heritage Association. Credit: Simpson Photography LLC/Tonya Simpson
A Bayport-Blue Point High School student recently spearheaded the reconstruction of a grape arbor that was damaged in a storm on the property of a local heritage association.
John Stafford, a senior, rebuilt the 8-by-16-foot arbor — a trellis on which a grapevine can grow over and provide shade — using cedar and pressure-treated wood this fall on the grounds of the Bayport-Blue Point Heritage Association. He funded the project by raising roughly $800 through a car wash.
Stafford, a Boy Scout, tackled the reconstruction as part of a project for his Eagle Scout Award, the highest achievement attainable with the Boy Scouts of the USA. He is a member of Troop 130 in Bayport.
"I'm very happy with how it looks," Stafford said of the completed arbor. "It definitely was not the easiest, but it made me feel proud. They were really excited that I was able to take it on and do a great job building it."
Stafford said the heritage association reached out to his troop to see if there were any scouts that might be interested in pursuing the project. Stafford's scoutmaster suggested that he consider doing it based on his woodworking knowledge, which he gained through his enrollment in a carpentry program at the Eastern Suffolk BOCES Brookhaven Technical Center.
Stafford, 17, is also a member of his school's football team.
— MICHAEL R. EBERT
Michael R. Ebert is an education researcher and has worked for Newsday in various capacities since 2003. He was part of an 11-person team named as 2008 Pulitzer Prize finalists for investigative coverage of the LIRR's platform safety issues.
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