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Submission: Robert Bowen, Sr.
At approximately 8:30 p.m. on Monday, August 18, the warehouse concrete project closed down for the evening after a vigorous twelve hour day. The professionals would say that that's a lot of time to put in on a six yard pour, but for amateurs, it's okay. Actually, the pour and finishing took about four hours with time out for a little food at 6:00 p.m. There's still plenty of clean up and site grading to do, but the big job is done.
The day started with negotiations on the price of the concrete through Ellis Stone and Bob Wells at Concrete Materials. After a few phone calls, the price was set at the contractor's price of $63 per yard plus $7 per yard for the fiber mesh mix. You can do the math on the total cost. The next step was getting a road permit to authorize the concrete truck on North Second Drive. That process took a little running around to the Town Hall for the permit and then to the ready mix plant to confirm the order and present the road permit. In between, an effort was made to see if either an Ellis Stone foreman or the master cement project manager who directed the original building slab project might be available for some supervision on the finishing. No luck with the Ellis Stone contact, but coincidentally, while at the ready mix plant, it was learned that Gene Richter, the master cement professional, was working for a contractor with a project not too far from the warehouse. My faithful Audi made a few unproductive stops before finding a source that knew where Gene was working. The source turned out to be the owner/builder of Ludwig Enterprises who is a friend from aviation connections. Luckily, he was headed to the work site where Gene was working and would deliver my phone number so Gene and I could talk about the possibilities.
Back on the project site, Milo Harpstead and I hurriedly set up a backup form in case the original forms would not take all the concrete. With that finished, and the tools and equipment in place, including the water wagon, we heard what sounded like a cement truck coming at 3:15 p.m. - fifteen minutes ahead of schedule. That sound was a bit frightening since none of the crew had shown up and we needed at least four people. Just in the nick of time, Dan Sivek appeared and some of the anxiety was relieved. Once the bill was paid and the ready mix truck in place, the concrete started to flow - that is the moment when there is no turning back until the finishing work is done. Both Milo and I had our boots on and shoveled and raked the mix throughout the forms with a lot of help from the driver who directed the trough around the forms like Tinker Bell's fairy wand. At some point in all the hustling around, Amy and family arrived for the show but without any other crew. Amy became the lifesaver of the day and stayed on the job until 7:00 p.m. Amy turned out to be one of our big blessings not only as laborer, but also as camera crew. In a matter of minutes, Milo and Dan were on the striking board and the truck was relocated to the back of the building site. In spite of very close quarters, the truck managed to get into position and the second pour was underway. Again, within minutes, the second pour was nearly finished. It then became apparent that we would need the back-up forms to extend the slab. There were still about four cubic feet of concrete in the truck, so additional forms were quickly set up and a separate three foot square slab was created from the excess concrete. The six yard estimate was about as accurate as you could get.
Poured cement has an inevitable end. It hardens into concrete without any concern for time, skill of the cement crew, or the final outcome. It just plain hardens on a schedule that can only be determined by atmospheric conditions. The experts, who have no fear about hardening cement, said Monday was a perfect day for cement work if you know what you are doing. Our blessings never ceased. An expert or two would arrive to help with this project. Gene Richter and son Todd appeared at the critical moment when it was time to begin the floating and finishing preparations. Talk about anxiety, relief, and divine intervention - this was it. With Gene and Todd on the site our whole world changed in an instant. This project would now have a professional touch. They sized up the situation, walked over to their truck, and addressed the cement with the expert touch of professionals. Judgment is a major part of cement work. Just about anyone with a little know-how can construct forms and get the cement in place, but once that is done, the real application of skill begins. If anyone reading this has never had the distinction of seeing the finish work done on a concrete project, they need to have that experience. The right tools help, but the hands that guide the tools and the wisdom that directs the manual skills are the faithful possessions of expert cement craftsmen. Gene Richter is one of the premier cement craftsmen in Portage County. It would be interesting to know of all the projects and buildings in our area that his skill has configured and made possible. For sure, you need architects and blueprints to begin a project, but without the skill of the cement craftsman, the calculations are just so much paper.
Needless to say, W/NP owes a huge debt of gratitude to Gene and Todd for stepping in and bringing the warehouse cement project to successful completion. Gene shared that he has worked on Habitat for Humanity projects around Stevens Point, so chipping in on the humanitarian effort of W/NP further expresses his concern for those less fortunate. With son Todd on the job, some valuable lessons and virtues for life were being passed on. Thanks also to Dan and Amy for their faithful support. Milo distinguished himself again as a tireless contributor to W/NP.
Many thanks to Paul Treder for leading the way in providing the funding support to get the warehouse concrete improvement underway. With the further financial support of Milo, Joanne Bessette, and others, the entire project has been underwritten and will not negatively impact the W/NP operating budget. In fact, there may be a few excess dollars for the general fund.
The warehouse cement project will stand as a permanent example of the organization slogan, "Working together, we make a difference."
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