Camp Hearne Diary - October 27, 2010

Camp Hearne Exhibit and Visitor Center

Camp Hearne Diary, October 24, 2010

Wow! We had a special opening called "A Day in the Life..." yesterday. It was great! The Bryan/College Station article really helped to get out the word.

Fortunately, they came back for the event and wrote a Sunday article and placed some great photos and video on their website www.theeagle.com.

Who was the star attraction?? Hard to say. Drs. Waters and Krammer are always well received. Everyone wanted to see Heino Erichsen, the former POW. J.B. Cheaney was great at storytelling. The barrack was pretty cool as well. The exhibit room surprised a lot of people. But then, there were the GIs out back. The WWII re-enactors, G-Company from Camp Mabry in Austin, surely had every one's attention with their weapons demonstration. I think they all are super stars.

I am waiting for photographs from TAMU students who were working on their class projects. Will post as soon as they are available. Until then, check out The Eagle.

Camp Hearne Diary August 11, 2010

Am I excited. The barrack is looking so good. We still need to build the ramp to the back door and a few finishing touches inside. Then we go outside to mark the parking pad, gravel the drive-through, set a culvert for the parking pad and add new landscape.

Check out the inside. The front part is the original barrack as it was during 1942. I love the sliding windows. Matt and Jim built the custom windows. They slide horizontally just like the 1942 plans show.

The middle part of the barrack is the exhibit area. Cannot wait to move the display cases in and implement our new interpretive exhibit. The Texas Historical Foundation has just awarded us a $5000 grant to help us redo our exhibit in is new home.

The back part of the barrack is the visitor center. A small kitchen sink is provided with a point-of-use water heater. There is also a small unisex restroom.

The flooring is white pine, 1"x6" tongue-in-groove long boards finished with tung oil. The wood is soft, but it is what they used in the '40s and it does look great.

It is really exciting to see this come together.

Camp Hearne Diary - May 16, 2010

Cannot believe it has been a month since my last post. Lots of little things, but important things have happened. The framers had to reorder the back door that has now been hung. The plumber, electrician and HVAC contractors have done their rough-in's. Last week S&K Drywall insulated the modern area, hung the drywall and began the tape & floating process.

Of course, our old nemisis came back..... rain. It has been awfully dry through April and May and we certainly needed the rain. Our construction timing seems to be wait until we need dry weather before it rains, but the area farmers & ranchers needed the moisture. This will slow the drywall and painting down a bit, but we should be ready to move to the next step in a week or so.

Smart Services (Hearne) helped with our plumbing... Paul certainly helped when we needed him at a crucial time.

Key Electric (Franklin) has been great to work with on the project. Dana has gone to great lengths to get everything according to plan and find the right recessed cans for our LED lighting.

Barker Heating and Cooling (Hearne/BCS) was in and out quickly. Philip has responded to every question and need without hesitation.

S&K Contracting has been just as efficient. Too bad the weather has changed, but they should finish soon. Anxious to see the painted rooms.

All of these guys were low bidders and all expressed a desire to be part of this project. Their advice and professionalism have been greatly appreciated and it has been fun to see this come together. We may not have had the best construction timeline due to inexperience, but we have certainly had the best advice and effort from all of our contractors.