Thanks for checking in with the Veteran’s Historicorps Team! It’s been a wild ride. Here in Wisconsin, you cannot really rely on the weather reports because most of the time if it says it is going to rain, then you know not to expect rain, but if the weather reports say that it is not going to rain, then we expect some sort of rain or thunderstorm. We have begrudgingly accepted that we have brought the bad weather from North Carolina to here in Wisconsin.
The good weather that we have gotten has been pretty hot during the day and pretty nice and cool at night. It is a relief to be able to have some nice weather, but the mosquitos have been pretty ferocious. One member, Chris, has identified the type of mosquito that we are dealing with as the “Asian tiger mosquito.” Like tigers, they sure are feisty.
For the Fourth of July weekend we put the Crew on hold and had some personal time. Some SCA members went to Iron River, WI and some of the SCA Members went to Duluth, Minnesota. Mostly over the Fourth of July weekend we rested. We love this job, but sometimes we need a little down time to not burn ourselves out. Fatigue is a major contributor to many injuries, and luckily we haven’t had any major ones. Drinking plenty of water, eating right, resting, taking breaks, checking up on each other and communicating are factors that have lead us to the success that we have had so far.
The SCA members that went to Superior, WI and Duluth, MN for the fourth of July weekend went to a couple of Museums, walked around downtown Duluth and got to walk along Lake Superior and see the Korean War Memorial and Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall. There was a great showing for the firework show in Superior, WI and it made it even more relaxing and nice to see different ways of how other people celebrated the Fourth of July. The SCA members that went to Iron River, WI went kayaking, rock climbing and sight-seeing as much as they could.
After the 4th, we had some more PIT volunteers come and help us with the project. They were very well prepared and overall helped us get shingles cut and fixed and helped us with all sorts of odd projects. They were enthusiastic workers, religious lake swimers, and good campmates too. They lived with us, ate with us, and socialized with us outside of work as well. Two of the volunteers were from Wisconsin and lived only five hours from here. It was nice to have these two around to get an insights on Wisconsin. Having a local to work with always is nice. The week we had them here seemed to fly by.
Last weekend the SCA crew and the HistoriCorps crew went kayaking and canoeing on the Namakagon River. Jeff Butler and Pete from the Park Service here in Wisconsin took us on a guided tour down the river as we all got to paddle either a canoe or a kayak and have fun doing so. It was nice to be able to get out and do something with the group and have fun. We went down river and picnicked alongside it and its beautiful scenery. The weather cooperated with us and some of us got a little too much sun. A great bonding experience for all.
Fortunately, we have not had anyone really sick while we have been here. We have had a couple incidents where, because this project is so physically demanding, a couple SCA members had to go to the hospital to get checked out and make sure they were alright to continue to work on this demanding project. Tyler and Gabe had some tough pain they faced, and were on light duties for a while. Despite doctor’s orders, they are both raring to get up and back on the roof. It just goes to show you how dedicated we all are to this project, so much more that we are willing to push through the pain and the heat and the mosquito attacks just to be able to say at the end that WE completed this project and we did it together as a group, and overcame the obstacles that stood in our way.
As a group, we take what we learn from each other’s strengths and weaknesses and apply to ourselves so that we can become better as people and as a whole. We know that we need to cooperate to achieve what needs to be done. It takes everyone as a cohesive group to come together; that is what this is about. It is about learning from each other while completing a task that has a great impact on the community.
