Tomahawk, WI Concrete Construction Project Boosts School Spirit, Community Pride

Tomahawk, WI – Give kids a little opportunity and encouragement, and it’s amazing what they can do. With support from County Materials and local businesses, students from Tomahawk High School are proving it by creating a project that will benefit their entire community for years to come: a complete renovation of the school’s football field entrance.

The project began in March of 2014, when students in the school’s Building Trades class had finished the year’s curriculum early and were looking for something else to do. “There were a lot of football players in the class, and they had the idea to do a new entrance for Hatchet Field. It was totally the kids’ idea. They did all the design and engineering, and even wrote a letter to County Materials asking for a donation. That was a huge part of being able to do this project,” says Tomahawk’s Tech Ed instructor Andrew Peissig.

The kids’ letter stated how the project would benefit their school and asked for a donation of concrete materials. They requested split faced concrete block for the entrance pillars and ready mix concrete for the walkway. County Materials responded by granting them a check from the company’s philanthropic arm, the Sonnentag Foundation, to cover the purchase of concrete materials. Other businesses followed suit with contributions of material and support. A metal archway is being supplied by Daigle Brothers, Ace Hardware donated the mortar for the block, Northern Concrete Supply donated the use of stamping forms, and Evans Concrete helped with the pour and supplied invaluable advice throughout the project. The footings were covered by the Hatchet football program.

The project is taking shape beautifully. At present the 40-foot stamped concrete walkway is in place, spanned by two split faced block pillars. These will eventually support the 10 ft. high metal archway bearing the words “Hatchet Field,” and a 7 ft. wide metal gate.

Roughly 40 kids have been involved in the project so far, including members of the 2014 and 2015 Building Trades class. The class offers hands-on instruction in construction basics. This project allowed the students to experience several aspects of concrete construction work, including laying up concrete block masonry, and pouring and finishing concrete flat work. Another 20-25 kids in metals class will be involved in the fabrication of the gate this year.

“It (is) a lot of work. The kids are driving it, and they put a lot of effort into it,” says Peissig, adding that the project has sparked tremendous pride throughout the community. “A lot of kids are going to have a lot of pride in this project. The football field was just a bunch of fences. We wanted something that other people will come and say, ‘Tomahawk’s got it together.’ Kids really are concerned about the community and they want to help. Sometimes they don’t know how. A project like this gives them the opportunity and ability to do it.”