A few words from Tom Haanen:
Tom Haanen is an engineer with Hilti in Tulsa, OK and a participant in the pavilion project
The bell rings for breakfast at 6:45 and we crawl out of our tents, the third or fourth time since 2 a.m. we’ve been roused by a loud noise. This time the promise of food awaits. It’s in the mid 30s when we wake up but a pristine 65 to 70° F during the day. After egg casserole, Maxwell House, and fruit, a briefing by Rick Collins, and roll call by Alicia, the crew of 51 continue the work at hand.
At this point, we are a mostly welloiled machine and march into cutting. Twenty-nine thousand board feet and over 500 pieces. As of Tuesday, about 65% of the timber has been cut. Fit up is under way and four of the 11 trusses are assembled.
Lots of community support. These people are really excited. We mostly eat dinner off site. Couple of churches, the Vicksburg Community Center, and in a park by the lake. Lots of comfort food and desserts.
Tomorrow, we will start putting up sticks. We anticipate cutting through the weekend and will probably raise the last stick just sometime Sunday. Ten forty-five and my buddy Don Seela is sawing wood. We are enjoying the last Bell’s Porter before hitting the tent.