Gus is now on his long awaited vacation. The weather hasn't been great, but that hasn't dampened his joy on the golf course in the least. He golfed in St. Regis, MT on Monday, Coeur d'Alene on Tuesday and today he is golfing in Spokane. Tomorrow he golfs in Ellensburg, WA.
A year ago, Gus proposed to the Montana Historic Society in Helena drastic measures in order to win a grant for restoring our old barn. He wanted to dismantle the old part, pour footings and walls, then rebuild using as much of the original material as possible. We were awarded the grant based on Gus' aggressive plan. Two weeks later, our world fell apart and Gus got sick. There was no way he could do the work. I couldn't accept the grant, yet I refused to let it go.
A friend of ours who is also a co-worker of mine offered to help us see it through. Brian met Gus last June, two days before we flew to Seattle, and Gus shared his ideas and goals for the barn. Throughout these past 10 months, Gus was a part of the work days on the barn whenever he felt well enough. He was active enough to still feel a part of the project. The first part of April, Brian and his volunteers had finished the hard part and all that was left was to put the walls back up and finish the inside. At this point, Gus felt well enough to finish the project himself. He finished it on April 20th, 5 weeks before our deadline. These pictures show the "rustic" look and the "restored" look. You can see what Gus did with his spare time this spring and what Brian did with his days off for the last several months.
Before
The Finished Project
2 comments:
WOW. Great job, can't wait to see in person.
John Lasher said...
Gus continues to amaze me. We had a great outing on the links here in Eburg, and the breezes fazed us not in the least. Carry on friend, you inspire us all.
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