Welcome to the Meany Work Party Page

If you have been wondering what it takes to keep Meany going, come to one of the Workparties held in the Summer and Fall and see what it takes. Workparties are free and offer a great opportunity to enjoy the lodge in a different light. You can learn new skills or brush up on old ones that your 'real' job doesn't let you do anymore. There is also time to get to know folks over work and conversation.

We offer mid-week and weekend workparties, If you want to attend any of these simply click on work parties, pick the weekend and sign up.




Work Party Reports

Please click on any of the months below to go directly to that section or simply scroll down


June Mid-Week Report

The June mid-week WP was held Tuesday June 12th through Thursday June 14th. The weather was cool and showery at times with snow on top of the Lane one morning. The following were there:

  1. Phil Christy
  2. Dave Claar
  3. Doug Damm
  4. Don Finrow
  5. Bob Grass
  6. Linda Harkness
  7. Mike Lonergan
  8. Emilio Marasco
  9. Dan Solomonson
  10. Ray Nelson
  11. Patti Polinsky
  12. Tom Dunstan
  13. Tom VanDevanter

The following was accomplished on this WP and items noted for decision.

  1. Ox was placed in service. The new brake lines are on site but not installed

  2. concrete pads were cleaned.

  3. the road up from the Rail Road tracks was graded some but still is a bit rough.

  4. Cleaned up the grounds around the Lodge and surrounding areas.

  5. Mach Tow Governor: We attempted to adjust it but could not because the manual was missing from the Tow Hut. We later found one in the Lodge but was too late by that time.

  6. Forms for the septic tank lids were made and are now ready for concrete.

  7. Back-hoe arrived at the overpass June 13 as promised. It was used to dig the foundation holes for the new steel poles (Mach Tail, turtle Drive and Tail) which arrived on Tuesday with Mike. The foundations were prepared to accept concrete at the next mid-week WP. There is still some work necessary on the forms before concrete can be poured.


    Forms with rebar for Septic tank lids

    Turtle Tow drive pole foundation

    Mach Tail Pole and foundation














  8. Old poles Turtle's Tail and driver poles along with Mach's tail pole were cut up for fire wood, split and placed in the wood room.

  9. Got Chipper out and functional

  10. Cleaned up the basement, main and upper floors of the Lodge. The basement was a real chore and now looks presentable as does the rest of the Lodge. A lot of surplus material was taken to the dump or donated to Goodwill.

  11. There remains considerable personnel equipment at the Lodge leftover from last winter for pickup.

  12. Hood fan/lights were further discussed looking for better solutions. The fan/light switch was changed out with a switch that is large enough to handle the motor load. We expect to do more work on this issue in the near future.

    The fan snow guard was taken down in order to prepare a form to pour a concrete pad for the guard post to set on. The guard along with supporting posts will be reinstalled when the concrete pad is complete.


    Hood Exhaust Guard Foundation
















  13. Marked trees and one that has been felled (cat road up to the mid tower on the Lane) will be cut for fire wood. James Kotlik and crew are expected the weekend of July 16thto make fire wood from the marked trees and the one fell near the Lane. The wood splitter is on hand.

  14. Made a dump run

  15. Old Snowmobile was removed from the area beside the Pantry and taken to Town for disposal.

  16. Brush saw and hedge trimmer were brought to Town for servicing.



July Mid-Week Report

the July mid-week work party was held July 10th (Tuesday) through July 12th (Thursday). The weather was sunny and warm. The following people were there:

  1. Bill Adcock
  2. Phil Christy
  3. Dave Claar
  4. Doug Damm
  5. Tom Dunstan
  6. Don Finrow
  7. Bob Grass
  8. Linda Harkness
  9. Mike Lonergan
  10. Ray Nelson
  11. Jim Noyes
  12. Cheryl Phillips
  13. Patti Polinsky
  14. Jerry Thompson
  15. Tom VanDevanter

The following was accomplished on this WP and items noted for decision.

  1. Moose - The right track was taken off the Moose and placed outside the Zoo next to the other one. The protective shrouds on the right side were taken off and two damaged hydraulic hoses were changed out on the left side. No other work was done.

  2. The Zoo - It was cleaned up and most of the oil on the floor is now gone. Likewise the oil outside of the large opening side (East side) of the Zoo was dealt with. The Zoo should now be ready for work to go forward on the Moose.

  3. Cat House - The first floor was cleaned and straightened up. One can now work in there. The second floor was cleaned up but there remains some organizing work to be accomplished.

  4. kitchen/Pantry - Preparations were made for the upcoming State Health Department Inspection, which Meany passed without any issues


    Cheryl Cleaning Kitchen & Pantry

    Doug discussing a point with the Inspector

















  5. Concrete arrived on Wednesday. The Septic Tank covers and pad for the exhaust fan were poured. The covers will be installed at next mid-week work party.


    Septic Tank Covers

    Pad for Stove Exhaust Fan Hood

















  6. Foundations for the new Turtle driver and Mach tail poles were also poured.


    Rebar for Foundation

    Cement Truck - Don't ask me how they
    got it up RR curve

    Pouring the foundations
















  7. The steel poles were made ready for lifting which will occur Wednesday August 22. All that remains to be done is some painting. Gas House roof was also swepted clean

    Turtle Top Wheel Assembly being installed

    finshised Tutle pole

    Cleaning the roof
    Jerry does other things then just the trash
















  8. Rotten tree Fir tree root at its base, was cut down behind the Mach Tow Hut (about 100 feet from the new Mach tail pole concrete pad). It was partially cut up for fire wood and most of the limbs were chipped up. Further cutting up and hauling out for fire wood is necessary. There are also two smaller trees close by that were cut down last year and ready for bucking up and removing for fire wood.

  9. Stove Hood rewiring - Wiring was started to place two new lights in the kitchen (on each side of the range hood) and further work was done on splitting the fan and light circuits Patti to get the new fixtures needed. The power requirements for the fan were measured and found to be 31 Amps starting and 6.5 amps running.

  10. Two loads of gravel were placed on the road below the Lodge extending to the flat below. Chuck has requested that more gravel be placed below where we quit to fix the area around the old chain gate above the RR tracks. We will do this.

    NOTE; Understand that the Women's Wellness weekend tore up this section of the road pretty good. No real surprise I guess. It is bound to happen with any large party up there. We will need to straighten this out and likely put some dirt on it to bind it better. We can do this next work pqrty.

  11. Alders on the side of the road on the hill below the RR tracks to the old campground were cut down.

  12. A dump run was made.

  13. Tow Hut Guard Rail - Work was begun on repairing the guard rail that was damaged on the Mach Tow Hut stairs.

  14. Snowmobile was taken to town (Eastern Washington) for commercial repair and tune up.
  15. Grease filters in the range hood were cleaned. According to the State Health Inspector this is to be done at least annually.

  16. PSE showed up to repair the power meter. The new meter number is A90378262.

  17. The water filters were changed out.

  18. Some repair work was done on the Hippo


    Hippo Repairs

















August Mid-Week Report

the August mid-week work party was held August 21st (Tuesday) through August 23rd (Thursday). The weather was sunny. The following people were there:

  1. Phil Christy
  2. Doug Damm
  3. Tom Dunstan
  4. Don Finrow
  5. Bob Grass
  6. Mike Lonergan
  7. Phyllis Nelson
  8. Ray Nelson
  9. Jim Noyes
  10. John Rice
  11. Jerry Thompson
  12. Tom VanDevanter

The following was accomplished

  1. Wood Poles - Some were inspected, treated with wood preventive and rewrapped with tar paper. The following are the results of the inspection:
    • The power pole near the rear fire escape on the Lodge was found to be ok (no rot detected). The pole ground was improved by driving a second ground rod and connecting the two.
    • The power pole next to the Zoo was found to be bad (shell rot and rotten center - there was a test hole drilled) and needs to be stubbed this year. The pole ground was improved by driving a second ground rod and connecting the two.

      Fire Escape Power Pole Inspection

      Zoo Power Pole Inspection
















    • Worm head pole was found to be OK i.e. no signs of rot detected. It was treated and wrapped with tar paper
    • Both Worm safety gate poles were found to have some shell rot and bug infestation and need to be replaced in the not too distant future (likely ok for this season). Both poles were drilled and found to have a fairly sound interior. These poles should be tied up if climbing without snow and unbelted with or without snow.

      Bug Infestation

      Shell Rot

















  2. Septic Tank Covers were moved onto the small concrete pad, freeing up the large one
















  3. Turtle Tow drive unit was repaired, the top wheel assembly was painted and the pole raised and put on the pad. Some wiring was accomplished but more needs to be done, which we will do. The rope can be strung and made ready to go. Note: the clips holding the drive unit to the track need to be modified to clear up a conflict with rising the drive unit. We will take care of this. The wheels attached to the steel pole have been greased. The head pole wheels have not been grease.

    Repairing Turtle Drive Unit

    Top Assembly Painting



    Raising Turtle Drive Pole

    Freeing Crane
















  4. Insurance Inspector did make it to the Lodge and inspected the Lodge and out buildings. She was not interested in the ski tows and did not look at them

  5. Two loads of gravel were placed on the road from the Lodge to the RR track and smoothed. The road has now be graveled and smooth from the Lodge to the RR tracks.

  6. Locks - Upon arrival at the Lodge we found we had been locked out by BPA. They apparently cut off our lock and installed only their lock on the gate thus locking us and the RR out. The lock was cut off and will be replaced with another BPA lock.

  7. Mach Tow
    • Seal for the Mach Tow engine oil filter was repaired and the engine oil replaced. The tow engine is now ready to run.
    • The tail pole was also erected and the counter weight assembly was installed. It is ready for the tail wheel to be greased and installed.
    • The governor still needs adjustment.
  8. Furnace
    • smoke stack was cleaned out and found to be in good shape.
    • The grate needs some work however
    • furnace itself has not improved with age.

    Poor Furnace Seal

    Grate needing repair
















  9. Hood Wiring - Wiring for new lights and the thermal override switch have been completed on the range hood. We still have to test out the thermal override switch with some sort of heat source which we will do.

    Discussion on Hood testing

















  10. The Lodge was brushed around the foundation and ant spray applied as well as the base of the Cat House.

  11. The grass and weeds were mowed around the Tow Hut

  12. Further cleaning up of the oil in the Zoo was accomplished but not completed. Used oil and antifreeze were taken to the dump for recycle but there is still more to take.

  13. Scrape Metal - The old freezer, old hot water tank and considerable metal including the non usable guy wire were taken to the metal recycler. The guy wire mess at the Tow Hut and outside was cleaned up.

  14. Some wood was hauled in from the woods but not split up.

  15. The old propane hot water tank was removed and preparations made to install the new one were made. We will install the new one next time.

    Discussion on Hood testing
















  16. Work went forward on the Tow Hut railing repair but is not completed.

  17. The cover for the exhaust fan for the kitchen fan was reinstalled on the new concrete pad. It was modified somewhat.

    Fan Cover Re-installation
















  18. The support poles for the rear fire escape were modified to make it look better.

    Modifying Fire Escape
















  19. There was a second flood light installed on the Cat House shining over the concrete pad.

  20. New gasoline signs were installed on the gas houses to keep the delivery person straight on what goes where.

  21. The grounds were patrolled for trash and removed.

  22. A dump run was made.


8th September Work party Report

Well with the arrival of September the weekend workparties start (the rest of the committee can't just let the fossils have all the fun). So what was accomplished

  1. Mach Tow rope - New rope has been bought and the Meany "Knitting Needle" crew were at work doing there thing. Takes about 3-5 people to splce


    Spool of tow rope

    Splicers at work - Avner, Bill, Jimmy And Shawn















  2. TomCat Engine Replacement - Engine was removed thanks to Alex


    Alex all smiles - engine is out!

















  3. Lane mowing - Yep just like any lawn - needs to be trimed


    James showing how it should be done















22nd September Work party Report

Sadly the crew didn't have time to take pictures but we did get a lot accomplished, and there was a very large contingent of Meany Kids - THANKS GUYS

  1. Food - Phil Christy besides being this weekends cook, brought a bounty of fruit and vegitables. The peaches and nectarines were out of this world, and he also brought the Mother Lode of sweet corn. The volunteers feasted on them! The food was sooo good that Jimmy got his first 4M of the season (Meany Monday meal and more), ie leftovers.

  2. Pantry redo
    • Painting Shawn and Madi Bertagnoli, Linda Harkness, Deb Cole and a HOST of others setup and preped. Norm Vigus then painted it white - REALLY GEORGEOUS! - We will now request that people using the pantry, don overboots and gloves
    • Pantry non-food items, that were rarely used, were taken out and stored in the snowmobile shed next to pantry to be sorted out later in the work party season
    • Food items We tossed about a wheel barrow of out dated and otherwise questionable groceries, thanks to Madi and Peter under the leadership of Deb Cole. The local squirrels & birds are very happy.
    • Food Inventory> - Madi & Peter made a complete inventory of food on hand. We will be sharing it with the cooks soon. Who knew we had 40+ lbs of rice and tons of oatmeal

  3. Power pole outside the Zoo is now safely stubbed thanks to Stephan, Timothy, Arddie, Linda, Juliana and several others. Note that Ardie and Linda were the moms, the rest were Meany kids and the hole was close to 5 ft deep, they know cause we put Juliana in it to measure. It was a tight fit getting her out.

  4. First Aid Room Juliana, Linda and Emilio tore open the First Aid room and THINK THEY'VE FOUND THE LEAK!! (famous last words). Juliana gave her dad a lesson in cement chipping to make ready for the application of sealer to the floor and walls.

  5. Tom Cat's new engine is safely installed thanks to Alex, Shawn and a few others that I could not identify from their positions (mainly bent over the engine, not flattering).

  6. Moose has its wheel bearings all installed and greased. It is ready for a hydraulic fluid infusion to functional test the repairs.

  7. New Cabinets/countertop were brought up and installed on Sunday by James & Michele Kotlik to replace the shaky drink table. Deb Cole is so excited to use the storage space for glasses, etc.

  8. Mach Splicing - Jim Fahey, Greg & Amy Smith and several others completed splicing tasks this weekend. Worm Tow and Mach actually ran under their own power this weekend.

  9. Mowing - Phil Christy stayed late Sunday and mowed most of the campus picking up where James left off last work party, Thanks Phil!


September Mid-Week Report

the September mid-week work party was held September 18th (Tuesday) through September 20th (Thursday). The following people were there:

  1. Doug Damm
  2. Tom Dunstan
  3. Don Finrow
  4. Bob Grass
  5. Mike Lonergan
  6. Ray Nelson
  7. John Rice
  8. Tom VanDevanter

The following was accomplished:

  1. Turtle tow

      Finished Drive pole Instalation
    • Wiring was nearly completed (there was a problem with a control outlet and plug for which we did not have a replacement). We will complete the wiring next mid-week work party, Even with the outlet problem we were able to test run the Turtle Tow and it passed.
    • Drive Conflict with mounting to the new steel pole was addressed. Also the idler wheels were installed. The tow is ready for the rope to be installed.
    • tie up pole for the Turtle Tow was inspected and found to be ok (it was sound at the base).








  2. Tow hut Railing - Work went forward on the Tow Hut railing replacement and as dedicated as Doug Damm is, It was not completed due to competition with the arrival of a new grandchild. Thank goodness he didn't get Doug's looks.

    Doug has promised to finish it up at the next work party.

    Doug working on Railing

    Milo Mathew Collins

















  3. Freezer Fuse - Replaced fuse with a 6.25 amp. slow blow fuse. There is a spare fuse on site.

  4. Propane hot water tank installation was nearly completed. At the next midweek work party protective barrier around it along with exhaust vent reinforcement will be accomplished

    New propane hot water tank















  5. Range - The thermal bypass switched for the hood fan in the kitchen was tested and found to function properly. - Cooks note that if it is tripped the fan cannot be turned off until temperature drops

  6. Power pole behind the Tow Hut was inspected and found to be ok at the base. We also installed another ground rod at this location

  7. OX Brakes No work was performed on Ox as we could not find the necessary parts. Chuck should we order some more parts?

  8. Furnace- Repaired the fire grate

  9. RR Curve Gate - Cut the brush around the main gate and greased the bearing surfaces.

  10. TC Engine - Inspected the old engine for TomCat and found some minor damage to the bearings from metal shavings. Its main problem seemed to be running rich

    • The Mach
    • Tail wheel assembly that came into conflict with the earth as it fell out of the sky was repaired and returned to the Tow Hut for others to install.
    • Excurison- A trip to the top of The Lane we carried out to gather engineering data for future work at the head pole site. One thing that was noted as being very helpful is if the access road could be lowered by approximately five feet at the top.


      Needs to be lowered

      Cle Elum Fire















  11. Dump run and a load of metal to the recycler were done


6th October Work party Report

The following was accomplished:

  1. Super Worm
    • Rope shortened.
    • Head pole has been greased. ·
    • No twist when ran for Howard’s inspection.
  2. Mach
    • New rope has been spliced together. most of the stretching is already done with 2/3rds travel left in the tail pulley.
    • Head pole equipment has been greased.
    • head pole has been checked for rot and none found.
    • Lower pulley on head pole has been adjusted to take out the twist.
    • New safety gate to match that of Turtle Tow. Nigel’s good work with help from Mike Minehan.
    • A rope lifting/hanging system, similar to Turtle has been installed on a tree up high on the hill between the mid tower and the top. Again Nigel’s good work. This device will probably only be used between fall shut down and start up at Christmas time. It is a two to one pulley system and will eliminate hanging the 2X4’s between the mid tower and top of the hill and best part, will keep rope from being buried. ·
    • Mid tower has been greased. ·
    • Norm installed a plate on the upper pulley system in the tow hut. He also added putty like stuff that he will turn to fit next time he is up. ·
    • Three very heavy pick up weights (~ 80 lbs each), fabricated by Chuck, were placed on the bottom of the counter balance. The hope is, counter weight will not hit the ceiling as hard when we do the emergency stopping tests.
  3. First Aid Room
    • Floor chipping was finished. Wall and floor were cleaned
    • New first aid supply cabinet was installed
    • Old cabinets are available for re-use

October Mid-Week Report

the October mid-week work party was held October 16th (Tuesday) through 18th (Thursday). The following people were there:

  1. Phil Christy
  2. Doug Damm
  3. Tom Dunstan
  4. Don Finrow
  5. Bob Grass
  6. Mike Lonergan
  7. Phyllis Nelson
  8. Ray Nelson
  9. Tom VanDevanter

The following was accomplished:

  1. Fuel & Propane Deliveries - 268 gallons of Propane, 752 gallons of diesel and 676 gallons of gas. The main propan tank along with the little bottle in the Zoo were filled


    Fuel Truck on FR 420

    Filling tanks















  2. The Health Department Inspector was a no show.

  3. Turtle Tow Electrical - Wiring was completed and it tested just fine.

  4. flood light was replaced in the Zoo.

  5. A dump run was made.

  6. Wood furnace - A new break in the flue clean out was discovered. Temporary repairs were made until it could be repaired permanently.


    Fuel Truck on FR 420

    Filling tanks















  7. Lodge
    • Re-wiring of circuit for freezer was done. freezer is on its own fuse, 6.5 amp
    • install a new convenience outlet in First Aid Room
    • Circuit for space heater was run on the ceiling, and box is closer to heater
    • Trim around the kitchen sinks was repainted and caulked.
    • Smoke detector batteries were changed out and they are now functioning properly.
    • Fire alarm system was tested and found to be functioning properly.
    • Fire extinguishers were removed for testing and returned tested and are good for another year.
    • Emergency lights were tested and found functioning properly. The battery should be changed out in the near future.
    • Protective hood over the kitchen fan installation was completed.
    • Kitchen cabinet repair was made.
    • Work on cage around the new propane hot water tank but was not completed due to the lack of time.
    • Stove was found to not be functioning properly. Left oven was off by 100 degrees and the right oven would not start. Issues were related to thermal couples being pushed out of proper placement.
    • Bottom of the stove was cleaned up of crisp old spills and other junk.


      Repairing Sink trim

      Propane Cage

      Stove Repair
















  8. Moose
    • Step on Moose was welded up.
    • Hydraulic oil leaking from the right drive motor was looked at. It was determined that the leak was between the hose plate and the drive motor case. Cause was a damaged "O" ring. A new ring was installed at a later time and Moose was moved out of the Zoo


      Damaged "O" ring

      Hose plate with "O" ring guide















  9. Propane tank was cut in half for the Tom Cat.

  10. Chipper had its oil changed, a new knife blade installed and preped for winter. Ready for next spring.

  11. Lock was added to the Zoo tool cage.

  12. GFI in the basement of the Tow Hut was removed and thus the convenience outlet and light should be working in the Super Worm driver building.

  13. A multiyear work plan was refined and a document is forth coming for your consideration.

  14. We found the tail wheel assembly for the Mach Tow off its guy wire and restored it to proper operation.

  15. Some further work was accomplished on the guard rail for the Mach Tow steps but was not completed due to weather conditions.

  16. Some slash burning was done behind the Tow Hut.

  17. The chipper, dump trailer and four wheeler were placed in the shed nest to the diesel house. The tow field mowers were placed in the old Mouse house. The large mower is still under the Tow Hut by itself.