The Work Went On

Everyone’s lives are so busy these days you can be sure when you plan something there are many other things planned on that day as well. The first workday was planned about a month ago and it looked like we had around 40 or so folks coming out and then the weather decided not to cooperate so it had to be canceled. I will say the weatherman hit it right on the money as the day was a total washout. Between us going to Tampa for a week to be commissioned by the NAMB and work schedules, the next available time was this past Saturday. We were so thankful for those who were able to make it and did manage to get a few things on the list accomplished. One big thing is the progress we managed to make on the fishing pier. In order to maximize the effectiveness of the crew working on that project we kept shifting crew members from the brush patrol around to the pier project. As a matter of fact at one point we all were down there. We kept them stocked up with the necessary materials they needed so they never had to stop work. Andy Dobbs brought his RV up on Friday and decided to spend a peaceful night at the camp before the work began on Saturday. I actually met Andy last year through association with the camp. Now I will say he is a busy man and a world traveler !…..well maybe just a US traveler. He told me about a trip they made to see the shuttle lift off and had the best seats in the house! He is one of those good guys you run into occasionally during life’s journey and are glad you met.

I was up early on Saturday making coffee for the crew and opening the gate. I started a small fire in the fireplace at the pavilion and was enjoying my coffee watching and listening as the camp began to wake up. Andy and his boy were the first to arrive. I had never met Jonathan before but was really impressed with him by days’ end. He is 24 attending UAH and gives me plenty of hope for the generation coming up. The first part of the day he was on a brush crew where he did plenty of work without complaining and then ended up down on the pier. Now he was not just a gopher but they handed him a power tool and put him to work. He did a mighty fine job too.

Jonathan Dobbs has been drafted!

Joining us on the brush crew and general clean-up were Pastor Charles Miller, Pastor Wayne Kimbrough, his son Eddie and two of Eddie’s sons Joshua and Jacob. Now I was glad to see them and they are pretty regulars at the camp. Brother Charles is a busy man but he did make time to come out and help us for awhile in the morning.I wish he could have stayed for lunch. Now this was a working crew and quite a bit was accomplished when we got started. Brother Wayne worked as hard as anyone but then again he has been serving people all his life….the next generation could learn quite a bit from him. I learned a little bit about Eddie’s middle son Jacob on this trip as it seems he is a regular Jack Hannah. He must have found two or three types of lizards, salamanders and who knows what else. He also pitched in to help with the pier.

Eddie Kimbrough Is Right In The Thick Of Things

Jack Hannah.... I Mean Jacob Kimbrough Is No Stranger To Work

I had asked my son-in-law Jason to come up and take a few pictures and some video of the workday and he ended up actually working as much as anyone! I did not intend for this but he is the kind of man who will do whatever needs to be done and without batting an eye…so glad to have him in the family. After taking some video he actually laid the camera down and helped the put the dock together. I swapped him out with Eddie’s oldest boy Joshua at around 10:30 so Jason could get lunch started. Now Joshua did not seem to mind at all and the next time I saw him he had a screw gun in his hand and was hard at it.

Joshua Kimbrough Is A Natural Carpenter

Everyone came up around 11:30 to eat and take a little break. Oh I forgot to mention that the pier crew, Joe, John and Greg actually arrived and went to work before anyone else. As a matter of fact I didn’t even know they were down there working until they cranked up the generator. Joe could not stay for lunch but has already been up here three or four times working on the pier. He has been such a big help. I can’t say enough about Greg and John…especially on this project, they both really know what they are doing when it comes to building!

Joe And Greg Working Side By Side

John Cuts A Slot Around The Post

Right before lunch we set the big brush pile on fire which was sitting in the double fire ring. In almost no time at all the evidence of the mornings work was gone! Most of the focus in the afternoon was shifted to the pier project as we continued to replace folks who had to leave. By around 2:30 everyone who was left was working on the pier. At around 4:30 we called it a day as we had gone as far as we could. It was necessary to stop where we did so we can pour concrete around all the supporting posts, which will happen sometime during the coming week. Once that happens we will put down the rest of the deck boards, install the handrail and it will be finished. After everyone left and I made a round through the camp making sure all fires were safe, trash was up and the usual things. About an hour before dark Denise and I made a trip down to look at the dock as she had not seen it yet. Well three deck boards were up so we walked out and sat down on the edge by the water and just enjoyed the sun going down and the day coming to an end.