10/16/2006

The Allegheny Restoration Co. (ARC) crew started work on the wood and coal house after finishing removal of wall paper in NE parlor. The room directly above it did not have wall paper which speeds up the preparation of plaster examination and work. Two very wide (by 2006 year standards) boards were removed from the wood and coal house west side. They were about 20 inches by 1 inch thick and 10 feet long. The upright had been torqued by the longwall when the building went on a twist at the time of mining. The upright is 10 feet tall and 8 by 8 inches and made of white oak. We tried to find a replacement from the old sheep barn that blew down in 1996 across the road. It does not seem likely that any will be used. The next thing we will do is look for a tree on the James Kinney property that can be cut and then sawed into the right size. We also found that the 1830’s wooden corn crib across the road had a similar break and a similar size will be needed for it too. Two Federal Forestry experts came today and looked at the virgin forest. They measured trees and took data on the woods. One large oak is rapidly dying in that area. My contention is that it is dying because of lack of water as the longwall mine drained the aquifer under the stand. The closest spring has been dry since mining. These huge 200 to 400 year old oaks need plenty of water. This area is within sight of the Red Trail of Dysart Woods.

Floyd Simpson

10/18/2006

Meeting with Steven A. and Cathy Sentor and Allegheny Restoration Co. and Claude Luke of OVCC. They came to monitor the progress of the restoration. Dr. Ray Hicks and son Tim came to look at the virgin forest. They will give a report to OVCC and me when it is completed. I injured by left leg in a fall coming back from the woods. Will have to cancel my trip to see the OSU team this Saturday.

Tim Hicks is a graduate of WVU in Forestry and Grad School at Penn State and lives in California. It was good to see Dr. Hicks again and to meet his son today.

Floyd Simpson

10/23/2006

The ARC crew has taken out the last of the broken cement from the basement. They drilled a trench through the basement floor from the hall to the SW basement room for RADON ventilation which will tie to that room vent system. More plaster around cracks in NE parlor room was removed today. Broken bricks behind the cracks are now apparent. Much of the problem area is above the mantel and That is where the furnace leaked CO gas into the house after mining and I got sick from it. Other places are above and around windows which seem to suffer most from longwall mining on these old houses.

Floyd Simpson

10/25/2006

The 2nd RADON report was still high and the average of the two is 4.15 pCi/ More deaths of lung cancer are from RADON than anything but smoking.

Floyd Simpson