Ahhhh yes ... those wonderful "quick-builds" (page 3)

Dragonlady76

I didn't like getting dirty, so I helped with the food, my mom was a good cook and her dishes were always requested.

WTWizard

I once got hounded into joining, but I didn't show up. They didn't need one more person to get in the way anyways.

The truth is that those buildings are not as quick as they appear. Ours went up in 3 days. However, the site preparation took a whole year. It took all summer just to have the slab made, and it sat (how I wish we would have had a record rainy summer with a good thunderstorm to ruin that slab). The part that goes up quickly is the illusion. Usually, these things are poorly assembled, and safety is not a factor during construction. Were it a Wal-Mart, those things go up just as quickly (I have seen them go up inside of a week)--most of the work is getting the foundation and the interior decoration, shelves, office space, and merchandise set up).

No, I do not want to ever help build a Kingdumb Hell. In fact, when I got hounded to help with ours, I was hoping for some shoddy material that would result in a fire that would burn the building to the ground for some crap electrical work, or a structural problem that would cause the Hell to blow down in light wind. Remember the Three Little Pigs? The first two did quick builds, but the wolf was able to blow them down. The third pig did a "slow build", and the wolf couldn't blow it down (and got burned when it tried going down the chimney). And I don't want anything to do with helping them put the thing up. Now, if only the wolf would show up, huff, puff, and blow the Kingdumb Hell in...

Shepherd Book

I enjoyed the few times I helped out at quick-builds because, as a pioneer, it was an opportunity to "count time" without having to actually go out in service or wear a suit.

One hall remodeling in our area needed brothers to stay the night in an on-site camper and guard the supplies. So I would show up at around eight in the evening, play cards with other guys or order pizza, then go to sleep and wake up the next morning having logged ~12 hours of service time.

unique1

My dad was an uber carpenter so I went to almost all hall builds in the area. My first memory was of one in Gso when I couldn't have been over 5. I remember they had the watchtower study that Sun morning with work still going on outside. I was scared because I was in there by myself with no one I knew because both my parents were outside working.

I started out a little older as the cookie/lemonade/water girl who would walk around with a tray and a jug and some cups for the continued refreshment of the workers.

I then progressed to cleaning up the job site, followed by brick lines and helping with the stone work.

Then I helped nearly every weekend between the years of 15 and 17 building the local assembly hall. I served as weekend secretary to the overseer in the winter months and was switched to the curb and gutter crew in the summer.

What a waste. Met a couple nice brothers for dating that turned out to be losers. That was about it.

Burger Time

Was I the only person who got high then went to quick builds? Ha ha I actually only did that a few times. Let me say though that being young and going to quick builds was always awesome for me. Getting to just play guitar and make out behind the trailers, oh yeah! What was even cooler was my Dad was one of the head brick masons....so nothing got said to me. At that time every hall was done with brick and my Dad was one of the few competent masons they had. If ever were a dub again I would totally go the QB's and try to get a different girlfriend each day! Talk about soap opera!

mentalclearness

i remember one quick build where my big job assignment was to take care of the children of the workers in what they called "kiddie kingdom"---more like "kiddie hell"....it must of been an omen..LOL surrounded by kids!!! one of the moms that had her kid there i talked to for a really long time..a month later she left her husband for some guy from her work and get this..left her child with her husband...nice christian woman....

erandir

Quick builds were actually another thing that made me question the wisdom of those in charge. There were a lot of uneeded quickbuilds IMO, even with our congregation the old hall was perfectly fine with plenty of capacity, and yet for some reason we needed a new hall. During the course of several years it seemed that every congregation in the region was building a new hall, it was the thing to do. The whole thing still boggles me.

Gotta keep up that all-important "image" to the outsiders, bro.

But in reality, it's just plain wasteful...reminds me of Wal-Mart tactics. They have a perfectly good store in one location for about 5 years. They knock it down instead of remodeling and build a new one in its place. And for what? A little more space, a different paint job.

We live in a throw-away society, and the WTBTS is no different. (Good example, besides the unneeded quick-builds, is the slew of magazines being printed...probably 50% of them get tossed...and I'm being very, very conservative with that estimate.)

Frequent_Fader_Miles

One hall remodeling in our area needed brothers to stay the night in an on-site camper and guard the supplies. So I would show up at around eight in the evening, play cards with other guys or order pizza, then go to sleep and wake up the next morning having logged ~12 hours of service time.

No wonder there were so many pioneers on the site! I remember there was even a local needs part on the service meeting about the pioneers making too much noise during the night while playing cards.

NvrKssdNObutt

When they did the quickbuild in Siloam Springs Arkansas in the late 1980's I was a member of that cong and in the building trades myself. When I saw what shoddy work they were doing on the roof I tried to point out to them what a mess they were actually making. They didn't care so I said no more.

When they held the open house one local "worldly" builder came. I noticed him sighting down a long wall. I grinned and said 'pretty crooked isnt it' and he smiled, shook his head and rolled his eyes.

I really prefer to go a little slower and do a better job.

I think the quickbuilds allow "little" men to get out of their home responsibilites and be "big" men in other places.

greendawn

The local JWs pay for the land, the materials and the labour and the WTS acquires the title deed. What's the point of working in this kind of set up?

Ahhhh yes ... those wonderful "quick-builds"

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