Long after school had let out for the summer, sawdust and noise filled East High School’s woodworking shop one morning last week as a group of students sanded down tables they were building for the school library.
The library is being renovated to restore it to its original 1925 look. But instead of hiring professionals to do it, East High’s wood-shop students were given the task.
Nine students have been coming in mornings, working on renovation projects. While they are receiving $1,000, plus school credit, for their work, wood- shop teacher Joel Noble said it is more than money bringing them in.
“Not even for a good paycheck can I get them up here until noon (each day),” said Noble, a 1989 East graduate. “There is a lot of pride in the work. Nothing like this has been done before.”
Students had different reasons for doing the work, spearheaded by the East Library Renaissance Project.
“It’s cool to do it for the library,” said Carl Heinz, 17. “(It’s) going to be rewarding to come back and see what we did.”
For some, it’s about giving back.
“It means a lot to the East community,” said Luke Eiley, 15.
Eiley and Heinz had to do some “reverse engineering” to learn how the library’s original bookshelves were built so they would know how to build new ones that looked the same.
Students said they enjoyed investing their time and energy.
Heather Ward, 16, was applying a coat of stain last week to one of the 20 tables the group was building.
“I thought it would be fun – something to do with my brother,” Ward said of her 15-year-old brother, Shawn, who is also a student at the school. “I would rather do this than watch TV.”
Of the $361,000 cost of the renovation, backers are still trying to raise $50,000. The Angel Foundation, a group started by East High parents, donated $143,600.
The project is saving money by commissioning the work to students. According to Noble, instead of having a professional shop build tables for $6,000 each matching the library’s original quartersawed white oak tables, the students are able to build them for around $1,000 each.
The Colorado Historical Society, which in 1991 bestowed historic landmark status on the school, at 1545 Detroit St., approved the renovation, which is scheduled to be finished in the fall of 2006.
Kathleen Butler, chairwoman of the East Library Renaissance Project, wants the project to be a model for other schools.
“This is for the city of Denver; it needs to restore its beautiful buildings” Butler said.
Noble said part of the attraction for the students is that “instead of doing problems 1 though 50, they’re doing something they are involved in.”
For more information or to make a donation, contact Butler at 303-733-3616
Staff writer Christopher Ortiz can be reached at 303-820-1201 or cortiz@denverpost.com.
