CHARLIE HOUY – Dome 2
BUILDING AND LIVING IN THE DOMES (72-74)
Things I think I remember.
An excited Susan Nelson – with Maryanne Mock, and Abby Marshall – returning from a meeting saying students and leaders got together and were going to build student houses. We could all have summer jobs and then live there. It sounded a bit to me like we’re going to put on a show in the backyard and save the schoolmarm’s house. But….
Maryanne was interested. It nailed down a summer job and a place to live for the next year. What’s not to like?
Arriving at the dome construction site on some mornings to find Ron Swenson sleeping on top of the tool shed keeping an eye on the site.
Ron playing guitar and singing Railroad Bill, the ever present cowboy hat perched on his head.
Being sent by Ron to the drama department to borrow two motors from their stage turntable that would be used to turn the mold. I don’t believe they lasted the summer or found their way ba
ck to the drama department.
Working on the mold crew: sanding, waxing, and polishing sometimes at odd hours to keep the project close to schedule. Sleeping (at least once) on site in our 1965 Ford country squire fake woody station wagon. It was a crappy job, but it matched my skill level.
Dan Goff and I selecting dome 2 as our site and insisting we were still dome 2 when dome 1 was cancelled.
Thinking uh-oh the UC muckety-mucks aren’t going to like this when the first dome (dome 2) was birthed and it caved in on one side like a dropped hardboiled egg. The project could be dead.
Being amazed when dome 3 was birthed and they turned it right side up mid-air before setting it down on the ground.
Seeing our somewhat crushed dome 2 turned upright and placed on our concrete pad. The foam was a mess. Jay Bondeson, the foam guy from John Nolan’s Central Coating Company, fixed the damage and then sprayed another layer. As a result, dome 2 was the best insulated dome in the community.
Hanging around while Jay fixed our dome and then assisting him the rest of the summer (and getting off the mold crew.) He sprayed the foam at some ungodly temperature. We wore long sleeves, hats, and overalls which intensified the Davis summer heat. The fumes were poisonous. I’m not sure how he survived in that environment even wearing a respirator. By the end of summer, my railroad overalls were so covered in specks of foam they could stand up on their own.
Learning how to spray paint from Jay. I think I painted the inside of some domes.
Driving Jay’s Jaguar XKE sports car to take him to the health center after he cut his hand. I’d never driven a stick shift. He insisted. I drove in first gear.
Dan’s Dad, Lloyd, who worked in construction, coming to Davis a few times to help us complete the dome’s interior, especially building the loft and dual ladders. Our dome’s loft covered about two thirds of the inside. It was bisected by a wall so we both slept upstairs. We had a downstairs room for a study.
Having indoor plumbing and electricity quite a while before our new neighbors.
Being dragooned for godawful work parties by well-meaning community organizers.
Happy hour G&T croquet on the “lawn.”
Many things that don’t need to show up on the internet for grandchildren to read.
Frequent community meetings where tempers flared, but things always seemed to work out by consensus. Seeing differences resolved amicably taught me a skill which helped me in my career.
And friendship that lasts a lifetime. The domes became home.
But what is most memorable is that somehow students had built fourteen domes and then established a community. A real community. One that I hated to leave.
At least that’s what I think I remember.
