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I N T E R N A T I O N A L U N I O N O FP A I N T E R S A N D A L L I E D T R A D E SJob Corps Restores Massive Pennsylvania LandmarkGrey Towers, built in 1886 and located inMilford, Pennsylvania, is the ancestral home ofthe founder and first chief of the U.S. ForestService, Gifford Pinchot. Son of a wealthy businessman,Pinchot (who also twice-served as governor ofPennsylvania) grew up to be a staunch supporter of conservationand was a leader in the movement to preserveour country's nature destinations.Today, Grey Towers serves as a center to educateand promote conservationism to both the general publicand leaders in the conservation movement.Understandably, this 124 year-old building is in regularneed of repair and renovation to continue to show wellfor its many visitors each year. In the summer of 2010,the Forest Service called on the International Union ofPainters and Allied Trades (IUPAT) Job Corps programto give Grey Towers a new shine.When National Project Coordinator Andrew Larsonreceived the call from Larry Dawson, the national directorof the Job Corps for the U.S. Forest Service, he wasn'tsurprised. “Job Corps and the Forest Service have along history together in many ways,” said Larson. “Ourstudents have done a lot of work in national parks andmonuments.” However, when Larson visited GreyTowers with Field Coordinator Newt Sayers andKeystone Job Corps Center Painting Instructor FrankSikora, the scope of work required admittedly caughthim a bit off guard.“They had a bid from a contractor that was almost$140,000 to get the job done and I could seewhy,”said Larson. Total work on Grey Towers, a barnand 4 other large dwellings required interior and exteriorprep and painting, some decorative painting and agreat number of equipment and workers to get the jobdone. Undeterred, Larson and his crew put a plan intomotion that would eventually put ten IUPAT Job Corpsinstructors and over 60 students from all over the countryto work on this project.In the end, after this small army of craftsmen andwomen were done, the job came in on schedule and ona budget that was nearly half of what was originallybid. The finished product at Grey Towers is just that, afinished product in which these fine young men andwomen should be proud. Almost daily, both during thejob and after, the IUPAT Job Corps offices received complimentson how well-mannered and professional thepre-apprentices and their instructors executed their tasks.Today, Grey Towers greets its visitors with a freshand formal look that everyone has come to expect fromsuch a grand venue and it’s all thanks to the young menand women of Job Corps. Congratulations to all whoput so much time and talent into this worthy project. Aspecial note of thanks to the IUPAT instructors who madethis happen: Frank Sikora, Tammy Witt, Michael Smith,Mark Love, Tim Raftery, Dennis Mersman, HarryHinrichs, Justin Martak, Rod Perkins and Frank Massey.O C T O B E R - D E C E M B E R2 0 1 0 • J O U R N A L27