In the Expedition Trails neighborhood, off of Old Muegge Road in O’Fallon, multiple Lewis and Clark Tech classes are in the process of completing their annual house building project. The classes involved include the Brick and Stone Masonry, Building Trades (Carpentry), HVAC (Heating and Cooling) and Electrical trade classes. Many students claim that the house will be the best in the subdivision.

The project takes place from the beginning of the school year to the end, following the St. Charles School District calendar. Brick and Stone Masonry instructor Josh Blattner believes the project prepares kids for a successful future.

“I want them to get a creative side to them,” Blattner said. “I want them to have confidence in themselves that they can do anything they want. And I want them to develop good leadership skills, so even if they don’t become brick and stone masons, they are still leaders in the community.”

Day in and day out, students from FHN, Duchesne, FHC, Troy and other schools in the area come together during their morning or afternoon classes to work on the two-story home. The majority of the house is built by the Carpentry and Masonry classes. The Carpentry and Brick and Stone trades do most of their learning hands-on, while the Electrical and HVAC classes do more bookwork and in-class learning.

The teachers supervise and help when needed, but most of the building is done by the students. A few companies are also contracted to do things like laying cement.

“If we don’t work hard, we aren’t going to get it done,” junior and Masonry student    Brandon Chac said. “I know we have a lot of good seniors and juniors this year, so hopefully we can make it all work.”

This year’s house is unique from the others in the neighborhood owned by Lewis and Clark. This house is stone with brick accents, while last year’s was brick with stone accents. The house has archways, an illuminated mailbox, plus many other characteristics that make it different from previous years.

“This year, we put a lot of thought into it at the beginning and thought of something we really wanted to stand out in the neighborhood,” FHN senior and Brick and Stone Masonry foreman Mike Young said. “Everyone throughout school is really wondering what we are going to do because of what we did last year because they know it’s going to be better. It’s just really going to stand out; everything on it is going to pop.”