Hattiesburg - Day 3 & 4

Day 3 - Teamwork (Monday)

Monday morning was filled with debris being thrown out of the third story windows.  It appears that the crew finds this activity very therapeutic.

The general labor crew managed to fill up four-plus dumpsters and clean out a floor and a half of the old school building. The enthusiasm from the team is high. 

The Grace Centers for Hope crew is facing unexpected hurdles to get the truss stabilized and supported properly. 

The window crew has assessed all of the window frame conditions and inventoried all of the areas that need to be covered with plywood.

We had a large group of young men from Camp Shelby assist with a great deal of the debris removal and deconstruction.

A few of the men went downtown to pick up the lift during downtown Hattiesburg rush hour traffic.  Needless to say there were a few unhappy motorists.

The group loaded back on the bus and called it a day.  We headed back to the VFW Camp to freshen up for dinner.  We were pleasantly surprised when we arrived at the Crawford House for a spectacular New Orleans style dinner. 

All of the aches and pains are well worth it when we see the smiling faces and curious people passing by the school site.

Day 4 - Minor Aches and Pains (Tuesday)

The crew arrived bright and early on Tuesday morning to find empty dumpsters, a bright sunny blue sky, and good old fashion southern grits for breakfast.  The team captains quickly assigned tasks for the day and the paint crew began the long arduous task of painting 150 plywood sheets (more on their progress tomorrow).

Two new volunteers from Southern Mississippi State University were welcomed with open arms.  They are studying art at the university and are very excited to move the project along.  They currently occupy a space that is 1,700 sq. ft. and they can't imagine that the Old Hattiesburg High School will be the new home of the art department.

We continue to be elated with the southern hospitality that Hattiesburg has shown us.  The local mailman dropped off a bag of the most amazing shortbread cookies for the crew. 

Work continues to progress and spirits remain high on this warm, sunny, 78 degree day in Hattiesburg.