COLUMBIA, MO. (AP) -- A group of Scouts have worked to help clean up a Columbia home where ragtime artist J.W. "Blind" Boone once lived.

On Saturday, about a dozen boys scraped, shoveled, pounded, hammered and pitched debris from the dilapidated Boone home.  Boone, a world-renowned ragtime pianist, and his wife moved into the house after they were married in 1889.

The Scouts followed detailed plans from 17-year-old Cyrus Tague, who did the work for his Eagle Scout project. The city and Scout council had signed off on the plan. Cyrus says he has learned a lot about 'Blind' Boone and contract work during the project.

Boone was born in 1864 near Miami, Mo., the son of a Union Army bugler and a runaway slave. He lost his sight when he was about 6 months old.

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