Legacies of Unified Effort

Hearing stories about the way hundreds of laborers worked together with one goal in mind—the most beautiful Timberline Lodge possible—reminds us of the undeniable fact that when we work together with one unified effort, we can do unimaginable things. Unimaginable because one individual could never hope to accomplish the task on their own. But by having many people doing small things, those small things can add up to monumental achievements. If we ever feel like our daily efforts aren’t amounting to much, maybe it would be good to think back on those unskilled but dedicated workers who did their tasks with enough panache to decorate even the door handles on that incredible Lodge.

I had the chance to visit Timberline Lodge on the Mt. Hood National this afternoon. I’ve visited many times over my years of working and living near this amazing building, but each time I’m instantly struck by two clear and undeniable things about the building: the people who built and and the craftsmanship—I can use that term because they really were all men unfortunately—that is so clear in the details of the structure.

For those who haven’t had the chance to check out the building yet, let me paint a quick mental picture (or just Google it quickly. I’ll wait). It is the quintessential rustic ski lodge. It’s basically what every other American ski lodge is modeled after in one way or another. Huge rock pillars and wood beams carved out of single massive logs. A fireplace that extends up three floors into a mezzanine level where an expensive rotunda area offers comfortable seating either near the massive fireplace or the full wall of windows lookout to take in the commanding view of Mt. Hood.

Those are some of the big elements of the building, but the thing that touches me so much more is the tiny details that those craftsman put into their work nearly 90 years ago. The wrought iron door handles that are engraved with symbols that match up with several other artistic choices made throughout the building. The wooden bannisters at the stairway landings carved into woodland animals. And floor designs with mosaics and intricate wood panelling throughout the building.

Those little details didn’t help with the structural integrity of the building one whit. They were designed solely to increase the value and beauty of the work that those craftsman dedicated a few years of their lives to accomplish. This leads to the other thing that always amazes me about Timberline Lodge: the history of the hundreds of people who worked together to building the structure.

I worked for the Mt. Hood National Forest for a few years and my primary role was to help tell the stories about the forest from the stream and forest restoration efforts to historic structures like Timberline. I learned that most of the people who were hired to labor on the construction of the Lodge had no practical experience in construction. The labors were broken down in skilled and unskilled work assignments where the stone masons and ironworkers would work with teams of unskilled laborers to accomplish tasks.

They worked together and built the entire structure in about 15 months. Modern laborers can certainly construct more complex and larger-scale buildings than Timberline Lodge in 15 months, but I think about what tools and resources people had 90 years ago versus today’s technological advances. They didn’t have massive cranes drop the huge log beams into place. They used what tools were available and a lot of human power. And although most of the people involved didn’t have much if any experience, they were able to take instructions from people who were experienced and get things done. One rock chip at a time to make a mosaic. One strike of a mallet against a chisel to carve a bannister. One collective effort to raise one large rock at a time to make that majestic 3-story high fireplace.

Hearing stories about the way hundreds of laborers worked together with one goal in mind—the most beautiful Timberline Lodge as possible—reminds us of the undeniable fact that when we work together with one unified effort, we can do unimaginable things. Unimaginable because one individual could never hope to accomplish the task on their own. But by having many people doing small things, those small things can add up to monumental achievements. If we ever feel like our daily efforts aren’t amounting to much, maybe it would be good to think back on those unskilled but dedicated workers who did their tasks with enough panache to decorate even the door handles.