In Search Of Elysium

Chapter 2

Getting Ready To Dig The Pond

The doorbell startled Richard. He knew his brother-in-law, Roy, would stop in, but Roy always just walked in.

"Be there in a minute." Richard yelled. He wiped his tear-stained face with a Kleenex and walked to the door.

Roy stood there with tears in his eyes. "I saw you through the door and thought about Helen. I didn't mean to cry, but damn Richard, why Helen? Of all the people God could have taken why Helen?"

"Come on in Roy. It hurts to the core, but we have to get through it. I know Helen wouldn't want us crying over her passing. She was all about life, and that's what we have to get back to. Living our lives in her honor."

"Yes. Well, I guess you're right. Do you have any plans drawn up for the holding pond? We should go over them, call Gary Brown, and get his team of excavators over here ASAP.

"I called him already. He will be here in the morning and can start work right away," Richard said. "The plans are over here."

Richard led Roy to the oak dinner table. The two men studied the drawings for a few minutes, and then Roy said, "Does the pond have to be this close to the barns? I thought it would go here," he said, pointing to the map.

"That was a consideration, but the new automated manure system has to be close enough to the pond to make it workable, and if the manure storage ponds are too far from the barns, we will need much larger pumps, and they cost a fortune." Richard replied.

"OK, that makes sense." Roy agreed. "But what about the depth? It says here the pond is 9 feet deep and 200 feet by 150 feet. Will that satisfy the State?"

"No." replied Richard. "The State is insisting the pond has to be a minimum of 20 feet in depth with a complete liner, even though we will be at least 16 feet into limestone rock. I suggested a larger size, but shallower. Well, they like the larger size but we still have to go 20 feet deep. We lose both ways, larger pond and deeper."

"Boy, that's dumb. Why can't they listen to reason? That limestone will be a major headache," Roy said.

The limestone in this part of Michigan was from the Devonian period of history and formed over 400 million years ago. A huge ocean once covered the entire area. The limestone ocean bed is close to the top soil, creating a problem for many homeowners who wanted to put septic tanks and field drains in the ground. When you dig a few feet down; you hit the stone bedrock. It was great for the stone quarry down the road. They didn't have to dig too deep to find their product, but now it was a big problem for Richard and his crew.

"What are we doing with the top soil?" Roy asked. "It would be a shame to waste it."

"I want to use some to raise that piece of property next to the river over here." Richard replied, pointing to the drawings on the table. "I called Ed Zinger at the stone quarry, and he will take any stone we want to get rid of. Ed will also assist the Browns in the excavation process. No one knows this limestone better than Ed."

"Sure helps to live in a close-knit community, doesn't it?" said Roy. "How long will it take the excavators to get the job done?"

"They don't know for sure, but I would imagine at least a week. What do you say we take the drawings outside and mark some of these measurements, so they can start early in the morning?"

The two men continued their conversation as they went out the back door toward the barns. The four livestock barns were about a quarter mile down the road from the homestead. There were three large barns for the dairy operation and one huge barn used for raising steer. These barns have with all the latest equipment because Richard and Helen knew they had to enlarge their operation to compete in the dairy business.