Many hands made light work of assembling tables in Fairbury last Saturday.
New tables were built to replace ones in the parks which have been loaned out to businesses for outdoor seating. When things return back to normal, the city will keep some of the tables and likely donate extras to the race track, churches or other organizations which could use them.
“I called Mark Slagel at Slagel Manufacturing and he offered to design and build the frames and have them powder coated all at his cost,” said Fairbury Mayor David Slagel. “He was able to get them all built and coated in under a week.”
The Fairbury Area Chamber of Commerce and the city decided to each cover half of the cost to build the 20 new tables, with the city’s portion coming from gambling funds.
“We had so many people that it didn’t take us long at all,” said Chamber executive director Rebekah Fehr.
Mayor Slagel contacted Jason Leman for construction expertise and he volunteered his time and tools to assist with assembly and finishing. Bolts and lumber were ordered from local stores and Arrowhead Lodge members helped with labor.
Several volunteers, including chamber members, built the tables in approximately three hours. Members of the Fairbury Street Department will put the tables where they are needed.
“Whatever we can do to try and get outdoor seating for these guys so they can make some money and try to stay open,” added Fehr.
