We are grateful to the energetic and hardworking youth of Faith Baptist Church in Longview that gave up one of their last summer Fridays off from school to come help us finish our summer project–a new walk-in freezer!
The job was to use a bucket brigade to carry concrete into the double-insulated shell of a refrigeration truck-trailer that Matt and our farm hands had modified to meet our needs. On the coldest August day in many years, many hands made light work. Well… lighter work, anyway.
The first step is to gather your crew and show everyone what they’ll be doing.
After all, it’s a big job. Here’s a view from the inside.
The helpers set rocks up to hold up the reinforcement rebar. After they busted block up with hammers, of course. Which involved only a few minor injuries…
The interns made sure all the cracks were sealed.
Micah made sure all siding was thoroughly attached.
Now you start mixing up the concrete. Let someone strong lift the bags….
…because there are a bunch of them.
Add a little water… just the right amount! It’s an art, you know! Hannah was in charge of this job.
Oh, and use a Bowie knife to cut the bags open. Courtesy of Zack.
Then mix ‘er up and pour ‘er out!
Then the next crew scoops the mixture up with shovels…
…and puts it into buckets.
The buckets are then carried along support boards into the back section of the freezer.
And a helper carries the empty bucket back out to be refilled. Here’s Rachel, who also provided deliciously flat chocolate chip cookies. Rinse, repeat.
Zack skillfully smoothes the concrete.
No helper is too big…
…or too small! And yes, those are jackets in August. It was crazy cold that day!
It even comes with a special safety feature…
…an electric bell in case you lock yourself in! But don’t do that because someone has to be able to hear you for it to work.
The next morning, voila! A sturdy freezer floor!
Matt likes it so much that he likes to sit and ponder its majesty. (Just kidding. He was making something for the door, I think.)
We are quite pleased with the completion of this project, and grateful for the hard work and good attitudes of our young helpers. It was fun!
Farm life is lots of things. Most folks know and reaffirm to us, “Farm life is so busy!” Yep! 100%!
It’s also very cyclical. Certain things happen alongside the seasons, and it really is so interesting to witness the ebb and flow from year to year. Sometimes we change things to better mesh with seasonal changes. And sometimes we find a groove that we really like, and we try to stick… ... Continue reading
