project began cautiously.
No one quit a job.
No one borrowed money.
No one promised more than we could afford.
We hired an engineer to inspect the surviving structure.
It could be restored.
The county allowed a small commercial woodworking operation with conditions.
The trust would lease the building to a new family company at a modest rate, keeping property ownership separate from business operations.
Inez insisted on everything being written down.
“Families who say they don’t need contracts,” she told us, “are the families who eventually pay me to
