It’s always nice to be mentioned. Thanks to Jeff Kenney for the shout-out and quote in the June 16th issue of the Culver Citizen. This was an article concerning Jennifer Laurent and Andrea Cook regarding their Forty under 40 recognition, previously discussed here. Congratulations again to Andrea and Jennifer for receiving the honor.
New Trees
The Culver Tree Commission purchased new trees and they were installed over Memorial Day Weekend. Their funds are limited so the number of trees planted this year was fewer than in the past years.
Easterday Construction Co., Inc. has lost several trees along our street scape and the Tree Commission has slated one of our trees, a Wild Cherry, for removal. We’re not the prettiest face on the street, but I do think our large Oak trees along the street add character. When I was growing up there was a huge tree in the center of our loop drive, but it has been gone for more than 20 years, recently replaced by a volunteer Tulip Poplar.
For those of you that don’t know, the Culver Tree Commission accepts donations for the purchase of trees. I spoke to Tree Commissioner Dick Brantingham several times over the past few years about starting some replacement trees along our street scape. This year we received two Maple trees and a Honey Locust.
We made a tax deductible donation of $100 per tree to the Marshall County Community Foundation in the name of the Culver Tree Commission. I would consider that a bargain. On top of getting a nice tree planted, the Culver Fire Department takes care of watering the new trees in the first year. (If you’re interested in taking advantage of this and helping the Culver Tree Commission next year, contact Dick Brantingham or Mike Stallings. You can also contact the Town Hall to let them know you’re interested in helping.)
When I first moved back to Culver, I lived on Ohio Street in the house currently occupied by the Wesley United Methodist Church Thrift Shop. One of the nice things about that location was the beautiful tree-lined street. We have several such streets in Culver. Thanks to the efforts of the Culver Tree Commission, we will have more in the future.
Cabana Ceiling Framing
One of the more difficult parts of this project (previously discussed here and here) was achieving the crossing barrel ceilings. We had hoped that the truss manufacturer could provide the framework for this, but in the end, we only received square blocked out areas. Coming up with a way to frame this and then actually doing it was a challenge. This is the result, looking up at the area where the two barrels cross with the fireplace in the background.
We are in the process of completing electrical rough-in now. Some of the ENT (Electrial Non-metalic Tubing) being used is visible in the picture. Once that is complete, we will be installing vinyl soffit material to form the ceiling itself. Vinyl soffit was chosen due to its flexibility in conforming to the barrel framing and its linear form that will accent the length of the barrels.
CEF Girls Cabin Progress 6-6-11
The cabin is nearly complete. We are in the process of installing screens and window hardware. Shelving and electrical will follow shortly. It’s almost sad, but tomorrow all the beautiful cedar you see in the picture above will be stained to match the existing cabins. This will only be done on the exterior. The interior will be allowed to age naturally.
Both interior and exterior structural members are held together using custom plates bolted at the joints. This is similar to the materials used originally. Siding and other wood members were assembled using non-staining galvanized nails. The roof deck is visible from the bott0m here. The deck is made from tongue and groove 2 x 6 cedar.
The cabin should be complete next week. None too soon as Woodcraft Camp will be starting shortly. We want to be out of there before 200+ elementary school girls take over this part of the camp!
2011 Forty under 40
Yesterday I attended the St. Joseph County Chamber of Commerce’s Forty under 40 luncheon at The Gillespie Center in South Bend. I was there as Chairman of the Marshall County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC). Jennifer Laurent, MCEDC Executive Director, was one of the honorees. I was pleased to see that Andrea Cook of The Midas Center in Plymouth was also there as an honoree. MCEDC is working to increase our regional ties and the recognition of these two influential women from our community can only help this effort.
Tracy Graham, former Notre Dame football player and current South Bend entreprenuer, was the keynote speaker. He gave a motivational speech on the future of South Bend, refuting some of the negative connotations left by the Newsweek article naming South Bend #8 among America’s dying cities. The University of Notre Dame, the convergances of transportation nodes and the high speed internet access provided by the Metronet were among a few of the positives he listed. For better or worse, regionally our fortunes are somewhat linked to those of South Bend.
Thank you to the Chamber of Commerce of St. Joseph County and the Tribune Business Weekly for recognizing two of Marshall County’s bright young women. Now we need to press the honorees to continue their efforts and not rest on their laurels. Jennifer? Andrea? We’re waiting! What are you going to do next to put Marshall County in the spotlight and on the map? Best wishes for future successes!