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Topping off school project

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Cllintonville Police Chief and Officer Tyler Bartel were among those signing the beam at the topping off ceremony in Clintonville on Oct. 28. Jeff Hoffman Photo

Construction ceremony held in Clintonville

The Clintonville Public School District and Hoffman Planning, Design and Construction held a topping off ceremony Thursday, Oct. 28, at the high school.

A significant milestone is celebrated when the last beam is put in place in a building’s framework.

“This marks a significant milestone in the construction process,” explained Sean Duncanson, Hoffman project manager. “As is tradition, the beam included a small evergreen tree on one end and an American flag on the opposite end. In the steel trade, the tree signifies construction has reached the sky without loss of life or injury and is seen as a positive sign for all who will use the building.”

The construction crew, teachers, district stakeholders and other community leaders attended the event, signing the beam before it was lifted into place.

The purpose of the evergreen is to celebrate that construction has reached its highest point without any injuries or deaths.

According to a flier distributed at the ceremony, Scandinavians placed sheathes of grain on top of their just completed structures as a gift for Odin’s horse. Odin would then bequeath good luck on those who occupied the structure in the future.

The custom was brought to areas of Europe by the Scandinavians, and Germans and Britons modified it by replacing the sheathes of grain with small trees.

Germans took it a step further by attaching only evergreen trees.

Immigrant Norwegian ironworkers brought the custom to America near the end of the 19th century.

Other legends say that Native Americans were the first to perform the custom. Believing that no structure that they made should be raised higher than a tree, Native Americans would seek to satisfy forest spirits by securing a tree to the top of their structures.

Duncanson said the beam measures 43 feet, 4 inches by 24 inches. It weighs 2,403 pounds.

Once the project is completed, the signatures on the beam will no longer be visible since they will be concealed inside the structure. Many years from now when another major project exposes that beam, the names will be visible.

The addition to the high school’s recreation center is part of a $37 million referendum approved by voters in November 2020.

The referendum projects also include adding a new middle school and agriscience building to the high school, remodeling existing tech ed and welding spaces and a new independent living classroom expansion.

Those will be followed by renovation of the existing middle school into the district’s new 4K-5 elementary school.

The projects at the high school are slated to be completed by fall 2022 with the renovation of the middle school scheduled for completion in fall 2023.

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