Our Towns

Nevins said MainStreet Warner Inc. plans to involve schoolchildren in keeping the park “green" and teaching them about sustainability.Although the terraced amphitheater built into the hillside of the park is finished, the final aspects of the stage itself are still being completed by the volunteer build team.Peter Ladd, Bob Shoemaker and Charlie Betz are three Warner residents who have donated copious amounts of time and energy into constructing the stage over the past year. The three have headed the effort to build the post-and-beam stage using a unique 13th-century barn design that employs what's known as raised-bottom chord trusses.The design involves an extremely complex frame and is rarely used in construction anymore, but Ladd said the result will be a substantive timber-frame building that leaves a legacy for future generations.

“It takes a lot of hard labor and a lot of time," he said. “I'm starting to see why people don't build this way anymore."Throughout the complicated design and measurement process, the volunteers did not hire any engineers or architects to assist them. Even though the three lead builders work in carpentry, Ladd said the project has stretched their knowledge and abilities extensively.“It's just a bunch of guys making their best guess.and showing what a bunch of local people can do," he said. “Everyone is putting in their bit of ideas and advice and experience. It's a great collaborative building with human capital."

All three men hold full-time jobs, which they have balanced with spending about two days per week working on the community park stage with a handful of other volunteers.“We just made the commitment and fit it in," Betz said. “The people we work for have been patient with our schedules, and we made the time."In the past few weeks, the builders have brought the timbers they built off-site to the park and have installed the trusses. Before the stage is finished, they need to place the roof and close its side walls.Despite the progress, Nevins said the project is about $20,000 short of the amount necessary for its completion, and the nonprofit is “going all out" trying to raise the money.But once the funds are secured and the project is completed, Warner will gain an incredible asset, Ladd said.“I think it's really wonderful for the community," Ladd said. “I'm really looking forward to its opening. The fact that it will be open and accessible to the kids or anybody. . . . it's a resource that will keep the town strong."