The town of Duxbury, population about 800, needed a bigger school. An addition was proposed but voted down. Mobile classrooms were proposed but voted down. Tuitioning students to Waterbury, a neighboring community, was also rejected. All options were too costly.
This is where Duxbury became unique. We tapped our most important resource -- the individual talents of our townspeople. We coordinated a huge volunteer effort and built an addition on our school without raising taxes.
The project actually began in February, 1983. Andrea (Andy) Ripley and I called a public meeting to discuss options for solving the problem facing our school. The most popular idea was that of building an addition ourselves. A committee was set up to do a phone survey of the town. The results showed an overwhelming majority in favor of the volunteer effort. Many people pledged money, materials and labor. Andy and I compiled our findings and presented them to the school board. Some groundwork was done when an addition was proposed three years earlier. A set of plans had been drawn up and donated by a certified architect and the idea of using volunteer labor had been suggested. The architect was willing to revise his drawings and donate his time and talent to work with our committee.
Our next step was to convince the state that we could construct an addition using volunteer labor and still meet state codes. Superintendent William Lincoln and school board members Howard Berno, David Rogers, and Dennis Merchant, met with state officials to determine what must be done to receive state construction aid.
Contractors' estimates showed a figure of $145,000 to construct the addition. The state required the voters to authorize the school board to borrow $101,000 to cover the cost of the addition less the state aid. Our job was to convince the voters that we would raise the needed cash and if everyone worked together we could build an addition without raising taxes.
On June 7, 1983, Duxbury committed itself to the volunteer effort. It was an exhilarating moment when the vote was counted, 103-32!
The work began. We needed to raise $21,000 in cash, so we held one fund raiser after another -- selling T-shirts, dip suppers, raffles, bottle drives, a concert, auction, dance, flea market, poetry reading, concessions at fairs, read-a-thon, candy sale, bumper stickers, bingo. A newsletter was started to help keep townspeople informed.
Ground breaking was held August 19, 1983. Construction began with many willing hands. Almost everyone in town helped in some way, by donating money, materials, equipment or labor and by attending or organizing fund raisers. Many people donated food items to feed our volunteer workers. Duxbury is full of fantastic cooks.
Every individual contribution big or small made this project a success. Even people from outside Duxbury helped and area businesses and organizations showed support in many ways. Volunteers worked evenings and weekends in all kinds of weather. One highlight of construction was an October weekend when more than forty volunteers worked. Restaurants and townspeople donated food for lunches and one evening a spaghetti dinner was served. A 90 foot long wall was raised that weekend. What an impressive sight to see.
It hasn't been easy. Problems cropped up here and there along the way, but we overcame them. At times we have been frustrated, at times our volunteers were few and far between, but all in all it has been rewarding. Townspeople have come to know one another better and have accomplished something to be proud of. Our young people have seen what can be done through generosity and cooperation.
The key is finding people to dedicate themselves to coordinating the effort from start to finish. Before work can begin, qualified people must be found who are willing to donate their skills. For instance, the state requires plans to be drawn by a certified architect, wiring must be done by a master electrician, and plumbing must have the seal of a master plumber. It is essential to have the support of the majority of the townspeople -- people who will help raise funds, donate labor or materials or make cash donations. Facts and figures must be recorded as accurately as possible. Enlisting the help of town officials, in our case the superintendent, school board and town treasurer, is important in dealing with the state as well as handling finances.
Meeting after meeting was held, with the school board, with state officials, with committees, with our volunteer job foremen and contractors. The school board became the general contractor and extended their insurance to cover the volunteer workers. This protected our contractors from huge overheads and future responsibilities. We spent a little over $40,000, and about $65,000 worth of labor and material were donated.
One of our major problems from the beginning was communication. Keeping an open line among chair-persons, committees and townspeople is a difficult but essential task. We spent many hours working on the newsletter and many hours on the telephone. Andy was in charge of construction details. Her architectural background made her well qualified for this job. Making sure materials were on site, lining up workers and approving bills were some of her duties. My responsibilities included coordinating fund raising, communications through the newsletter, lining up food donations and serving lunch to volunteers. All these tasks required the use of the phone which for us created a sometimes amusing problem, as Andy and I were on the same party line! The other two parties on the line found this frustrating as well.
Another problem was construction during the school year. The area had to be fenced and children kept away from the site which meant they were prevented from using playground equipment. Teachers and students had to put up with inconveniences, like rain and cold air leaking into temporarily boarded window openings, and the sound of the roofers pounding on metal all day. But the teachers turned the construction into a learning experience for their students.
One other big consideration is the understanding of our immediate families. Those of us who are deeply involved in the project have neglected our homes and even our families at times. Without their love and support we would not have been able to accomplish our dream.
Construction completed, our goal is realized. Our school has two big new classrooms, new storage space, new tutoring rooms, new coat rooms, an office, an enclosed fire escape and a more energy efficient structure -- all without losing the character of the original building.
We brought that old barn raising spirit back to life -- neighbor helping neighbor, sharing, giving and working together. May the tradition continue.
This is a condensed version of the article appearing in Central Vermont Magazine Winter 1984 issue. For information on where to locate these magazines contact the chamber at 229-5711.
Thanks are extended to Earline Marsh, Alan Noyes, Elizabeth Ralph, Sally Finn and Jack Belding for their time selecting and editing Central Vermont Magazine articles for publication on the web.