Barn Moves Toward Completion

On Thursday morning, Susan Littlejohn’s barn-to-be was nothing more than a skeleton of a building, a strong frame bearing the likeness of a sea-worthy ark. But, by late Friday afternoon, as the sun beat down, the stables along the flanks of the building were practically finished. Also, the right wing of the roof was fleshing out the upper ribs of the structure, blocking out the blazing late-day sun. New York Says Thank You founder Jeff Parness said today that the crew stopped working on the roof this afternoon due to high temperatures, but will continue tonight when it is cooler.

As of Friday, 140 communities were represented at The Build an Ark Project. Many volunteers from these communities are people that were helped in previous projects, who, seeing the way others helped them, saw this project as an opportunity to help others, to “Pay it Forward.” Volunteers wore shirts bearing the name of their home town projects, from places like Texas and Arkansas. Over 1000 volunteer dinners were served Thursday night, the first day of the project. By Sunday, Parness expects to see an estimated 2500 volunteers at the site. As people marveled at the swift progress of the structure, Parness said “It’s amazing what you can do when you have 1000 people are helping.”
Work lights will be set up so the crew can finish the roof tonight, where the cooler temperatures should guard them from the heat. Parness said with the exception of the apartment part of barn, the barn will be complete by Sunday.