Tapping Into Tradition

Students learn the sweet rewards of timber framing.

Sometimes the best way to understand a proverb is to put it into practice. The expression “Many hands make light work” took on new meaning when the woodworking class undertook the building of Kimball Union Academy’s new sugarhouse, located behind Flickinger Auditorium with easy access to KUA’s maple trees.

Students, taught by Darrell Beaupré ’86, worked together to carry dozens of hemlock beams into a makeshift workshop on Akerstrom Arena’s dormant hockey rink. With more than a dozen people shouldering the weight of the hemlock beams, they were able to make quick work of the task.

In the first timber-framing course offered at KUA, students dedicated several months to practicing the art of erecting a building without a single metal nail. Traditional timber framing utilizes carpentry practices brought to the United States by colonists and relies on a self-supporting network of timbers inserted into one another.

“I wanted to know how timber framing worked, how the wood locks together without nails or screws,” says Leo Barta ’25. “It’s a complex process and all of the measurements and cuts have to be precise for the building to fit together.” Once the lumber was sourced from nearby Hartford, Vermont, and arranged on the floor like an oversized Jenga set, Beaupré introduced the class

to the architectural plans and traditional tools used in New England timber framing for centuries. One lesson they quickly learned was that once wood has been carved or drilled away, it can’t be replaced.

Beaupré honed his instructions based on students’ individual response to the task. While some students embraced structural work and easily envisioned the steps ahead of time, others questioned each step of the process. Regardless of approach, each student gained new appreciation for the adage, “measure twice, cut once.”

“Seniors are leaving a legacy behind through this project,” he notes, “And first-year students are excited they’ll have it for the next three years.”

“I’m glad to be able to leave a physical mark on this school,” says Aidan Davie ’22. “I’ve enjoyed being a part of something that will entertain kids for years to come, while also helping the school become more sustainable.”

The 14-by-16-foot sugarhouse, which will house the Academy’s evaporator, was erected on time in mid-May with the help of many students, faculty, and friends who came out to support the project. In the coming years, plans for two additions—a cider room and a wing for firewood—are on Beaupré’s mind, but for now, everyone is looking forward to an exceptionally sweet sugaring season in 2023.