Building Connections

My childhood memories are filled with construction. 

From the number of memories that I can recall, I seem to have been in continuous building mode between Legos, Lincoln Logs, Tinker Toys, erector sets, plastic and balsa model kits, roadways for matchbox cars and tracks for hot wheel cars, as well as patchwork items out of branches, scrap lumber and any and all sorts of items I could find around my home and yard.

In most cases, these projects were amalgamations of all sorts of items.  Although I wasn't a tower builder, cities did grow in my suburban back yard and some form of urban redevelopment seemed to be always at work in my contained wilderness. 

From those early builder days, I looked for ways to get involved in other construction activities, and when, in high school, I learned that being in theater included building stage sets, I jumped in.  In all of the shows I was cast as an actor, I found that I leaned into the set building just as readily.  And if building pretend houses was possible, it wasn't that far a leap to imagine that I could eventually build real houses too.

During my college years, I had a great opportunity to work alongside my new step-father as he built our family built a new house.  He had taken on the role of electrical sub-contractor and I was the apprentice, he taught me everything I needed to know about wiring a house.  Little did I realize that those were skills I would end up putting to use many times over the years.

When I landed in Minneapolis after college, one of my first connections into the church community where I had settled was with Habitat for Humanity.  I was amazed that I, as a volunteer, was entrusted with tools and allowed to participate in building a real house with a group of other volunteers.   I engaged fully, recognizing the ability to learn construction techniques from professionals was a true gift.  While I was pretty comfortable with wielding a hammer or saw, the opportunity to participate in the pouring of a foundation was amazing and increased my confidence in understanding home construction.

I also connected myself to a group of church members who had been volunteering at Wilderness Canoe Base, to help maintain, repair and construct buildings around the camp.  The challenges of wilderness construction provided me with an ability to get creative about building techniques, including one very interesting cabin completely made out of doors, and aptly named, the OutofDoors.

I also started following around a group of retired gentlemen at my church who took on a monthly role of "handy-men" to take on fix-up tasks for people who needed support to stay in their homes.  I remember painting, working on gutters, plumbing, and once installing an outdoor light fixture that took me several tries to get right even though I was certain I understood the electrical techniques.  Renovation, it seemed, was quite different from a new construction.

If these practice efforts taught me anything, it was that I could probably handle the work of renovating my own home, and led to major overhauls in the first two homes my family owned.  And it also set me up to agree to help a friend build his own home, an offer I took seriously and I worked hard to live up to his level of trust in me.

As seems to be the case in most things, being taught by so many, in so many ways, I then have been able to be a teacher, sharing what I've been taught.  One of my favorite memories is from an alternative school in which I taught, when I showed up one morning with my tool box and a collection of lumber, and led a group students through a construction project. We framed a wall, ran electrical wiring through it and hooked up a light that we eventually were able to turn on, much to their amazement.  Later I hauled in a collection of plumbing parts from my many projects and the students enjoyed finding a way to move water from one end of the classroom to the other.

Now, I find myself in the role of dad, teaching my daughter and my son-in-law, construction techniques on their recently purchased fixer-upper of a house, drawing on experiences from throughout my life.  And although my wife and I had sought out a small house that wouldn't require "fixing-up," it still holds enough construction projects ahead that I know I won't lose my skills to disuse.

It's no surprise to me that I've been the fix-it person at the cafe over the course of my time owning Butter Bakery.  Stepping in to the first Butter site on Grand Ave, it was definitely a fixer-upper - but the maintenance and construction work to be done didn't deter me, instead it connected me to my childhood memories of creating a space out an odd assortment of whatever was at hand.  And, finally in making the move to the new construction of Butter's second site on Nicollet, all of my years of construction work made watching this space come together a joy and because it was a steel frame construction, it was yet another learning experience.

And by being a builder of physical things, I find I use what I've learned for being a builder of community.  I recognize the need for a solid foundation upon which relationships can be built.  I can see where the structures need to take shape, and how the systems within a community can provide its energy providing safe and comfortable places to gather and interact.  I get excited about the ways our public spaces can welcome and inform a community.  And, I truly understand the need to continue to maintain and support community, as there is always something needing a bit of fix-it help.

May we find joy in the building of things and in the building of relationships.  If you find me working to adjust a stepping stone along this green path, I hope you'll lend a hand, for I do find the work is better when shared.