Sign Here, Please

Construction continues at a torrid pace, even in the torrid weather. We now have the final layer of roof application (we used to call them 'shingles'), siding is up in many places, frames are around the exterior windows, duct work is being fitted, electrical and plumbing are trying to keep from bumping into one another.

It's cool, to be sure. One of the features that will not be readily observable when all is completed is that the women's restroom is both larger than the men's and has more stalls. We heard you loud and clear on that front! Another interesting feature is a concrete 'pit,' perhaps 12 feet long by 3 feet wide. Several years ago while digging a utility trench in the area behind the Saturno Farmstead in our pioneer settlement, we came across and unearthed a handful of tombstones. As it turned out, we had found the 'midden pile' of an early-19th century re-alignment of the Fort's cemetery ... the stones we found were those that had been replaced with new, more uniform markers. As the unearthed stones represent a variety of sizes and shapes, the parts needing to be below the surface also vary. In order for a new display to showcase these items, they will be 'planted' according to the necessary depth, so all will appear to be 'even' at the surface.

In the recent past, we've enjoyed taking some of our many volunteers and supporters for a brief tour of the interior as it works itself into recognizable shape. We are just kids at heart, I do believe, in that signing the studs is way too much fun. Once the buidling is finished, these pearls will remain hidden for perhaps a hundred years, when some future Museum operation decides the building is in need of replacement. We get to have a mark on the future!

From the top: today's pictures show Sonja Biggs' signature, volunteer Jacque Brock signing an upright, the frame around a west-facing window, an elevated electrician, and a view of the siding and new roof covering south of the blockhouse. Stop by if you'd like an opportunity to see things up close and personal, but be prepared: as this is a construction site, there is a fair amount of noise and dust.