Bainbridge Island Japanese American Memorial: Part 1

The pieces that only a short while ago seemed too mysterious to understand and too complex to cut gradually are now being understood, as our team spirits and confidence are rising, perhaps in synch with the improving weather.

Much of our hesitancy in the cutting and finishing stems directly from the fact that this Alaskan Yellow Cedar is nearly flawless. This wood is too old and too precious to be manipulated casually. It has come from ancient trees on Vancouver Island, and has been prepared for us with great care. We all understand what a privilege it is to be offered this opportunity.

In the parallel world of ideas, we are slowly awakening to the importance of what we are building within this community. While working on this magical site overlooking the bay and the village, we are regularly visited by bands of garrulous crows. Perhaps they are the same crows that disrupted the dedication ceremony last year as the names of the exiles were read aloud -- an experience so eerie and moving that most participants were shaken, and brought to tears, when the crows fell silent as the last name was spoken. (We are in a place where several spiritual traditions converge, and hold that the spirits of the ancestors are carried by large black birds.)

Left to right: Wayne Kapitaniuk (BC) and Bob Bacigal (CA) scale the staging for the videographer Don Sellers. Note that the bones of the gate are resting on cribbing below the lowest connector, adjusted with bypassing wedges. This was done in an effort to position the assembly perfectly while the epoxy set up overnight.

By the end of Thursday, the bones of each gate were in place in the air.

The foundation detail called for a long threaded rod through a perfectly cut granite plinth block into a pool of epoxy in the sub-foundation, all resting on a bed of mortar. This detail necessitated a ballet of installation that involved lowering the assembly, all four columns in unison, straight down into the goo. This was accomplished only slightly before sundown. - - Joel McCarty

Meanwhile on the other gate, Michael Holihn (BC) and Armisted Coleman (WA) fuss the fits when the rafter, plate and projecting beam are all supposed to interconnect. In spite of the late hour and the spotty weather, all of this work was done with a high level of care.