Sunday was the final performance of ‘Over and Back’ in Northfield. Ellen and I attended the farewell show. Will Healey and the cast did another great performance.

I will miss Over and Back. The local talent in the Northfield area never ceased to amaze me as they put on their show.

Northfield Construction Company was a ‘backer’ for the show…one of seven community backers. We provided financial support for each production. The proceeds of the production were always directed to some community service group or organization. The final production directed their revenue to the Northfield Veterans Memorial and to Christmas Dinner for All.

I am sure that everyone that ever attended an Over and Back production enjoyed it. There were fifteen years of great shows but as Will said, it is time for the cast to take a break. Thanks for the good times.

Posted by Ray Cox at 10:35 AM | Link

 
Ellen and I attended the dedication of the Northfield Area Veterans Memorial yesterday.

What a day! The weather was perfect on this November 11th and I would estimate there were over 1,000 people in attendance. It was awesome to see this many people out to recognize and pay tribute to our veterans.

The American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars handled the presentation of the flags and the raising of the American flag on the new pole.

City Engineer Heidi Hamilton’s husband Steve Hamilton played Amazing Grace on his bagpipes. The bagpipe give a very powerful feeling to that song.

Ken Grisim did a great job as Master of Ceremonies, with Larry Turner telling the crowd about all the work that went into making the Memorial a reality. Northfield Mayor Lee Lansing gave a great talk about the inspiration he receives from visiting the Memorial.

The talk that moved me the most was from former Minnesota Governor and US Congressman Al Quie. Al talked about growing up on his farm near Nerstrand and hearing from his Grandfather about his service in our Civil War. He told us that he grew up with the understanding that America must help with human rights wherever we are needed. That belief is what spurred him to work on all sorts of human rights laws in his Minnesota and Congressional service.

The memorial includes pavers with engraved names of many of our area veterans.

Now all of us can visit this beautiful Veterans Memorial and think about all the work and sacrifices veterans have done for this country….and what they continue to do for us every day.

Posted by Ray Cox at 7:24 AM | Link

 
Work continues on the Sciota Townhall project we are building. The foundation work has been completed and we all appreciated our mild fall weather.

We have moved onto the carpentry work on the site. The building is using structural insulated panels (SIP's) for the exterior wall. These 8" thick panels have 1/2" oriented strand board on each side, with foam insulation sandwiched in the center.

The panels are pre-fabricated for the building with each panel being numbered according to its location on the wall. We lift the panels into place with our rough-terrain forklift.

Work moves quickly when we can crane pre-fabricated panels into place. Our frame interior walls are already in place so the next step is the roof structure.

Posted by Ray Cox at 12:39 PM | Link

 

Yesterday the Millstream Commons had a “Worker Thank You” luncheon. It was held off-site at the Three Links Care Center. Three Links Care Center CEO Pat Vincent organized the event and invited all the trade workers that have been working on the Millstream Commons project for the past 10 months.

We had a nice gathering of about sixty people at the luncheon. Three Links prepared a wonderful lunch and the workers we not shy about eating heartily. The nice, hot food was a welcome change from the typical cold packed lunch workers typically eat.

Pat and I spoke to the group of workers, thanking them for their excellent work creating Millstream Commons. We had many area and local trades involved in the work, such as Pumper Plumbing and Heating, D&S Cement, Dalieden Painting, Cedar Lake Electric, Mulligan’s Landscape, etc. Pat let everyone know how appreciative she was of the efforts of Project Manager Craig Vold, and Site Superintendent Jim Vold. She and her Board of Directors are thrilled that the project is ahead of schedule and that about 25% of the units have already been rented.

Millstream Commons is a great asset to the Northfield community. It will provide high-quality assisted living in the center of town. I’m pleased that Northfield Construction Company was able to be the general contractor for this great project, that we were able to include so many area firms to help us, and that the construction work has progressed as planned. In about a month we will be turning over a beautiful, bright, facility to Pat and the folks to operate.

Posted by Ray Cox at 4:17 AM | Link

 
The Northfield Chamber called last Friday to tell us that Northfield Construction had won the scarecrow contest....congratulations to Jodi for her good work. The Chamber stopped out with a 'traveling trophy award' for winning the event.

The Chamber plans on conducting a scarecrow decorating contest on an annual basis. On the back of the award there is room for the names of the winners.

Last night was perfect weather for youngsters to be out trick or treating. Ellen and I had many, many kids stop by our home for treats. The costumes were great this year.....even Santa was there.

Posted by Ray Cox at 4:33 AM | Link