Turner helps Reiman-Simmons project

Efforts help house projects remain on schedule

QUINCY — Workers helping usher in a data storage facility made their mark on a different attraction in town.

Roughly 14 Turner Construction Company workers volunteered their time after work early Thursday evening to help demolish part of the front porch of the historic Reiman-Simmons house. The front porch will be restored to its original 1904 configuration, eliminating an indoor restroom added on in the 1920s.

The company is working to build the facility for Microsoft Network, expected to reach completion in December and be operational in February.

They also are working to put the finishing touches on the bottom of a shed which will house two vintage tractors donated by local families and lawn and garden supplies. The tractor shed is the senior project by Mike Knutson, a Quincy High School graduate.

"It allowed us to be able to stay on a schedule that we needed to meet," said Reiman-Simmons House events director Harriet Weber of Turner's involvement, noting the demolition job would have been impossible for the local contractor working on the restoration project, which requires that the roof be supported and maintained. "They called us and so, you talk about wonderful timing on things. We were very, very fortunate that they stepped forward right at the moment that they did."

Yahoo! volunteers worked to assist at the Reiman-Simmons house earlier this year.

Thursday, Quincy Valley Society Historical Society president Harry Hudlow prepared bagna caulda — an Italian recipe combining garlic and olive oil — and "pitchfork fondue" — sirloins cooked in oil and placed on a pitchfork, cooked in four minutes — in a cauldron for workers as they took hammers and worked to take down boards, reaching the original material of the house.

Turner electrical superintendent Al Arthofer said it's company policy to encourage employees to become involved in communities where they're working. The company also planted trees at a new park and worked on grass edging in the local cemetery.

"Everyone is excited," Arthofer said. "We spend lots of time constructing things; this is a chance to deconstruct. So we can get all that aggression out, slinging hammers and sledgehammers and such."