I didn’t get a ton of sleep last week.
Turns out that it is pretty motivating to have a building renovation underway. There’s a reason that entire television networks are based around before-and-after stories of dilapidated houses getting turned into beautiful homes: the sense of “what if” can’t be ignored.
Having the MNCC project underway is like being a paleontologist discovering the fossilized remains of a gigantic new dinosaur. You know that the skeleton isn’t going anywhere, but every time you’re at the dig site you can’t help but dust off one more bone, or take one more measurement…and before you know it, it’s 10:30pm one night, or 12:40am the morning after you started some project.
It’s not just me. Club members and leaders have been getting involved along the way. After joining us for a painting session one afternoon, I got a text from Board member Mike Millar that outed him as having eaten dinner, put his baby to bed, and returned to paint the ceiling late into the night.
There wasn’t much asking around at training one morning until I found a willing volunteer to help me pick up some lumber. With a few canoe straps, Pat Frazier and I tied down several pieces of particle board (that would eventually form the missing back wall of the MNCC) to his Subaru’s roof rack. I paid Pat his wages for the ordeal (one bagel with cream cheese from the shop next door) and after evening training and biathlon, we unloaded the boards at the MNCC so that work could continue.
Throughout the week as I was working inside the building, my car was conspicuously parked outside right on Route 2. Several times I heard a car honk as it went past, and would run over to a window to see an MNC junior or collegiate skier speeding off in the distance. They knew I was getting things ready, and were giving a salute on their drive past.
Sometimes a guest would even stop by, such as the time Rye walked in to see what was happening and found himself with a rag in hand applying floor polish mere minutes later. On several occasions, MNC University coach Brandon and I have finished practice and driven straight down to the MNCC to paint trim, piece together gym flooring, or assemble squat racks.
Brandon assembling the floor of the “gym” area!
It feels really good to have a project like this, and it feels like exactly what both me and the club needed this summer. It was time for a change, and for a new branch of growth. The possibilities for this space grow with every new conversation as we transform this space.
I even went into the Richmond Library to dig up a little information on the building’s history. I’m an admitted fan of local history, and others may have the same kind of interest. So what did I find?
The building we are in is, unsurprisingly, connected to all of the other industrial-style buildings in the the immediate vicinity, including several barn structures across the road. This was all the Plant and Griffith Lumber Company, the principle industry in Jonesville.
The building we are in was constructed in 1925, making next year the centennial! The location of the railway right onsite made shipping lumber extremely smooth, and I was let in on another cool tidbit from the property manager Dave…just west of the collection of buildings we’re in is a small one-story ranch home still occupied today. The Plant and Griffith Company made a lot of it’s money in manufactured/fabricated homes from their lumber, and that ranch house is the model display home!
I plan to get copies made of these (and other) historical documents, and have them framed to go into the lower level of the MNCC! I think it’s really important to recognize the history and significance of local buildings that have been around for so long, and were integral to the community. I hope that MNC can now use this space to create our own lasting legacy!
And so, of course it is time for the “before and after” photos…but something tells me we’ll never quite be done putting finishing touches onto this space here and there! If you’re interested in contributing, check out our Amazon Gift Registry below, and thanks to all those who have already chipped-in! Almost everything you see in these photos came from kind donors.
The original photo of the space
Update time!
A bit of additional views/details
Gym section with racks, spin bike, SkiErg, and core area/tools
Work in progress: coaches office area! A new table is being constructed, and this area will continue to get some more goodies
