| Dugout
Project: History and Updates
Rick Nold (Class
of '04) started a Senior Challenge project to build new dugouts
at the CVU Baseball Complex. The existing dugouts were cramped (16'
long and 8' wide) with no storage space and the program and facilties
sorely needed an upgrade. Seeking a community consultant for the
project, Nold recruited local architect Ted Montgomery to work with
him. Montgomery has extensive design experience and designed the
innovative dugouts that were built at the Charlotte Berry Farm Athletic
Complex. Together the two used design elements from the Berry Farm
project and Clemson University to come up with an innovative design.
Here's a view
of the dugout design below. The new dugouts will measure in at 40x10
design on the first base side with a
storage shed for field prep materials and equipment and 30x10 on
the 3rd base side. Highlights
feature airflow and natural
lighting on both ends as well as the back of the dugout, a two deck
- walkaround bench, expanded bat rack and storage on both ends of
the dugout.
With the design submitted,
recruiting resources for the rest of the project moved into gear.
Design elements were
reviewed with Kurt Proulx, Head of Maintenance at CVU, for zoning,
footprint, and drainage considerations. Charlotte Builder Tracy
Titus volunteered to recruit other local builders to assist and
to head up the details of the dugout construction. Rice Lumber stepped
forward with a generous donation toward building materials and the
project moved forward.
Demolition:
The obstacle of demolishing the old 'war bunker' dugouts was met
by Onnie Matthews, Bill Michaud, CSE, DEW, and Munson Construction
on 2/24/05. The 5" thick concrete roof on each dugout with
extensive rebar was removed on both dugouts by crane and the remaining
walls were pushed in with machinery already on site for the CVU
renovation. Below are some pictures from the remnants prior to cleanup
from demolition of the first base side.
With fundraising money
and donations in place, negotiations are underway with local concrete
vendors to set the new slabs.
3/9/05: Rice Lumber has stepped in with a generous donation for
all the lumber necessary to build the dugouts. The lumber for the
roof was delivered to Tracy Titus who will begin cutting the trusses.
Our sincere thanks to the owners and crew at Rice Lumber for this
extraordinary donation.
3/26/05: Onnie Matthews
spent Saturday morning in a DEW Contruction loader cleaning up the
refuse from the bunkers. Onnie's work set the way for Bill Michaud
and his coordination with DEW to set and pour the foundations for
the new dugouts.
4/9/05:
Onnie Matthews, Bill Michaud, Ray Martel, Carl Bohlen, Gary Sweeney,
Ken Murakami, and Talbert Hill (CVU Baseball Alumni from the Class
of 1965) prepared the base for the foundations to be poured early
next week. The site was excavated, leveled, papered, and then two
layers of rock were put in for both dugouts. Pictures from the days
work are below.
Tracy Titus pre-cut
a substantial amount of lumber and delivered it to CVU today as
well.
The concrete slab foundations will be framed up by DEW 4/11-13 and
then the new slabs will be poured. We'll be trying to grab more
pictures as we go.
4/16/05: The masterful carpentry of Tracy Titus was revealed to
the group today as the CVU players unloaded lumber to start the
building day. Titus credited his trusty router "Bertha"
for helping him through the piles of lumber. The precut lumber for
the walls was assembled by Spencer Primo and Dan Harris (CVU Baseball
Alumni and Varsity Short Stop from the Class of 1996). Paul Angstman,
Ken Murakami, Carl Bohlen, Bill Michaud and the players worked with
Titus to assemble the new benches.
The extent of the magnificent donation from Rice lumber became evident
today as well when everyone saw the amount of lumber going into
the project. The Varsity team helped out the builders by moving
lumber to the right places and holding pieces as the structures
were assembled by the carpenters.
Sandra Matthews delivered items for the morning coffee break and
Janice, Grace, and Eben Provost delivered lunch to the work crew
during the day.
Onnie Matthews continued
his diligent work on the infield playing surface by skimming extra
fill off to prepare for the delivery of new infield fill. Matthews
also used the small loader to fill in around the dugouts as the
walls began to take shape. Below are pictures and captions from
the days work.
Laying out the first dugout wall.
Dan Harris (left) and Spencer Primo (right) set the top rail and
measure up for wall studs.
Eric Johnson (JV Head Coach on the left) organized the players to
hold the braces for
the bench while Paul Angstman started measuring.
Onnie Matthews sheared the extra fill off the infield to prepare
for the new infield fill and
set us up for the scrimmage on Wednesday 4/20.
Onnie Matthews on 'the Mustang' bringing extra fill in around the
new dugout foundations.
Wall number one is up ! Spencer Primo does some cutting while Tracy
Titus refills the
air nailer. Titus also donated the use of his tools for the project.
The visitor dugout with three walls in place and the first roof
truss in to start lining up the
roof.
The Varsity players return from the scrimmage and bring down the
new frame of the
bench for the home dugout.
Everyone recaps the day and enjoys the view from the framing of
two walls and the new
bench in the home dugout.
Tracy Titus (middle w/ the green shirt) Onnie Matthews (blue), Ken
Murakami ( grey on
the right) and Ian Dudley (lower right, front) decompress in the
new home dugout.
Here's the side view of the new bench in the home dugout. The braces
for the bench
were all cut and preassembled by Tracy Titus for todays work.
4/19/05: The baseball teams setup nets, the outfield fence, raking,
mound touchups and work on the dugouts continued from our dedicated
list of volunteers. The main support beam was placed on the home
dugout along with one of the shed walls. The bench for the visitors
side was built by Paul Angstman with the help of some players to
hold support braces in place. Below are pictures and captions from
the days work.
Bill Michaud (left), Talbert Hill (middle), and Onnie Matthews (right)
continue work on the
home bench shortly after the beam was set to span the front of the
dugout.
Here's a shot of the curved roof trusses on the visitors dugout.
The visitors bench was
placed in shortly before by the Varsity Baseball team.
The view from inside the visitors dugout of the the roof construction.
Bill Michaud, Talbert Hill, and Onnie Matthews continue work on
the home bench.
After a meeting of the minds, Tracy Titus makes a design modification
on the home
bench.
Ted Montgomery (left and the project architect) stopped in and lend
a hand to Gary
Sweeney (right).
Bill Michaud (foreground) cleans up while Tracy Titus and Talbert
Hill finish up work on
the home bench.
4/22/05: Tracy Titus,
Talbert Hill, Bill Michaud, and the coaching staff worked to shore
up the 3rd base dugout. Onnie Matthews began to spread the new infield
mix on and before long Sandra Matthews, Ray Martel, and the coaching
staff pitched in and helped cover the entire infield. Below are
pictures and captions from the days work.
Talbert Hill (on the ladder) and Tracy Titus (on top of the dugout)
wrap plywood around
the curve of the roof trusses.
Onnie Matthews drops in the new infield fill. The old fill had a
high concentration of shale
rock and gravel that damaged the athletes and the uniforms. Thanks
to Onnie and
Sandra Matthews for the donation of this much needed upgrade.
Moving new fill toward second base. The raking crew helped Onnie
spread out the new
fill and working under the lights of the bobcat, we finished up
home plate in the dark.
After dark Onnie
took attached the rollers to his tractor and rolled the field to
prep it for
the heavy rain that was coming.
4/24/05: After a day off for the heavy rain, work continued on the
dugouts. Carl Bohlen, Tracy Titus, Glen Dennis, Sandra Matthews,
and the Coaching staff worked through the day to close up the 3rd
base dugout roof and hang trusses on the first base dugout.
Here's the infield fill the next day after the heavy rain.
Glen Dennis (Right) came down to work for the day and add his carpentry
skills to
the mix. Jeff Mongeon (left) and Janice Provost (back) work on the
trusses for the 1st
base dugout.
Carl Bohlen (in the dugout) and Tracy Titus (roof) shore up the
plywood on the 3rd base
dugout.
Glen Dennis and Jeff Mongeon tossed up the trusses in hopes to get
the roof shored up
for covering on Monday.
4/25/05: Tracy Titus, Glen Dennis, Talbert Hill, Paul Angstman,
and the coaching staff worked to finish up the roof on the third
base dugout and continue on with the first base dugout. Below is
one picture from the day's work.
Bill Michaud (left) Ken Murakami (jeans), Glen Dennis (right) and
Jeff Mongeon (back) work on wrapping the front section of the 1st
base dugout.
4/26/05: Tracy Titus brought a giant tarp to cover the 1st base
dugout after the game vs Missisquoi. Talbert Hill and Bill Michaud
helped wrap the roof for the oncoming rain. Earlier in the day the
third base dugout was wrapped. Onnie Mathews worked with Norm Tourville
to groom the field for the game.
5/1/05: Tracy Titus, Bill Michaud, Onnie Matthews, and Talbert Hill
started in the morning rain to continue work on the 1st base dugouts.
As the day went on, the clouds disappeared and more workers showed
to speed up the days work. Ted montgomery, Bobby Primo, and Sam
Titus chipped in. Below are pictures and captions from the days
work.
Bill Michaud (left), Tracy Titus (roof), and Talbert Hill (right)
start the work in the morning.
Bill Michaud (left), Tracy Titus (roof), and Talbert Hill (center),
and Onnie Matthews (right)
start the work in the morning.
The morning rain eases up and the tarp is removed off the first
base dugout to start
tossing on plywood.
Left to right, Onnie Matthews, Bill Michaud, Ted Montgomery, and
Tracy Titus work
across the dugout roof in the sun.
Primative but effective technique to remove water from a field !
Bobby Primo (left)
sweeps water into a hole in front of the 3rd base dugout. About
400 gallons of water
(via 5 gallon pail) were removed from the 1st and third base foul
territory. The picture
also shows the stone that was placed in front of the 3rd base dugout
earlier in the week.
5/2/05: While Varsity practice took place, Tracy Titus and Bill
Michaud returned to finish
up a few sections of the 1st base dugout roof. The roof is ready
to be sealed.
5/7/05: Tracy Titus added plywood inside each dugout on the ends
to prepare to install the shelving. Titus also trimmed up the bench
in the first base dugout. Onnie Matthews stopped in to help Norm
Tourville prepare the field for the Varsity game at 3pm. Getting
closer !
5/9/05: The 1st base dugout roof was put on and some of the trim
pieces were added to the roof. Here's a picture of the roof:
The 1st base dugout roof is on and the rock in front of the dugout
is in place.
5/14/05: More roofing trim was added to both dugouts.
5/16/05: Tracy Titus and Bill Michaud came and tossed the doors
on the storage shed and showed the coaching staff mock ups of the
shelving that will be placed in the dugouts.
Shelves and bat racks
were added and the dugouts are set for painting and dedication plaques
to be set in place.
Dugout
Construction Continues:
Dugout construction will continue to finish up the odds and ends
in the dugouts. If you'd like to participate in the build please
contact Bill
Michaud and Onnie Matthews or call Tracy Titus at 985-2352.
Our sincere thanks to the following contributors to the project
so far:
- Rick Nold ('04) and Ted Montgomery ( www.groundswellarchitects.com
)
- Rice Lumber Company
- DEW Construction
- CSE
- Munson Earth Moving and Construction
- Griswold Concrete
- Barrett's Trucking
- A.C. Hawthorne Roofing
- Estey's Hardware
- Companion Hardware
- Sandra and Onnie Matthews
- Jane and Bill Michaud
- Brenda and Tracy Titus (CVU Alumni from the Class of 1972)
- Talbert Hill (CVU Baseball Alumni from the Class of 1965)
- Dan Harris (CVU Baseball Alumni from the Class of 1996)
- Paul Angstman
- Ken Murakami
- Carl Bohlen
- Spencer Primo
- Bobby Primo (CVU Baseball Alumni from the Class of 2000)
- Eric Bown
- Kevin Riell, CVU
- Kurt Proulx, CVU
- Norm Tourville, CVU
- Town of Hinesburg
- Jeff Mongeon
- Janice and Adam Provost
- The 643DP Baseball Foundation
If you are interested in contributing toward the build,
please contact Kevin Riell ( Kevin@cvuhs.org ).
Thanks for tuning in.
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