We're expecting 100 second-graders at the museum soon after it opens for the season May 1. And an equal number of sixth-graders a little later in the month. So this year's late spring was causing a degree of consternation.
We've been planning for a couple of years to replace with concrete the brick apron in front of Otterbein Church, the deteriorating wooden ramps into the church and the brick sidewalk that connected the church to Puckerbrush School a little farther down the hill.
The brick was attractive, in front of the church at least, but hazardous to folks who have difficulty getting around or who use assisting devices; the ramps --- in place since 1976 --- were worn out; and the sidewalk farther on was becoming positively dangerous. And after trying various "organic" solutions, we've usually ended up spraying that brick with herbicide a couple of times a year to keep vegetation from swallowing it.
We had in hand a generous gift from the Coons Foundation to pay much of the cost and were set to go last fall when it became evident that work was needed to stabilize the east wall of the church. That involved removing the ramps and a lot of digging, making it a challenge to get into the building. And it also got too cold for concrete work.
So we postponed the paving project until spring --- and then spring was a little late this year, about a month to be exact.
But finally, on Monday, spring did return and the guys from G.M. Builders & Son arrived, too, to remove the brick (carefully, it will stay on campus and be recycled into another project) and set forms. The concrete arrived on Tuesday.
And now we have new sidewalks and our visitors will not have muddy feet or run the risk of tripping on rough brickwork. We also added a ramp up to the east door of the big red barn --- previously just gravel.
Thank you, again, to the Coons Foundation! And to everyone else involved in the planning and execution of this project.
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