WILLISTON, ND ( KXNET ) — An Eagle Scout from Williston put together a project to collect old and tattered American flags and on Thursday, Tate Purvis presented his project.

Purvis spent about a month building the flag disposal box with a few hundred dollars worth of materials.

Purvis says he raised some money to help pay for the project, including from some veterans who wanted to remain anonymous.

Under scouting rules, Purvis wasn’t old enough to use a table saw, so he called in some help for the precise cutting.

Normally, flags are retired during scouting jamborees or neighbors have to call the American Legion, but Purvis says this is one place where people in Williston can take their flags.

“I thought it is a great idea, I thought it would be a good impact on my community to provide a place like that to bring those flags,” said Purvis.

Purvis’s idea came from a doctor whose son didn’t get a chance to complete the project.

Purvis admits it wasn’t easy to get all of the permits he needed, but he says he was proud to give a speech at the Williston ARC as the new box was dedicated.

“Whenever I presented my box, whenever, I put it in the ARC, that was very rewarding it felt like closure, that was great,” Purvis said.

Eight flags are already sitting in the box and Purvis says that if it wasn’t for his mentor, the box would be in the shape of a triangle, not a rectangle.

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