Reprinted with permission from the Preston Citizen.

Lay-out Work Begins on the Oneida Stake Academy
Necia P. Seamons, Citizen staff writer

Part of the crew of Lindsay Moving & Rigging, Inc., arrived on-site July 22, to begin lay-out work on moving the Oneida Stake Academy.

The first step in preparing the 113-year-old stone building for its trip to a new home in Benson Park, will be to transform all the company's conceptual plans in to realistic plans, said Dell Davis of Lindsay Moving & Rigging.

He and Pete Friesen, "the guru of the moving industry" will walk through the academy, tightening up measurements that have already been made for the project.

When they are done, they will have marked on the building precisely where a saw cutter will make holes in the foundation to be access ports for the insertion of steel beams. Those beams are the beginning of the steel grid work under the academy's first floor that will carry it to the new site. The saw cutter will also cut the building free from its century old foundation.

"Once the wall sawing is done and we're ready for beam installation, we install jacking pads. We prepare each location for jacks. Once that's in we will install the main beams and then the cross beams," said Davis.

The next step is to install the jacks and snug the beam platform to them. Crews follow-up by deflecting the platform and shimmying it tight, making everything ready to raise the building.

"Once everything is shimmied out like wanted, we raise the building off the foundation, build a tracking system, install hydraulic dollies, do a safety plan and test, prep the road for moving and move the building to the street," said Davis, a fifth generation building mover.

His family got involved in the business in 1884. Dell got involved in the family tradition as soon as he was "old enough to bump my head on floor joist years," he said.

' Ten years ago, he met Dennis Lindsay, owner of Lindsay Moving & Rigging, and "became good friends. We've been working together ever since."

Last week, the Preston School District cleared the academy's halls of years of storage and waste, making room for Davis and Friesen to work.

Friesen is the "premier moving engineer" in the business, said Davis. He invented the particular jacking machine the company will use in moving the academy. Friesen was also principle in the recent relocation of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, in North Carolina, which stood 208 feet tall. It was moved five-eights of a mile from the eroding shore it has guarded for 133 years.

"We are very fortunate to have him as our consultant and comrade," said Davis.

During a meeting held Tuesday morning between Davis, Friesen, members of the Friends of the Academy and school district officials, safety issues regarding the project were discussed. The Friends of the Academy continues to apply for grants and seek donations for the project, and is committed to not seeking local tax dollars, said Elliot Larsen, a member of the Friends of the Academy.

The county believes it will be an asset to the community once it is restored and is confident the academy will be able to generate funds for its own maintenance, said Larsen. Estimates for restoring the building have been placed at $1.3 million, according to the feasibility study.

Donations can be sent to the Mormon Historic Sites Foundation - Oneida Stake Academy, P.O. Box 45000, Salt Lake City, Utah 84145 or to the Friends of the Academy at P.O. Box 555, Preston, Idaho 83263. Donations sent payable to the Mormon Historic Sites Foundation will be sent information allowing the donor to claim tax-exempt status for the donation.

"We also hope that anyone with artifacts from the building will donate them back to the project, so the restoration can be as complete as possible," said Joseph Linton, another member of the group.

Old photos of the building, both of the interior and exterior, would also be of great help, he said.