I was on campus for intern interviews on Friday the 24th, and when a hole in my schedule came up, I walked down to the house from the Schroeder Career Center.  The first thing I passed was a sizable caution sign from Brandt Construction, advising motorists of potential construction activity ahead.

As I passed Hall Peebles’ home and the chapter house came into view, I understood why.  Just three days into the project, much had changed:

    The front windows…boarded

    The front yard…turned over—a gravel path with piles of dirt on both sides

    The bushes and landscaping…gone, transplanted elsewhere on campus

    The concrete front porch…missing

The parking lot…dominated on the east end by a construction trailer occupied Friday by our on-site project manager, Bob.  He introduced himself and offered a smile and a big handshake.  Bob managed the Phi Delt project—their new house is just fantastic.  I felt even better after meeting Bob—how many bad Bobs are there?

A huge gulch was dug around the southeast corner of the Great Hall, in preparation to create the new outside entry way to the steps which lead downstairs to the basement, designed to allow the rest of the house to be locked off during social functions.

Wow!  My mind raced upon seeing what I knew would be happening but had never been pictured exactly in my mind’s eye.  I really had two thoughts:

•         We are finally underway!  After so much pushing, the wheels are turning.  This is a great time for alumni who made pledges in 2002 and undergraduates who waited patiently and dealt with delays.  Most of the undergrads who helped us lay out how the house would be renovated are now graduates.

•         Tearing down sure is easier than building up.  Undergrad John Porch told me “it didn’t take them long to tear out the front”.  Isn’t it so true that building friends, building cash balances, building trust, and building structures occur over time, but relationships, bank accounts, and houses can be washed out by a couple really violent events?  The hard work continues…but it sure is exciting to see it happen.

Please join us on this site to get frequent updates, or call Larry Landis, Joe Klen or me.  Please help us continue the hard work of building, and thanks for your support!

-Terry Hamilton '89