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Sisters sixth-graders enjoyed an old-fashioned construction experience putting up a pavilion at Camp Tamarack

Low-tech lesson gives pupils a lift
By Mike Can Meter
Photo by Lyle Cox
The Bulletin

SISTERS — When you have a pair of heavy log walls to put upright for your outdoor camp pavilion, you can do one of two things: Use a crane or do some heavy lifting.

Several dozen Sisters Elementary School sixth-graders did the heavy lifting Thursday afternoon at Camp Tamarack, experiencing what it was like to erect heavy buildings before the industrial age.

"They're doing this the old-fashioned way," marveled Josh Kelleher, 11. He was one of 72 students who spent this week in the annual Sisters Elementary outdoor school held at the private camp near Suttle Lake.

"This is kind of how people built things before forklifts and cranes," Derwyn Hanney of Earthwood Homes told students. "They used pulleys and ropes. It's pretty amazing what you can do."

Earthwood, which specializes in traditional construction techniques, can use newfangled gear to raise heavy objects. But often its crews try to bring in muscle- and brain-power to raise the walls instead.

"It's a very traditional thing with timber frames," Hanney said. "You try to get as many people as you can and raise the walls."

About 15 students and a handful of adults lifted the wall. A similar group pulled the wall upward via a heavy rope connected to a block-and-tackle hooked around a convenient tree.

The heaviest lifting came at the start, bringing the giant timbers to sawhorse level. Once there, the final push to put the wall frame in an upright position was over in less than a minute.

Ted Jones, who owns the camp, said the wall-raising was timed to coincide with the students' visit. "We have several communities use our camp with their outdoor schools, and we thought this would be a nice touch," he said.