Oysterville Church, June 27, 2017

Roofing projects scare me to death.  During the years that we were having our roof replaced – we had it done in three parts over six years so we could afford it – I had a hard time looking up.  And it didn’t help much to hear the horror stories.  The roofers were old hands at their job and, in their case, the business was a generational one.  Even though I felt that clambering around on a steeply pitched surface forty or fifty feet in the air must be in their DNA, I worried.   Please God, keep them safe.

At Our House, 2012

It didn’t help much that, as we got to know them, they would tell us some of their personal horror stories – a fall that resulted in a broken pelvis or a broken back or…  Always, there was a sense of pride in survival and a nonchalant attitude about the current job.  They’ve replaced many a roof in Oysterville and now have just about completed the church roof.  Never mind that several roofing companies refused to give bids.  Too steep?  Too dangerous?  They wouldn’t say.  Or they just never responded to our calls.

Church Roof – June 11, 2017

Not that I blame anyone for not wanting to work up there.  To tell you the truth, my palms get sweaty just writing about it.  But then… I do have rather extreme acrophobia.  None of those high school aptitude tests ever pointed me to a career involving ‘up.’  I am full of admiration and awe concerning roofers in general and for these roofers who tackle our Oysterville buildings, in particular, there is a soft spot in my heart.

The Bard-Heim Barn was built around 1930 – a few years before I was born.  It was a magnificent building – a village landmark during my childhood, much as the church is the landmark now, during my old age.  My mother used to tell me that the roof had to be built by imported labor – shipwrights from Aberdeen (Washington, not Scotland) – because no local builders would take on the project.  Too high!  It’s unclear to me why shipwrights would tackle a barn roof – but there you go!

The Bardheim Barn, c. 1940

The new roof at the Oysterville Church looks fabulous!  There’s just one little ‘roofing board’ left on the lower northeast side.  It’s one of the boards the guys ‘stand’ on while leaning against the roof at a precarious angle using heavy hammers (stainless nails on this historic roof; not staples!).  I doubt if it was ‘forgotten’ and I fervently hope I’m not here for its retrieval.  There might be one small area right next to the steeple that needs to be fine-tuned.  And then…Hallelujah and Amen!  The church roof will be done!