Jim Schmidt’s Letter to the Tuesday Hut Crew

How does this impact us, I asked? Erik then announced The Impossible Plan. The City would be underwriting a Hut-building surge. We would have five city-owned lots available. Each one would hold 18 Huts. We would be going full speed to build 90 Huts. We would be partnered with Essex Construction. They would build the major components, floors, walls, and decks. They would deliver them to our sites. We would have a large container on each site to act as a remote shop. Everything we needed would be stocked into the container. Extra staff would be hired to facilitate all the hundreds of details that go into building 90 Huts. 

Finally we started placing Huts at Skinner Farm. We already had six Huts there, we added nine more, but left it at 15 as we moved to Lot #9, a site near Autzen Stadium. We built 18 Huts in what seems like the blink of an eye. We didn’t know how good we had it. Level surface, gravel, easy to work. The next sites were not so easy. We moved to the Barger/Highway 99 area. Mud. Everywhere. I came home and hosed about five pounds of mud off each boot each time we worked there. My pristine blue truck, known as The Princess, had mud on her tires, wheel wells and floor mats. A deeply disturbing thing for me to see, as you can well imagine. 

That site, called the Empire Park site, was the scene of a momentous day. All the stars aligned. The crew was big and enthusiastic. (The Tuesday Crew is AWESOME!!) The weather was cool but clear. We just kept going and going and built FOUR Huts, a record unlikely to be broken in our lifetimes. It was exhausting and trust me, we’ll never do anything like that again. 

With Empire finished, we moved on to the Westmoreland site, on W. 18th near Chambers. More of the same, more mud, more incredible crews placing 18 more Huts. Our last major site was on Bertelsen. Because of a change of heart by the city, the fence line was moved, and we only had space for 14 Huts there. 

We are now finished with the mini-site at Graham Field, six more Huts bringing us to an astonishing 89. The three crews had completed 89 huts in just six months, about one Hut every other day. 

It could not have happened without you. I try to express my gratitude after a build, but words seem so small compared to what you did. Along the way, people had life changes that meant that they could no longer work with us on Tuesdays. They were replaced by others who joined us, sometimes at just the perfect moment. Newbies became old hands. Some brought family members and friends to help. Some drove long distances to join our crews. Most stuck with the program through some discouraging days. We worked on cold, damp mornings. We worked in freezing fog. I came home one day with a huge purple bruise on my left ring finger. I had crushed that finger, but had not felt any pain, my hands were so cold. I never heard a complaint, even when we were ankle-deep in mud. The job site became my favorite place. There was a quiet purposeful feel to it. No raised voices, just a low busy hum. There was an intensity, but also a sense that we were working to complete a worthwhile project. Each person on the job was accorded respect and recognized and appreciated for their skill. It was also a place to learn new skills. There was pride in the camaraderie and in the results.