Plans for more camps will help gain employable skills

On a crisp, fall morning overlooking Lake Champlain at Button Bay State Park, Russ Colvin and his assistant, Michael Liker, Vermont State supervisors with the Parks Conservation Corps awaited the delivery of two Recreational Camp Packages and the crew that would build them. With them stood, Jim Elliott, the general manager of Log Stackers, LLC., an affiliate company with Coventry Log Homes, in Woodsville, NH. Jim was there to lend his extensive technical and log building expertise to the project.

Rigorous on-site prep work for the project had occurred the previous week. From all accounts, maneuvering the dense lengths of pressure treated 16” square beams and the heavy-duty steel hardware used to join the footing system, was the most challenging part of the project. The footing system was designed by Russ Colvin with the idea that a large crane could lift the finished camps from their rocky base if ever the need arises.

The crews designated to build the recreational camps were from the Parks Conservation Corps, a newly established program by Vermont State Parks through a grant from the Department of Labor. One to two crew leaders from each of the four regions in the state were hired to provide trade skills training to 18 to 25 year-olds. Other states are considering adopting the Vermont model in order to repair or improve their state parks while helping qualified individuals to gain employable skills.

Three crews arrived in vans at Button Bay on their fourteenth week of training. Up till that day each crew had been honing their skills on repairs to shelters. The construction of the modified “Getaway” Recreational Camp was to be their first actual build from scratch.

As they arrived they spilled out of the vans. Mechanically—like a well oiled machine they began to set up the generator, table saws and other relevant equipment. As they strapped on their tool belts, Jim and the crew leaders looked over the plans and began formulating a building strategy. The first order of business was to sort the pre-cut logs by letter.

The abandoned plans were picked up by an anxious crew member who wanted to see the plans for himself. Hip expressions like “Cool!” were overheard as a crowd gathered around. A recollection by one claimed the diagrams reminded him of the log toys he had played with as a kid. The reply from another was, “Yeah, but they weren’t lettered and numbered.” The general consensus was that this was going to be fun and as the mist and chill began to lift, the day reflected the mood.

As clothing layers were removed on what turned out to be an Indian Summer day the log rows were enthusiastically being stacked. At times there were as many as six crew members securing a single log. The crews departed in vans around three o’clock. Destination points were in Killington, Rutland, and Knights Point.

The goal was to get the ridge beam laid and rafters started by the end of day two in order to take advantage of Jim Elliott’s two day technical assist. To ensure that happened Jim Elliott and State Park supervisors, Russ Colvin, Mike Liker, and Frank Burnham as well as a couple of crew members worked late to get the camp to the gable phase of the project. On day two the combined three crews were split up. Crew one worked on gables while crew two got the floor system ready for the second camp. Pizza was brought in for the crews and the day progressed as planned.

Each crew felt better equipped at the end of day two to handle the building of future recreational camps. The true test to learning anything new is to be able to replicate what was learned. Since three Coventry Log Home camps were delivered to the Little River State Park in Waterbury, VT the following Monday they were able to draw on their memory and fresh skills to construct another camp. The skills learned and the sense of accomplishment they acquired should go a long way in creating a better future for the individual crew members and increased recreational offerings of the Vermont State Parks.

Region Number One Crew from Killington:

Leaders:

Art Comstock and Paul Kasman;

Department of Labor workers:

Josh Short; T.J. Vandenburgh; and Jonathan Wallace

Region Number Two Crew from Rutland:

Leader:

Ron Dupuis

Department of Labor workers:

Joe Orvis; Joe Riffle, John Earl; and Dillon Stevens

Region Number three Crew from Knights Point:

Leader:

Brian McDonald

Department of Labor workers:

Hannah St. Laurent; Kyle Sheldon; Tyler Smith; and David Therrien

Check back to see a video of the day.