Eagle Scout Project Hits Home for Warminster Teen

"We are related to Daniel Boone."

For years, Andrew Krumins and his family chalked it up as one of those things that grandmothers say, never taken very seriously. Finally, Krumins' mother decided to start researching the family's lineage through ancestry.com, spending nights in front of the computer looking up old records and putting together the threads. It turned out that Grandmom was right.

"There were some holes in the stories," said Andrew. "My mom tied it all together, and we stopped making fun of our grandmother."

Andrew and his family are descendants of Daniel Boone's sister, Hannah, through her marriage to John Stewart. By traveling just a bit further on the Boone family tree, Andrew also learned that Daniel and Hannah Boone's grandparents were Edward and Elizabeth Morgan, the earliest Welsh settlers in the Towamencin area who purchased more than 300 acres of land in 1708, including a small dwelling that today is known as the Morgan Log House.

More than 300 years later, Andrew sits atop a small red barn next to the historic building owned by his ninth great-grandparents and tears up the old, worn down shingles that will later be replaced. The barn is a shed that houses tools and farming equipment from the 18th century, and it desperately needed a new roof.

Despite the fickle mood of last weekend's weather, which seemed to switch on a whim from sweltering heat to powerful thunderstorms, Andrew and his volunteer crew managed to complete the new roof as part of his Eagle Scout project.

Andrew, heading into his senior year at William Tennent, joined Troop 200 out of the  six years ago after he saw how much his younger brother enjoyed it. Already leading a pretty active, outdoorsy lifestyle, Andrew figured it would be more fun to camp, fish and hike with a larger group.

Last year, Andrew came to the Morgan Log House to help his friend, Sean Flanagan, do some landscape work on the property as part of his own Eagle Scout project. When he saw the state of the shed, Andrew knew what he had to do.

"That's when I came up with the idea for this project," said Andrew. "We have to remove and replace the shingles, felt, plywood and the support rafters inside."

Normally, an Eagle Scout project requires more of a supervisory role by the prospective scout. The organization likes to see candidates exhibit strong leadership and management qualities, much like the work Justin Cammerota displayed during his at the .

Andrew completed all the preparations necessary for a successful project, clocking almost 100 man hours of research, organization and fundraising. He secured material donations from GAF Roofing Manufacturers and Interstate Waste Management and monetary donations from the Boone Society and .

When it came time to get the work done, however, Andrew rolled up his sleeves and stayed in the thick of the action. Andrew worked with his dad's roofing company since he was nine and had plenty of knowledge and experience to perform the job.

"I mainly work the desk now," said Andrew. "But I still now how to do it. It makes more sense for me to be up there guiding the project."