The Library Cam - Haddon, N.C.

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FIELD BOOK NO. 99-L PG. 1

THE LIBRARY CAM

PROJECT: NEW HADDON PUBLIC LIBRARY
LOCATION: OLD COTTON MILL LOT, HADDON, N.C.
OBSERVER: E. COATS, LAND SURVEYOR (RET.)
INSTRUMENT: CAMERA, UPSTAIRS FRONT WINDOW,
ACROSS THE STREET
OBSERVATIONS: ONE EVERY 10 MIN., 7 A.M. TO 7 P.M.

The new library across the street: one-story brick walls up all around with plywood over the windows, wooden roof trusses on top and roof decking at one end, a red-clay lot inside a chain-link fence

CURRENT OBSERVATION. PAGE RELOADS EVERY 10 MINUTES.

DATE	SUN. 9-26-99
WX	CLEAR, MILD, LIGHT AIR FROM N.
PCT. COMPLETE	55 (CONTRACTOR'S FIGURE, WHICH I ACCEPT)
REMARKS	BRICK WALLS UP ALL AROUND. ROOF TRUSSES SET. DECKING STARTED AT EAST END. NO WORK SUNDAYS. LOT DRYING OUT AFTER FLOYD.

Good afternoon. I am Edward Coats. I surveyed land for the county for thirty-three years, retired in 1997, and live with my wife Dolores in the house directly across the street from what used to be the Haddon Cotton Mill. The mill closed in 1981 and came down in 1994. The town bought the lot in 1996, and on Saturday, March 6, 1999, we broke ground on it for a new public library. I served on the citizens' committee for the library bond, so I have a stake in this building. I also have the best seat in town for watching it go up, and I thought I ought to share it.

The camera sits on the sill of the upstairs front bedroom window, which was our daughter's. Her husband set it up for me the week of the groundbreaking. It sends a picture every ten minutes from seven in the morning until seven at night, and I keep the notes. For the record: the gray car and the green pickup at the lower right are ours. They are in every frame because we are retired.

MILESTONE FRAMES (FOOTINGS IN APRIL, STEEL IN JUNE)

CONSTRUCTION LOG, BY WEEK

WEEK ENDING ON THE SATURDAY GIVEN. PERCENT COMPLETE IS THE CONTRACTOR'S, AS POSTED ON THE TRAILER DOOR. COMMENTS ARE MINE.

WK/DATE	WORK	PCT.
1 3-13	GROUNDBREAKING 3-6: MAYOR, COUNCIL, FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY, 30 SHOVELS, 200 PEOPLE, COOKIES. CORNERS STAKED. I CHECKED THEM. THEY ARE GOOD.	1
2 3-20	CLEARING AND GRADING. OLD MILL FOOTINGS TURNED UP AT N.E. CORNER. 4 TRUCKLOADS OF BRICK AND RUBBLE HAULED OFF.	2
3 3-27	GRADING. SILT FENCE. OFFICE TRAILER SET. 2 DAYS RAIN.	3
4 4-3	BUILDING LINES STAKED. FOOTING TRENCHES DUG.	4
5 4-10	RAIN. TRENCHES PUMPED OUT TWICE. RED CLAY IN THE STREET.	4
6 4-17	FOOTING FORMS AND REBAR. INSPECTION PASSED.	6
7 4-24	FOOTINGS POURED, 4-20 AND 4-21. SEE MILESTONES.	8
8 5-1	BLOCK FOUNDATION WALLS.	10
9 5-8	PLUMBERS, UNDER THE SLAB.	12
10 5-15	PLUMBING INSPECTED. GRAVEL, VAPOR BARRIER, MESH.	13
11 5-22	SLAB POURED 5-19. FIRST TRUCK 5:10 A.M., 11 TRUCKS. TOO DARK FOR THE CAMERA. NOT TOO DARK FOR ME.	16
12 5-29	SLAB CURING. QUIET WEEK.	17
13 6-5	STEEL DELIVERED, 2 FLATBEDS.	18
14 6-12	STEEL COLUMNS SET ON THE SLAB.	21
15 6-19	CRANE ON SITE 6-15 THRU 6-18. BEAMS OVER THE READING ROOM. SEE MILESTONES.	25
16 6-26	STEEL BOLTED UP AND INSPECTED.	27
17 7-3	MASONS ARRIVE. BLOCK BACKUP WALLS.	29
18 7-10	MASONS. SHORT WEEK FOR THE FOURTH. HOT.	31
19 7-17	FACE BRICK BEGUN, NORTH WALL.	33
20 7-24	BRICK, WEST WALL. MASONS START AT 6:30 TO BEAT THE HEAT. SO DO I.	35
21 7-31	BRICK, STREET WALL. WINDOW FRAMES SET.	37
22 8-7	BRICK, EAST WALL.	39
23 8-14	BRICK DONE EXCEPT GABLE ENDS. DRY SUMMER. NO DAYS LOST.	41
24 8-21	WOOD ROOF TRUSSES DELIVERED. 2 TRUCKS.	43
25 8-28	TRUSSES SET BY BOOM TRUCK, 2 DAYS. A FINE SIGHT.	46
26 9-4	TRUSS BRACING. RAIN OVER THE HOLIDAY WEEKEND.	48
27 9-11	GABLE ENDS BRICKED. ROOF DECKING BEGUN.	50
28 9-18	HURRICANE FLOYD. SITE SHUT 9-15 AND 9-16. 4.6 IN. IN MY GAUGE. LOT UNDER WATER, CLAY IN THE STREET. BUILDING FINE. OUR TROUBLE WAS NOTHING NEXT TO DOWN EAST.	51
29 9-25	PUMPED OUT, CLEANED UP. DECKING, EAST END. DRIED IN BY MID-OCTOBER IF WEATHER HOLDS.	55

A word about Floyd. We had a wet two days and a muddy week. In the east of our state the rivers are still over their banks and whole towns are under water. If you are reading this and can help, the Red Cross and the churches are collecting, and they need it more than any library.

THE TRADES, IN ORDER OF ARRIVAL

SURVEY CREW (STAKING. ALSO ME, UNINVITED.)
CLEARING AND GRADING
EROSION CONTROL
CONCRETE: FOOTINGS
MASONS: FOUNDATION BLOCK
PLUMBERS: UNDER THE SLAB
CONCRETE: SLAB
STEEL ERECTORS, WITH CRANE
MASONS: WALLS AND FACE BRICK
CARPENTERS: WINDOW FRAMES, ROOF TRUSSES, DECKING

STILL TO COME, IF THE SCHEDULE ON THE TRAILER DOOR IS TO BE BELIEVED: ROOFERS, WINDOWS AND DOORS, ELECTRICIANS, HEATING AND AIR, INSULATION, DRYWALL, PAINTERS, FLOORING, SHELVING, PAVING AND LANDSCAPING, AND, LAST, THE LIBRARIANS WITH THE BOOKS.

THE MONEY

LIBRARY BOND, TOWN ELECTION OF TUES., NOV. 4, 1997	$1,850,000 PASSED 1,214 TO 806
CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT (BIDS OPENED JAN. 1999)	$1,486,000
ARCHITECT, ENGINEERING, TESTING, CONTINGENCY	BALANCE OF BOND
FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY, FOR FURNITURE AND THE CHILDREN'S ROOM (RAISED SINCE 1996)	$61,400 GOAL $90,000

The committee was nine of us. We spoke at every church supper and civic club that would have us and knocked on doors the last three weekends before the vote. Thirty-three years of walking property lines will get a man in shape to walk a town. The Friends of the Library raise their money the slow way, with a book sale every spring and fall in the back room of the old library and a quilt raffle at Christmas. Their next sale is in October. Hardbacks a dollar, paperbacks a quarter, a bag for two dollars the last hour. Bring a bag.

WHAT IT WILL HOLD

	OLD LIBRARY	NEW
FLOOR AREA	2,400 SQ. FT.	12,000 SQ. FT.
BOOKS (SHELF ROOM)	ABT. 17,000, FULL	ABT. 45,000
PUBLIC COMPUTERS	1	6, ON THE INTERNET
CHILDREN'S ROOM	2 SHELVES AND A RUG	ITS OWN ROOM, STORY CORNER
MEETING ROOM	NONE	SEATS 60
LOCAL HISTORY	2 FILING CABINETS	A ROOM: MILL RECORDS, PHOTOGRAPHS, OLD NEWSPAPERS
PARKING	THE STREET	28 SPACES

The Historical Society has kept the old mill bell all these years. It is to hang in the new entry, which I think is right. My father worked in that mill for twenty-six years. The building that replaces it will be full of books and children, and he would have liked that fine.

OPENING

HOPED FOR: APRIL 2000. The roof, the windows and the weather between now and Christmas will decide it. I will be on the front step with a thermos either way.

OBSERVATIONS RECEIVED SINCE 3-6-99:

CORRESPONDENCE: [email protected]
LAST UPDATED 9-26-99