projects

Charley Creek Inn Dedication Plaque

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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.

Charley Creek Inn Courtyard Gate

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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!

Charley Creek Inn Wrought Iron Installation

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Schlemmer Bros. were on site last week installing the wrought iron work for the Charley Creek Inn Courtyard (see right). I tweeted some pictures of the wrought iron under production at their shop here.

This is one of the final touches for the courtyard. It will be ready for use this Spring as a venue for weddings, concerts and other gatherings. Miami Street is also where Wabash holds their First Friday events, so the courtyard maybe come a central fixture in that.

Below are some detail pictures showing the railing on the wall and dais.

Wrought Iron installed on Dais at Charley Creek Inn Courtyard. An identifying logo will be installed in the center medallion soon.

 

Wrought iron installed on the north portion of the perimeter wall.

 

Charley Creek Inn Wrought Iron installed on the south perimeter wall. The iron is anchored to the brick and sits on the limestone.

Blast From the Past: Plymouth High School

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I got called to the principal’s office at the Plymouth High School the other night and ran across this dedication plaque. This is a project that was completed by Easterday Construction before I was born! Actually, I think this is before Dad was back with the company. I don’t think he returned to work at Easterday Construction until 62 or 63. It’s always interesting to run across these things.

My great grandfather, Russell L. Easterday, would have still been alive and running the company at that time. As I understand the history, the office would have been at the current location on Slate Street in Culver. I would assume my great uncle Jack Easterday or possibly my grandfather, Bob Berger, would have been superintendent on the job. That’s just supposition though.

Viking Paper Expansion

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We were pleased to be selected to be the contractor for the Viking Paper expansion project in Plymouth. There was a blurb on the expansion in Inside Indiana Business here, but somehow they failed to mention us! Shame on them!

It is proving to be an interesting project. The building is being designed to have train cars enter the building for unloading at a recessed loading dock. This is involving some interesting logistics including some esoteric clearance requirements provided by the railroad engineers.  (The ones that design railroad tracks, not the ones that blow the whistles when the trains cross the highway…) Viking works with large rolls of paper stock, so being able to offload their materials inside the building and out of the weather is valuable to them.

Jerry Chavez and Marshall County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC) have been instrumental in helping us move this forward, both with the City of Plymouth and with the Railroad.