Masonry Magazine October 2000 Page. 64
Dear Masons,
I am writing to express my gratitude to the Associated Masonry Contractors of Houston. My name is Simon Onehm and, as my last name suggests, I'm not from around here. I was born and raised in Switzerland, where I spent my first 25 years. Two years ago I ran into a job opportunity to create a grant-funded woodshop program for Hargrave High School in Huffman I.S.D. The program is called C.O.L.T.S., which stands for Community for Learning, Training, and Sharing.
In the fall of 1998, my wife Bonnie and I began the process of tying loose ends together. The majority of our time would be spent teaching timber framing, which, like masonry, is an ancient trade. The students were given an explanation that went something like this: "We are going to use large diameter timbers and join them together without any metal connectors or nails. The class project for the year is going to be a 3200 square foot workshop." The students and I started cutting and preparing timbers in December of 1998. On April 24, 1999 we raised the timber-framed workshop with the help of 26 professional timber framers from around the country. Our student load was 26 at that time so we had a pro for every student it was mentorship at its best!
For the 1999-2000 school year, the goal was to finish the shop's interior as well as the siding work. One design idea was a 2-foot splash wall around the building with split faced concrete masonry units. Money was available, so hiring a company to do the work was possible, but what fun is that?
Every two weeks the current C.O.L.T.S. committee meets. The committee consists of Superintendent Dr. Jin Gibeon, High School Principal Robert Schnuriger, Head of the Maintenance Department Richard Fleming, Business Manager Dianne Fleming, Program Counselor Bonnie Gnehm and me, the instructor. Richard Fleming has a masonry background and one fine day he mentioned the Associated Masonry Contractors of Houston. He put us in contact with Paul Hoggart of Hoggart Inc., whom Richard has known for many years. We invited Paul to have a look around and to give us some feedback about our idea of having complete rookies (the students and I) lay bricks. Right off the bat, Paul was very enthused about the possibility of introducing 40 high school students to his trade.
Soon thereafter donated blocks started to show up. I got really excited about all of this because, as a wood worker, it is definitely good to expand my professional horizon and learn a thing or two. The students didn't really know what to make of it, but Paul's easygoing ways, common sense approach, and clear explanations made it a very enjoyable experience for us all. Initially, I thought the work would take us three to four weeks with a lot of different instructors and at least as many ways to do things. But Paul was quick in putting me straight and let me know that two weeks was the most they would need. What fun it was to watch the process! Things we take for granted as tradesmen (or tradeswomen), can really impress outsiders. Tricks of the trade are really meant as such. During the process, I was one with my students (since I was as much of a beginner as they were). Boy, my forearm was even a little sore the next day from swinging that trowel. Of course I wouldn't admit that to my class!
After the first day, Paul had organized two gentlemen, Harry McCraw and Doug Daniels, to take over for a day or two. Again, I was amazed at how easy they made it look. The students stuck right with them and progress was very good. Paul was back after this short change, and before we knew it, the third layer was finished. Two weeks was all they wanted, two weeks was all they needed. My hat is off to Paul, Doug, and Harry. They were excellent in representing their trade and giving us one heck of an impression of y'all out there piling them up, day in and day out.
Special thanks to Paul Hoggart of Hoggart Inc. Houston, TX, Harry McCraw and Doug Daniels of Lucia Masonry, Houston, TX for their time and enthusiasm. Thanks to Best Masonry of Houston for supplying sand and cement, Rohmann and Barnard Inc. of Fort Worth, TX for the wall anchors, and Southwest Concrete Products for the CMU blocks.
Thank you all for this opportunity and best wishes.
Respectfully,
Simon Grohm
C.O.L.T.S. Cooperative Project
3407 Huffman-Eastgate Road
Huffman, Texas 77336
281-324-1845 ext.113
Fax 281-324-3368
Editor's Note: If you have a story that you would like to share with the readers of MASONRY, please fax us your request at (630) 705-4209 or send your email to info@masoncontractors.com.
64 MASONRY SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER, 2000