Brad_Bergum
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Registered: 03/06/08
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So much fun to read these kinds of articles:
Profile of ProgressWinifred renewal continues; several more projects under wayby JIM DULLENTY
News-Argus Staff WriterPublished: Wednesday, September 9, 2009 3:00 PM MDT The Winifred renaissance continues with a big commercial building just completed on Main Street, a new aviation “gas station” at the Winifred Airport and an energy company warehouse and shop going up just south of town.
Many of the improvements are funded by native son Norm Asbjornson, an industrial manufacturer headquartered in Tulsa, Okla. Asbjornson grew up in Winifred where his parents owned a business.
But Asbjornson is not involved with the warehouse and shop south of town, which is being built by Kykuit/Energy West as part of a natural gas pipeline development that includes new natural gas wells east and south of Winifred. The project includes the delivery of gas to Winifred residents.
At the center of all this activity is Frank Carr, of Winifred, prime contractor for all the projects sponsored by Absjornson. Carr also owns the Winifred Bar and Café, the local gathering place for those who are working on the various projects. “We call it the new sign shop building,” said Carr, referring to the 75-foot by 126-foot two-story structure which now dominates downtown Main Street. A mezzanine above main floor offices provides a second story in about a third of the building, Carr said.
Located at 211 Main St., the new commercial building was built at a cost of $600,000, the funds provided by Absjornson. Two businesses will be located in the building, a sign shop and tire store, and both are expected to move in this fall, Carr said.
Construction of the frame building took 10 months, and prior to that, site and concrete work took another seven to eight months, so Carr estimated it took about 18 months to build the structure.
“It’s the first new commercial building in Winifred in seven or eight years,” Carr said. “The last to go up was the Mobil building.”
Another new building that is nearly complete is a house on Sixth Avenue to be rented to Winifred School teachers. The modern house has five bedrooms, three baths and a 28-foot by 28-foot garage.
Carr said he will be putting in a sprinkler system in the lawn and about 20 trees will be planted in the yard. The house is located in a five-unit subdivision owned by the school. Abjornson paid for the house through a donation to the school.
A second house will be built this fall near the old Flax Schoolhouse, which was moved into downtown Winifred and remodeled. The schoolhouse, complete with bell tower, will be furnished with period school furnishings and equipment and eventually it will be open to the public, Carr said. He added he hopes the Winifred Museum will operate the historic school. Outbuildings on the site include two privies and a teacherage.
“Norm is planning to build at least one more teacher’s house, perhaps two,” said Carr.
Absjornson also paid for the planting of more than 800 trees in Winifred. Most are blue spruce, Scotch pine and Norwegian spruce. About 100 non-evergreens were planted in the park.
“Two years ago, hail hit them pretty hard and some have had to be replaced,” said Carr. He added that about 30 will be replaced this fall and 40 or 50 more will be planted.
About 70 percent of the trees, located mostly in the park, cemetery and on the school grounds, have automatic sprinkler water and those trees are doing well. The rest have to be watered from a 2,200-gallon tank on a trailer and those don’t do quite as well, Carr said. He said Absjornson paid for the watering vehicle.
When pilots land for the first time in Winifred, they are astonished to see the huge, modern hangar that Abjornson built at the airport. It is a structure one would expect to find at a much larger airport, said Carr.
To go with it, Abjornson has paid for the construction of a small aviation gas building nearby. This $80,000 project included installation of a double-hull tank. It provides credit card aviation fuel 24 hours a day, Carr said. This amenity is in addition to a new runway that was extended from 2,200 feet to 4,600 feet.
“So far this summer, we have had three fly-ins of pilots from elsewhere,” said Carr. He added that the big hanger houses six planes and all nine storage units in the hangar are full. This results in income to the city, which owns the airport, he said. Eventually, the city hopes the airport will become self-supporting, Carr added.
Also underway in Winifred is the construction of sidewalks on Main Street. Some sidewalks have been put in around town as well, but the current project focuses on Main Street, Carr said.
Plans to install curb and gutters have been put on hold, because to put those, in the streets would have to be paved or repaved.
As a result of all those projects, Carr said, he keeps a crew at work all the time. In the summer, he adds a couple of young people. In addition to his crews, Energy West has a five-man crew at work on its building.
“Winifred benefits from the construction work as well as from the results of these projects. These workers come into the café every day,” said Carr.http://lewistownnews.com/articles/2009/09/09/news/doc4aa80c9427880745467669.txt
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Brad Bergum
Winifred High School 1990
Montana State University 1995 |
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