Charley Creek Inn Dedication Plaque
It’s fairly timely after my January 9th post regarding the Plymouth High School dedication plaque that the dedication plaque for the Charley Creek Inn Expansion project was installed. It was discussed last Fall that having a plaque to dedicate the expansion to Richard Ford, since this was one of his last visions. I’m sure he would be proud that his nephews followed through on this vision and made the project possible. The plaque was produced for us by Vanadco in Argos. Easterday Construction Co., Inc. and SRKM Architecture participated in this plaque for the honor of having our names included.
The plaque is Bronze relief with a dark brown mottled background. It was placed on the northeast column on the front of the courtyard where it can be read from the street. It was mounted to the brick using concealed fasteners. One of those nerve wracking installations since it involves drilling holes into the brick without causing spalling. It was also critical to get the mounting correct so that the plaque sat level and centered on the column when the installation was complete. John, Scott and Zack did a nice job with this installation.
Some of my lurkers know that I serve on the Marshall County Community Foundation board of directors. At the last meeting, the board president asked each of us to name a couple of individuals that were an influence on my life. This past year working on the Charley Creek Inn expansion, Richard has been in my thoughts and I want to do my best since he’s watching. I named him as one of the people who was an influence on me. He is an endorsement on our website. I will never forget when I asked him if he would endorse us, he said, “Of course. My father told me never to pass up a chance to do something good for someone.” I know that Richard took those words to heart and they have influenced me as well. I was fortunate to serve on a philanthropic board with Richard and learn from his generous donation of time and energy. This also influenced me on my decisions to serve on other boards and give back to the community.
Russell L. Easterday Quote on the Passage of Time
“Time Flies as you get older. As a 5-year-old, a year was 1/20th of my life and seemed to last forever. As an 80-year-old, a year is only 1/80th of my life and seems to pass before I knows it.”
Russell L. Easterday (1896-1977) founder of Easterday Construction.
Garden Court Board Position
Culver Garden Court
I’ve written about Garden Court here numerous times. Easterday Construction Co., Inc. has a long relationship with them starting with the construction of Argos Garden Court in 1998. That was a new, stand-alone facility. In total we’ve built seven stand-alone facilities for them and completed remodeling work on four of their other facilities. (See projects here and here.) The last new facility they sponsored and we built was Culver Garden Court. Unfortunately the HUD program that they used as a funding vehicle was subsequently reduced. The HUD offices were moved out of Indiana to Chicago and Indiana became less of a priority for the remaining funds.
Bourbon Garden Court
Garden Court, Inc. was organized in 1972 as a not-for-profit to provide housing and supportive services for the elderly of Plymouth and the surrounding communities. They presently own and manage twelve housing communities. Their twelve housing communities have a total of 333 apartment units. Their board of directors consists of volunteers from the community. They always try and find representatives from the communities that they serve.
It was through Garden Court that I met and became friends with Ron Liechty. Ron worked tirelessly for the organization. It was one of the many causes in which he believed and consequently dedicated his time and personal support. While technically Easterday Construction was employed by Garden Court, Inc., we always worked as partners to provide the best facility for the money allocated.
Argos Garden Court Entrance
I attended a Garden Court, Inc. board meeting last week to discuss a potential future project. At that meeting I learned that they are short board members and are looking for volunteers. One position they would like to fill is a Culver Representative. It would be a conflict of interest for me to serve, but I told them I would put the word out in case someone is interested. They have a bi-monthly meeting in Plymouth.
Have included a link to a booklet they give out titled “Introduction to Garden Court, Inc.“. You can find a PDF here.
If you’re interested in joining the board or just want more information, contact Jim Causey, Board President. His email address is: jimncris1107@gmail.com
Shcool (sic) Choice?
There’s something sadly funny about an article discussing the quality of schools that misspells school in the title! Geez! That’s a bold face headline for crying out loud! I don’t know if the mistake is from the original article or the reprinting in the Pilot News, but either way I think it’s a bit embarrassing. Spellcheck anyone?
I seem to be in the minority of people bothered by these things. The other day a tweeted a sign I saw. (here) I had to say something to the manager. Their first response seemed to be irritation at me. <sigh> At least they did take it down. It was one of four that had personnel spelled incorrectly.
I am not above a spelling, typo or grammar error. Look and you’ll probably find one on our site somewhere. Sometimes my fingers get ahead of my brain. I’m still struggling to implement the spacing rule that I learned last year… I guess I expect more from a newspaper where there’s an editor reviewing things though. At least the mistakes in the bold print should jump out at them…
Charley Creek Inn Courtyard Gate
Charley Creek Inn Courtyard Gate
The gate for the courtyard was installed last week. Schlemmer Bros did an excellent job with this. We were particularly pleased with the medallion they created. They originally created the one to cover the fireplace vent (pictured here) at the NE corner of the courtyard. We and the Owner liked it well enough that we asked them to create another one for the entrance gate. We think it gives a touch of class and modern appeal to the classic wrought iron and brick installation.
The gate was installed with a concealed locking system behind the medallion. The gate has drop down rods that will strengthen it in the closed position and also hold it open at 90 degrees during during events. The medallion and locking concept was the vision of us at Easterday Construction, but kudos to Schlemmer Bros for making it happen!
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Ronald W Liechty - President, Garden Court, Inc.