Building trades program showcases new facilities for Glacier Park
Mae Anderson checks out some of the work she helped with building a new entrance station for the Camas Road as part of the school's building trades program.
A new employee cabin and a new Camas Road entrance are the fruits of about nine months of labor for the Columbia Falls High School’s building trades program.
The program is a cooperative arrangement between the Park Service and the school district. Glacier Park provides the materials and expertise and the students the labor.
Last week the school held an open house to showcase the students’ work.
One of the builders was Mae Anderson, the only girl in this year’s class.
She said she learned a lot from the class, but hanging sheetrock “was slightly frustrating.”
The cabin will go to Rising Sun in Glacier National Park, noted Bob Jellison, a builder with the Park Service who teaches the class along with shop teacher Jeff Remiker.
The 26-by-18 foot two bedroom structure will be installed later this summer, as will the entrance station.
It’s a complete cabin, with a full kitchen and bath — a tiny house of sorts. It has some nice touches, including a tongue and groove pine board ceiling and other wood accents.
The Camas entrance station will be located near Fish Creek, with a view toward the mountains. It’s spacious for an entrance station and students will learn the art of putting on cedar shingles for a roof. It’s one of the last things to be finished on the project.
Student Parker Burke said the projects were a challenge.
“There were a lot of things to work out,” he said. “Just trying to figure out the processes and the way to do things most efficiently.”
Teamwork was paramount, he said.
There was another challenge, said student Cody Gordon.
“Remember to dress warm,” he said. While the shop is insulated, it’s no school classroom.
Remiker gave kudos to Jellison.
“The big thing Bob focuses on is quality,” he said. “They work a little slower as a result. But there’s not many mistakes. The product we get is high quality.”
It was worth it, Burke noted.
“It was a blast,” he said.
The program with the Park Service is expected to continue into next year, with two more employee cabins on tap.