Joe Camlin came to Sitka at the beginning of last summer with his college roommate, Sitka local Torin Lehmann. In September, he began working full-time on restoration efforts because he was looking for a way to connect with "what Sitka was as a community." He described what it was like to be in the middle of a community reconstruction effort and to be involved with the energy of something that was being built from nothing. He said, "It felt very human and very interesting." It became more interesting on an individual level as projects became more challenging.

The complexity of banisters is often taken for granted by those who rest their hand upon them, but this detail of the restoration has posed a considerable challenge since last spring. When the building was renovated, the new floor was significantly lower and required an extra step to be added to the staircases. There were a number of ideas of how to extend the handrail, but no one had yet dared to operate under the enormous responsibility to stay true to the original architecture. Construction supervisor Pete Weiland proposed that Joe and Torin take on the project.

Joe and Torin sat and stared and scratched their heads. They drew pictures and did math. Others who had been familiar with the project before came by to share ideas. Eventually, they just started doing it. It soon became evident that what the project required was wood sculpting, not conventional carpentry.  The tools used for carpentry are designed for square cutting and for a geometric puzzle where things are right angled. The shape of the banisters did not follow the boundaries of normal carpentry, necessitating improvisation and a lot of free hand work.  Undaunted, Joe appreciated having the opportunity to fully engage this challenge.  Although he was a newcomer to Sitka, he was taking an active role in the creation of the campus and finding that restoration really was a team effort. According to Joe, construction supervisor Pete Weiland and SFAC Director Roger Schmidt conducted volunteer efforts from the role of "facilitator." Joe said, "That freedom in a space really allows self-creativity to flourish."

Before leaving town, Joe successfully installed one beautiful banister. He handed off the second banister project to another volunteer. Christian Ressler was newly arrived with a BS in mechanical engineering. However, he soon found that the project was "more artistic than engineering," challenging him in new ways, as well. He described how nerve-wracking it is to be using the router to shape the wood. Allowing the machine to rout too deep would result in evident mistakes in the otherwise elegant design. However, from what I observed in the woodshop, I can report that progress is going quite well and the restoration of this historic building continues to proceed in competent volunteer hands.