Phone lines installed

Report by Dennis Casebier

Two AT&T trucks with cherry pickers arrived at a little after 9:00 AM to run our phone lines to the west side of Lanfair Road. Phil is out there with them. It's not cold out but there is a very strong wind blowing, mostly out of the west.

Interior walls are textured

Report by Dennis Casebier
Photos by Dennis Casebier and Chris Ervin

The "mudders" were here fairly early this morning. They've had their special mixer machine chugging away over there all day. Right now it is quiet. That's because they've finished! The mudding and texturing is done and they are now cleaning up. They won't be back tomorrow.

Also today Phil Motz and Gus Lind worked on the water system with the result that the new well and associated pressure tank are now on line. There is water pressure down to the edge of the Library/Depot. All Mr. Cordova will have to do to put water in the building is turn one valve at the edge of the building.

With the drywall and mudding done that means the interior of the building will be ready for painting. After the painting the electrical fixtures can be put on. After that flooring can be put down. We're rolling along!

The wind we had over the weekend has continued, although today it is somewhat diminished. The temperatures have continued warm.

Mudders and railfans

Report by Dennis Casebier
Photos by Chris Ervin

The "mudders" were here all day "mudding." Much progress is being made. Building inspector Steve Given showed up this afternoon and completed the "drywall nailing" inspection. This is something of a misnomer since they use screws not nails. Steve signed in the appropriate space on our inspection card and the job progresses right along.

Also today, a man named Glen Icanberry showed up with a friend of his named Vic Neves. They are both rail buffs. Glen was here a month or so ago and at that time he said he had the big part of the semaphore signal we need to go in front of the depot. At that time he said he'd been looking for a home for it and I said, "look no further!"

Well, today he and Ivan showed up with not only the semaphore mechanism but also official Santa Fe plans for installing and maintaining it. Glen also brought other documentary materials relating to the Goffs Depot and other depots like it. Vic is a railroad photographer and has written several books about railroading, mostly Southern Pacific.

Charlie and Kathy Connell of Phoenix arrived for the Encampment today. They spent much of the day picking nails up (with a magnet) around the Library/Depot and then they carefully raked the area. Also they did some repair to the tortoise fence.

Rough drywall finished

Report and photo by Dennis Casebier

At about 7:00 AM this morning I saw someone out by the Library/Depot so I went over to check it out. It turned out to be a return of the drywallers who were here yesterday. I thought they finished the first phase of dry-walling yesterday but they hadn't. They plan to finish today. They informed me that Randy, their boss, is to be here today. He'll set the next phase of dry-walling in motion -- the "finish" work, or mudding.

Ready to fight a fire!

Report and photos by Dennis Casebier

The drywallers were here through some time today. Phil informs me they didn't quite finish and they plan to come back tomorrow.

The hydrant for the Library fire protection system was completed before noon today and water flowed! Phil Motz came over the FRS announcing that the two 5,000 gallon tanks were approaching "full." He called a gathering at the hydrant at 6:15 PM for anyone interested.

There was a ceremonial opening of the valve with the tanks pretty much full to see how far the hydrant would fling water -- proving once again we'll grasp most any opportunity to have a celebration out here! It threw water seven feet from the hydrant under the force of gravity alone.

Gus and Stella Lind, Kristy and Phil Motz, and Mark Wire wrestled the water project to completion this morning. Congratulations and thanks to all who helped with this over the past several weeks.

Drywallers begin and 6-inch line fetched

Report and photos by Dennis Casebier

The drywallers showed up fairly early this morning and are well into the job. The fellow in charge on site told me they expect to be completed by Sunday. The guys here now just do the initial installation and others come along behind them to do the finish work.

Gus Lind and I went into Fort Mohave and Bullhead City to procure the supplies for the fire protection water system as well as conduit for telephone lines.

The ditch for the 6" line is about complete. Gus hopes to complete it this afternoon. Then I expect installation of the new line and hookup of the two 5,000 gallon water tanks to the 6" line and a hydrant will get installed over the next two days.

Water line dug

Report and photos by Dennis Casebier

Lots going on at Goffs today. We closed the day yesterday with a terrific wind. By this morning it had died out. But not for long. It started up again mid-morning and here at mid-afternoon it is a strong wind again.

General Contractor Dan Cordova and two of his guys were here this morning early. They had intended to put thresholds down at the doors. They did some of the prep work but that's about it.

The bad news is that Dan discovered pretty serious damage to a couple of the doors. They were left open, a strong wind caught them, and the result is split wood on the frames. Dan is assessing the damage and what it will take to fix it.

Building Inspector Steve Given was here this morning. He inspected the insulation job and the septic system. We passed in both categories.

As I write this Gus and Phil are out there digging the ditch for the water line that will connect the two 5,000 gallon water tanks with a hydrant required by the County Fire Department. Gus Lind and I will be going into Fort Mojave tomorrow morning to pick up the six inch water pipe. It will take another day to bury the pipe and make the necessary connections to be fully up to speed on this.

Gus Lind was at the controls of the Greening Tractor digging the water line ditch. Gail Andress is off for a couple of days on sick leave, but you can't hold him down long.

The drywall for the interior of the entire Library/Depot building was delivered this morning. It was off-loaded by hand into the rooms where it'll be needed. I believe the dry-wallers may be here to begin their work as early as tomorrow.

Insulation inside

Report by Dennis Casebier
Photo by Hugh Brown

The insulators showed up this morning a little before 9:00 AM. There were three people from Desert Insulation. The fellow in charge was Gary Fraser and the other two were brothers Ramino Rizo and Genaro Rizo.

To our amazement they had all the insulation installed in the space of about five hours. They were done and heading out the gate by about 1:00 PM or so. Amazing.

It is much quieter in the building now and we are understanding the drywallers will be here on Friday.

Temperatures were moderate all day but quite windy.

MDHCA board reviews progress

Report by Chris Ervin

Today, during a break from the regularly scheduled meeting, the MDHCA Board of Directors did a walk-through review of progress on the Library/Depot construction. Executive Director Dennis Casebier and Director Chris Ervin met with general contractor Dan Cordova to discuss upcoming work scheduled over the next couple of weeks.

Security system wired, part 2

Report by Dennis Casebier

Michael and Rene Howser of EES, a security firm, were here stringing wires for about an hour for the security system in the Library/Depot. With the completion of their work the walls in the interior of the building can now be closed. Hence, general contractor Dan Cordova has scheduled installation of insulation for next week and installation of drywall for the week after.

Stairway to second floor finished

Report and photo by Dennis Casebier

General Contractor Cordova with two men spent the day here. They were taking care of some odds and ends. The most significant task was to finish off the staircase on the steps to the second floor of the Depot. They did that and it looks very nice.

Also today Phil Motz and Gus and Stella Lind strung wire to some ceiling fan positions in the new building that had not been on the original plans and hence had not been put in place.

Perhaps most importantly, we finalized the plans today for that portion of the water system that will provide water for fire fighting around the new building. Now it will be only a matter of several days and we'll have that system in.