Phelps Barn Restoration & Rendezvous
Elmwood, Illinois
June 15-28, 2003
Joel McCarty's Report from the Site
Experienced Guild members and aspiring timber framers come from all over the U.S. for a barn restoration project in America's heartland.
Join us in America's heartland June 15-28 for the rehabilitation of a historic timber frame barn, once a part of the Underground Railroad. This barn, a gambrel, was built in the 1840s and is now the responsibility of local volunteers. We expect this structure to achieve recognition by the National Park Service's Network to Freedom Project. The site is a former farm and now a small park in Elmwood, Illinois, about halfway between Galesburg and Peoria.
Phelps Barn taken about 2 years ago. Photo courtesy of Steve Davis.
The Guild is pleased to be able to offer events in the middle of the country for a change, and you can thank Rick Collins and his cohorts at Trillium Dell for making this rendezvous opportunity possible. They will be supporting us with tools and equipment and a considerable infrastructure. By the time we arrive, the barn will be completely stripped and ready for structural repair of posts, braces, girts, and plates, with probably some high work as well as some spline joinery to do with the horizontal components.
Guild rendezvous are designed to make timber framing community service events accessible to people who are willing to trade labor for learning in that time-honored tradition. We are excited about the opportunity to broaden our timber framing skills and experiences in the rehabilitation and restoration area.
While there is lots of work, we guarantee that your contributions will be well appreciated. You will be well fed, housed, and you will have meaningful work, whatever your skill or experience level, in shoring up a small bit of our cultural and architectural heritage.
Travel & Accommodations
Air travelers should head for airports in Peoria or Moline. If you fly into Chicago, a two-hour bus ride to Peoria costs $50.
Camping is available at the site and at Trillium Dell (about 24 miles away). Rick and crew, with their considerable infrastructure, are offering support with their tools and equipment.
Food will be continental in the morning, sack lunch or meal wagon at noon, and hosted dinners by locals groups, plus the option of our own cook at a well-equipped kitchen on site. We are also planning two Saturday night events with music and camaraderie.
community service and good work with great people ...
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Participation Requirements
We are looking for enthusiastic individuals of all skill levels. Rookies will pay a modest tuition, to offset instruction and supervision costs. Professional timber framers will need to bring their own tools.
Participation is by resume. Your resume can be as simple as a summary of relevant (if any) experience. We are committed to the idea of mixing the skill levels in order to further spread the timber frame virus, so don't hesitate to apply, even if your timber framing portfolio is thin. Professional timber framers are also expected to supply a modest resume, so that we'll know where you fit in.
Please make sure that your health insurance is up to date, and that you have rugged clothes and boots, ear, eye, and head protection. A modest tool list and maps will be sent to all registrants. Prepare for long days of hard work and exuberant camaraderie. We believe that this event will be especially useful to those with limited to zero experience who have a barn in their community that needs to be stabilized and renovated.
Instruction/leadership looks like Neville Bodsworth (Sioux Lookout), Rick Collins (Illinois), Randy Churchill (Vermont), Scott Russell (Ontario), Mike Goldberg (Georgia), Dane Gustafson (Ohio), and Joel McCarty (New Hampshire). As always, the Guild's educational goals are to ensure participants' familiarity and comfort with the safe and efficient use of traditional and contemporary timber framing tools of all sorts, to impart a broad understanding of square-rule layout and assembly techniques, and to give a glimpse of the transformative power of collective action in a timber frame barn raising.
Call 603 835 2077 or write Joel McCarty at any time to discuss how you can help save this remarkable building.
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Phelps Barn Week 1: Tuition for rookies attending from
June 15 through June 21. $150
Phelps Barn Week 2: Phelps Barn rookie tuition for the second week
June 22 through June 28. $150
Phelps Barn Complete: Go the entire distance, save some money, and see the project through to the end. Your time will be well rewarded you will take home skills that will be essential to your own restoration projects. $250
Phelps Barn Student and Senior Registration: If you're over 65, and/or a full time college student during the academic year, your tuition is on us, no matter what your experience level. You MUST register in order to participate, and you'll be provided with plenty of challenges during the project.
Phelps Barn Professional Registration: Send in your resume, and join the fray.
We'll take great care of you, and we'll make sure you are well appreciated. Remember, you must register, and submit a resume to participate. A great opportunity for you to add some restoration experience to your portfolio, and to transform a small bit of the cultural landscape in the process.
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