Monday, November 25, 2019
It was near the freezing point when we woke up and after a delicious breakfast cooked by Esther; Billy Frye, our crew leader and a member of VOAD, arrived at the campsite and drove with us to the job site, where we would be rebuilding a 36 ft bridge. The previous week Billy, a few other members of VOAD ( Caleb and Scotty ) and some volunteers had spent a few days working on the bridge.
It was a 30 minute drive to the job site at the Mullin house and once there, we surveyed the old bridge, discussed the work that had to be done and spent several hours removing the heavy, rotten wooden decking that had been loosened the previous week.
After the wood had been removed from the bridge, Billy cut the severely rusted steel beams from the steel foundations, cut them in half and then proceeded to remove them.
While we were in the process of removing the beams, the homeowner came outside and sat on the deck of her house and watched us. I talked with her a while and found out that the house had belonged to her mother, she had purchased it a few years ago and she now lived in it with her daughter. I didn’t see her daughter but I believe that she was working.
When the beams had been removed, Billy dug the base for the footing on the road side, so that we could place the form for the concrete on it and insert the rebar.
The form for the house-side of the bridge had been completed and set in place the previous week. By the end of the day, we had finished removing the old deck and made most of the preparations for pouring the concrete the next day.
By 4:30 pm we packed up and drove back to the campsite where we met some volunteers who were building a house for a local family.
After eating a wonderful supper prepared for us by Esther, we spent the evening exchanging stories and events we had experienced during the day.
Ralf Hamm 