Timber Framers Gather to Construct Public Pavilion

Reader Contribution by Leeanne Seaver
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Squinting against the bright September sky, project foreman Rick Collins surveyed the scene before him. Something extraordinary was about to happen in a small town in Michigan — a gathering of people from around the world to construct a timber frame pavilion. “I would go so far as to say that it’s probably been well over 100 years since anyone has built a structure this way,” Collins declared.

The 120-by-46-by-24-foot post-and-beam construction would take 70 timber framers and 29,000 board feet to build — plus about 3,500 recyclable paper plates. More specifically: carpenters and apprentices from 20 U.S. states, Canada, France, England and Poland; white ash, oak, black locust, poplar, and cherry donated from local landowners; and paper plates full of homemade food prepared by 330 members of the local community. All that after two years of dreaming, planning, and the fundraising necessary for the vision to be realized: a pavilion where the farmers market, summer festivals, and special events of Vicksburg, Mich., would have their home for the next few centuries.

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