Students frame up their future

It didn't take long for the Career and Technical Education building at Wrenshall school to show its value.

The facility opened this school year after $2.1 million in renovations. By turning it into an asset, officials hope to attract students to a district currently in a budget crisis.

"I like how big it is," said senior Peyton Johnson earlier this week. "Now look, we can build a house inside here."

Johnson spoke as peers in his carpentry class spent the afternoon adding particle board sheeting to a portion of a house they'd already framed. The home framing project was the brainchild of 17-year shop teacher Chris Gustafson. His carpentry students dived into the project with gusto.

"I love it," Gustafson said. "I let them do the work, so at the end of the day I'm not tired, they're tired."

Throughout an hour of class time, Gustafson proved himself a ready resource. He's used the project to introduce the students to terms like king studs, headers, and the carpentry concept of "16 inches on center."

Not all of the students are bound for careers in carpentry. But the class, with about a dozen students, features a majority of students who want to pursue skills-based careers.

"We have some future carpenters, electricians, laborers and HVAC people in here," Gustafson said.

Senior Benjamin Nyberg worked with senior Mason Mallon and junior Ryan Mattson to first rip a piece of sheeting to size on the table saw before nailing it to the frame. After using a hammer to drive a nail through the board, Nyberg ran his hand along the back side, making sure his nail found the stud.

"Why not use nail guns?" the newspaper asked Nyberg.

"We only get to use the easy stuff after we learn to do the hard stuff," he said.

For Johnson, the project was right up his alley. He's already signed on with Adolfson & Peterson Construction in Duluth to sponsor his carpentry apprenticeship.

"I like building things with wood and I like manual labor," Johnson said, content to have his career in front of him, beginning after graduation in June.

Others brought different gifts.

"Look at Joseph Rubesh over there," Gustafson said. "All he wants to do is weld."

Rubesh, a senior, had just finished making a steel frame cart to be used transporting plywood and materials around the shop, so students didn't have to carry the large pieces everywhere they went. He was busy sweeping the welding area, which he'd helped create by welding the frame that held a protective curtain.

"Woodworking is fine," Rubesh said. "But I'd rather weld."

It often seems that cutting wood boards results in cuts made too short, he said.

He's planning on getting into a labor union after school.

"This is a lot better shop than our old one," Rubesh said, comparing it to the low ceilings and tight quarters of the old shop. "We have a lot more room."

After the sheeting, students were expected to begin adding the roof trusses.

Once the students are done framing their portion of what will be a 32-by-50-foot house, they'll label the pieces, dismantle the entire frame work, and package it all for reconstruction at the site. Gustafson's rules. He said the homeowner agreed to let the class use a portion of the building materials until official construction this summer.

In true job site fashion, there was some second-guessing. Rubesh wondered why the students didn't just disassemble the framing in sections and load them onto a trailer.

"I'd do it differently," Rubesh said with a smirk.