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| Motherhouse Project Shows Daily Progress |
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In a superbly planned move, 70 sisters were settled into other living spaces. The last truck had scarcely rolled out of the grounds when equipment and crews rolled in, and sidewalk superintendents searched out viewing spots. Alas, work started inside, and for a while we saw little. The architect, the geo-thermal expert, the project supervisor all told us what's going on, but we had to imagine the action. Now we can finally see something of what is happening! It's been tantalizing to watch men in hard hats arrive each morning, laden with tool belts, coolers, and water bottles, to see piles of old pipes, some upended tubs, and lots of scrap wood flying out a back window into a dumpster. Now we can see men tethered to the roof removing copper flashings from the north wing roof. We see them emerge from windowless openings, perch on top of dormers, and remove slate shingles one by one. Third floor windows—the arched ones—have been removed. Windows reflect life and joy and warmth and love—and disappointments—that once were sheltered within the walls. Somehow nothing emphasizes emptiness and desolation more than those black hole where windows once sparkled! Next, the men lower long beams by rope, one by one, to the ground. Workers on the ground pile them neatly according to size and kind of wood, ready for removal and sale. The carefulness of the whole process is amazing! I wonder who buys old wood. An employee tells me the old wood is “true.” If it is a 2 x 4, it really measures 2 x 4. Today, she says, a 2 x 4 might really be 1? x 4¼ or 2¼ x 4?. Since the deconstruction sites are fenced off, there's no chance of a close-up view of the annex, but from the back road daylight could be seen through the bare roof beams standing against the sky. Now the entire annex is gone. Thousands of bricks are stacked on pallets or piled in heaps behind the old chicken coop. Wildlife is a given at Mt. Carmel, so it's no surprise to see birds flying through window gaps from one side of the north wing to the other. The wasps were a surprise when they buzzed at (and stung) workers who disturbed their nests under the copper flashings. We sidewalk superintendents keep watch from the dining room windows. There's excitement about all this; but that heart wrench is there, too—and strong. About the author: Rosemary Sage, BVM (Michael David) is retired at Mount Carmel. She is a former high school educator, editor of BVM Newsletter and design editor of SALT. If you wish to support this major renovation of the Mount Carmel Motherhouse, please contact the BVM Development Office via phone, mail or at www.bvmcong.org. Return to Table of Contents. |
In the spring issue of SALT you saw pictures of “the great diaspora'” as Sisters vacated the Motherhouse. The imminent giving out of the old boiler, the need for an updated fire warning system and enclosure of the central staircase, the need for amenities for ever-aging retirees all called for extreme renovation, and the deconstruction of the north wing and annex. To carry out these changes efficiently it was important to vacate the building.