Preserving history, moving a church
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| David Covey |
David Covey is owner and operator of D & E House Moving Company out of Hot Springs, Ar. I spent a good bit of time watching David, his daughter Amy Moss and a few others of his crew moving the Mt. Prospect Methodist Episcopal South Church 18 miles to Southern Arkansas University.
On one of his final days at the site, David spared a few minutes to visit with me and answer some questions. Here is the transcript of our conversation, as the original audio was difficult to hear in some places due to wind noise. If you want to hear the interview, scroll to the bottom to find the play button, as well as a list of resources concerning the church.
Steve Ford: A lot of people have had moving experiences in church, but one man has had a moving experience moving a church. So it's my privilege today to talk to David Covey, owner and operator of what's the name of that company?
David Covey: D&E House Moving.
S.F.: D and E House moving. You have just finished moving one of the biggest buildings I've ever seen moved. This is the old Mount Prospect Methodist Episcopal South church building that was up there near Stephens. David, what was it like?
S.F.: You've moved some other buildings out here at the Southern Arkansas University campus, haven't you?
D.C.: Yes, all of them.
S.F.: The Ozmer House, the Alexander House and now the church. Which one was the hardest to move?
D.C.: I don't know. The Ozmer house there….
S.F.: It didn't have to go very far anyway.
D.C.: No, it was widest in the way it was built in like they built them in the 1800s. It was a breezeway and we had to support both sides of the house and everything, to keep the porch from falling apart and everything separating. But I guess the church there was a pretty good tackle there. We had to take the roof down. I wasn't supposed to have to take the roof down.
S.F.: Oh, really?
D.C.: Yeah, well, the college was going to do that and I accidentally put in (the contract) there, “If they couldn't find nobody to take the roof down, I would take it down.” That's the biggest mistake I made.
S.F.: Oh really? I’ve been there! “If you can't find anybody, I will do it.”
D.C.: Yeah, that was the biggest mistake I made.
S.F.: Oh, man. Well, I hope they compensated you for that. So you had to jack the building up, move it off the the piers and they prebuilt the piers out here (at the new site), right?
D.C.: Yeah, they, they put them up, but like we've been behind for about four or five months. So they went ahead and laid the piers, they went out and I guess measured and did real good out there and did a good job of it.
S.F.: So you sat it right down on the new piers here?
D.C.: It’s going to.
S.F.: So you had to jack it up and then you moved it kind of over to the edge of the property. What kept that building from just falling apart?
D.C.: Well, a little bit of knowledge and stretching them cables around it top and bottom. Squeeze it together there because them old antique nails are like wedges. If they're loose, they get real loose and they'll work right on out.
S.F.: I think you told me those are 2 by 4s, but it's the old 2 by 4….
D.C.: Two by fours and everything roughs off and they were held in there.
S.F.: The building didn't have a ceiling. It was just I guess they added the ceiling. They added a ceiling fan. Can you imagine what it was like without?
D.C.: I don't know. In that condition I would have been worried that that ceiling not having no bridge beam down the middle holding that ceiling.
S.F.: I guess it had a beam, they said they would like candles up there (on the beams) to have lights. It was used as a school also. How wide would you say this building was?
D.C.: She's 30 feet wide and 40, I think 42 feet long.
S.F.: How wide is the county road?
D.C.: It's a little less than that, but we had plenty of ditch way, ditch clearance on the trees and everything.
S.F.: And you had a few tree limbs you had to deal with?
S.F.: Yeah, I happened to come up on you when you were cutting that limb. I guess you always run into things you don't expect?
D.C.: Yeah, sometimes. Yep, there's always something.
S.F.: Then you got it on to the campus that you pulled….
D.C.: Well, it was raining.
S.F.: You had to fight rain.
D.C.: Yeah, we had to leave it out there for a day or two out in a good hard driveway to let it dry a couple days and we started again across….
S.F.: ….across the grass and park next to the piers. How did you get it from next to the piers onto the piers?
D.C.: We just raised it up and put another set of beams under it. And Ivory bar soap.
S.F.: So Ivory! you told me you were going to use Ivory soap. I thought, I can't always tell when that guy's telling me the truth.
D.C.: (Chuckles)
S.F.: But you did tell me you were going to jack it up and it just slide into place.
D.C.: Mmmm, hmm.
S.F.: That's, that's not how you moved it, though.
D.C.: Yeah, we raised it up and well, we used, oh, then we used the skytrack to pull it.
S.F.: Oh, you did have it raised on that side, didn't raise it up. And then you use the sky track to pull it on over.
D.C.: Yep.
S.F.: Then nothing to it,
D.C.: Nothing, it was all downhill. The main thing on them soaped beams, you keep them level. You don't want it to just slide off. It will go faster than you want it to, if you don't keep everything under control.
S.F.: I think they're going to have to replace some of those original beams underneath.
D.C.: Yeah, someone replaced some of them and they're going to take them back out, I think, and replace the bad beams that's on each end around the doorways.
S.F.: Your work is almost over now you've got it in place putting the original rafters back up. What else do you have to do out here?
D.C.: Just let it down 7 inches on them piers when they get done fixing those beams. They got to do their woodwork before I let it on the piers.
S.F.: Oh, OK. But you still got it in place.
D.C.: Yeah, it's still sitting on 4 level creepers….
S.F.: ….and you will finish the rafters shortly.
D.C.: Yeah, very shortly. If that storm hadn’t come through last night and now
S.F.: Y’all were going to work till midnight (last night) to get it done!
D.C.: It started lightning and we had to get down. We didn't lack much!
S.F.: Tell me, you've got like a pretty good crew out here. Tell me who your crew is.
D.C.: Amy Moss is the main hand and that five little crew. I had the short crew, but they couldn't get on the roof. The ground crew, they’re the ground crew.
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| David Covey, Amy Moss & the Short Crew |
S.F.: You did have them soaping those beams though, didn't you?
D.C.: Yeah....
S.F.: What’s next on the agenda for David Covey and D&E house moving?
D.C.: We got a little one over in Sheridan that needs to be moved about 60 feet off the property where the guy can close his loan. And immediately after that, we're going to Oakland, Georgia, going to load up onto a barge and go four miles out in the ocean.
S.F.: I heard you were going to be moving a house out in the ocean.
D.C.: You show him that picture of the house? And we have 4 hours and I think my brother said four hours and 20 something minutes before the tide comes in.
S.F.: Are you kidding?
D.C.: No.
S.F.: You got a close schedule there. You'll have to get Amy to watch your schedule!
D.C.: We got to get it up and on wheels and get out of the ocean in 4 hours.
S.F.: (Looking at photo of house.) Oh my gosh. Look at that.
D.C.: There's three stories.
S.F.: Three stories! It's up on piers....
D.C.: Piles, they’re on big pylons.
S.F.: You've got to move that house. Good grief.
D.C.: It's 60 feet wide and a little over 100 feet long.
S.F.: But you're not moving it off the island?
D.C.: It’s going about 500 feet, it’s going from probably right here to that front house, about 500 feet.
S.F.: That'll be a fun 500 feet. How did you ever get into house moving?
D.C.: Just growed up around it. My dad worked for my uncle, which was his brother and we just took a liking to it.
S.F.: And you took a liking to it?
D.C.: I quit it twice whenever I was 19 or 20 and come back to it and finally just give up and took a liking to it and just started doing it.
S.F.: So how long have you been moving houses?
D.C.: About 35 years.
S.F.: Wow, you got some experience?
D.C.: No, I'm done with it. My experience is done. (laughter)
S.F.: What was the favorite house you ever moved?
D.C.: I moved one in Hot Springs there that was 56 feet wide and 134 foot long, 42 feet tall.
S.F.: Did you have to cut it in half?
D.C.: No, we just moved it in one piece.
S.F.: Wow!
D.C.: It weighed 436,000 pounds.
S.F.: What would you say to someone who was thinking about going into the house moving business?
D.C.: Make sure he's got plenty of kids that wants to work.
S.F.: Oh yeah, and have and have a good insurance policy?
D.C.: Yeah, a good insurance policy!
S.F.: OK, I’ve estered you all for the last 10 days or so. I've gotten some good pictures and enjoyed visiting with you and Amy and the short crew too.
D.C.: I appreciate the pictures.
S.F.: Yeah. Yeah. Well, we're going to share those. I'm doing a write up that the MagnoliaReporter is going to publish it and I'm going to send them some pictures and a a pretty long write up. There's a fascinating history behind this building and you're now part of it.
D.C.: I'm part of the historical part of Bella Vista too.
S.F.: Oh, really?
D.C.: We went and picked up a building. You could say this hill was a ravine, but that ravine fell about 90 feet straight down.
S.F.: Wow.
D.C.: We backed in there. There were a couple trees and we picked up that old, old cabin and picked it up. Had come up off the side of that hill and up and out of there. We had to keep it from going down the hill and then take it down to the Historical Society. It was about, I don't know, they filmed us all the way and it was 100 and I don't know, it was old, old, old. It was some of the first cabins built up in Bella Vista and stuff, log cabins and stuff.
S.F.: I guess it's kind of like carpentry. They say measure twice and cut once. You got to really measure well and know what you're getting into.
D.C.: But them was hand hewed, hand hewed logs and wooden pegs.
D.C.: Thank you, sir!
Other resources:
My Mt. Prospect Article on Magnolia Reporter.
Dedication of Alexander-Warnock House on Magnolia Reporter.
Article about Mt. Prospect grant on Magnolia Reporter.
Mt. Prospect history from Banner-News article on Facebook
SAU article on ANCRC Grant
National Register of Historic Places listing on Mt. Prospect
Finally, need a house moved? Check out D&E House Moving!
