Vernacular Architecture In Norway

Vernacular Architecture In Norway All forms of vernacular architecture are built to meet specific needs, accommodating the values, economies and ways of living of the cultures the produce them. It may be adapted or developed over time as needs and circumstances change. Paul Oliver (Dwellings) Vernacular architecture relates to available resources and their environmental context, and they are usually owner- or community- built, using traditional technologies. (Dwellings) There is not a number of how many dwellings there is in the world today, but between 90 and 98% of these buildings are vernacular. Traditional buildings in most parts of the world often reflect the knowledge of a climate, an activity typical of its culture, and a building material, and this is evident in Norways architecture. Norwegian wood (16) The know-how and sensibility, the skills and the capability to build successfully in response to the climate, the land, and the resources to hand, have been passed on between generations. (Dwellings) It progressed to meet the requirements of a distinct way of life, and lies integrated into a distinct terrain. Norwegian Wood (15) In contrast to the Mediterranean countries stone culture, Norway belongs to a Nordic wood culture. Reima Pietila, a Finnish architect, ass erted that the vision of Nordic man was a cave of wood. The need for a cave was for protection against a tough climate. It had to be made of the warm material wood to offer comfort during the long winters, and colourful to make people remember the flowers and the green trees of the summer. Norwegian Wood (7-8) Norway had no urban traditions until the nineteenth century. But from the Middle Ages until the Industrial Revolution it had a strong rural class. Norwegian architecture and art were therefore influenced mainly by local sources. Then because of its rural traditions, Norways highest accomplishments in both building and art were executed in the same medium: wood. Norwegian Wood (15) Norways traditional architecture had a remarkably long history, which began earlier then the Middle Ages. The buildings that developed in Norway are inspirational because they show an intimate marriage between refined techniques and native materials, placed within a distinct landscape. Stave churches in Norway (23) In the wooden acres area of the northern world, the tree provided the Nordic man his building. Norway was a massive forest belt. The upper Europes landscape was covered with woodland, and a strong wood-building culture grew from the fifth century. Norwegian Wood (15) Vernacular architecture in Norway (Log construction) The Norwegians built well-crafted wooden structures for 800 years, and they developed buildings that were suitable for their activities. The use of similar structures for such a long time was dictated by Norways agriculture way of life and the environment. Norways traditional architecture is represented by two groups of wooden buildings: farms and stave churches. Norwegian wood (16) There was two technical methods used by the Norwegian builders; the log and stave construction. In the stue (dwelling house) the horizontal logs created a cave of wood; in the stave church the vertical staves made the association to heaven obvious. Norwegian Architecture (50) The farms were skilfully built to suit their specific needs. The pride of each farm was the loft, a two-story building that was used as storage on all traditional Norwegian farms. The best woodworking skills were applied on this structure during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, which therefore signified the highest achieveme nt of Norwegian wood-building techniques. The lofts companion was the stue, the traditional dwelling, which reflected the lofts character in its advanced log construction. Norwegian wood (17) Norways restricted economy up until the seventeenth century made it harder to import building materials other than wood. Wood was plentiful, although the labour required preparing it, transporting it, and shaping it was not. Tough conditions forced the culture to collect a lot of knowledge about their native material. This collection of cultural wealth inspired the creative powers of the craftsmen for several generations. Norwegian wood (18) Tradition is the heart of any vernacular. The Norwegian tradition is the great degree of craftsmanship. The Norwegians inherited an understanding about form and proportion from the natural properties of wood. The craftsmen of the Viking ships (ca.900 AD), the stave churches (ca.1200 AD), and the farms (ca.1700 AD) used the same resources, lived on the same land, and constructed the same sorts of structures for centuries. Not unexpectedly, a thoughtful handling of the wood is evident in Norways structures. Norwegian wood (19) The rural traditions in Norway continued to be strong well into the nineteenth century, and the farmers continued to stay close to nature. The topology also resulted in comprehensive climatic conditions, which had significant consequences for its building patterns. That Norway is located in north Europe leads to short summer and long winter seasons. The winter could last up to nine months some places; this meant that there were no second chances if one did not pay attention to the elements. Norwegian Architecture (28) I was nearly a life-and-death battle between man and nature in some parts of Norway. In a numerous of places, life was an endless battle against cold, starvation, and disease, a element that steered builders to select their site wisely. Norwegian wood (30) Norwegian craftsmen had a precise awareness of the performance and weathering of the wood. The two building techniques; stave and log construction, have been modified for several building types from culture to culture for a long period of time. In stave construction the builders used vertical planks to make the walls. It was originally fixed to the ground with no supporting frame. They were later raised and positioned on foundation beams. The logs that were notched at the corners were used for log construction, and were horizontally stacked on top of each another. Less wood were necessary on stave buildings than on log buildings, but their walls were thinner and retrained less heat. Log walls were the main construction of the dwelling, the stue, and the storage building, the loft, was constructed with a combination of both stave and log work. The craftsmen chose stave construction to build churches that would rise beyond the tall pine trees and also connect the structure to a rough ground. Norwegian wood (62) Log construction is a quite simple building technique: one log stacked horizontally on top of another offers a robust wall and a solid connection at the corners. The integration of the log technique allowed for tighter and more compact structures. Norwegian Architecture (50) The common use of the log technique, or laft technique as it is known in Norwegian, began in the period after the Viking era. The earliest surviving farm buildings date from this time. A new era of building began after the Black Death, around 1535. During this time, the Reformation in Norway created contact with other European countries; this led to an increase in the Norwegian economy. The wider international communication and trade led to a highpoint of folk and building arts that culminated in the 1700s when log construction reached its highest expression in Norway. Norwegian wood (67) Denmark ceded Norway to Sweden in 1814, and that was the beginning of Norways modern history. When the industrial revolution began in the 184 0s with the paper and textile industries, farming was already a business, and the agricultural techniques were modernized. But the expanding economy could not keep up with the rapid growth in the population. In the late half of the century, many emigrants, mainly from agricultural communities, left for America. The way of life had then changed, one could not farm on a family scale anymore, and traditional building techniques had been replaced by mass-production processes. Norwegian wood (68) Stave Churches Norway has always been a lightly populated country, and there were few public structures during the medieval times. The rare exception was the stave church. The stave churches were built between 1030 and 1350. They usually stood unaccompanied against a group of farms and represented the sacred aspect of medieval life. The stave churches of Norway are some of the finest wooden buildings in Europe and are, at the same time, some of the oldest. They express some of the most advanced farming methods preserved in wooden architecture, and it is not shocking that this amount of complexity is apparent in a religious building. The stave churches confirm the extraordinary technology achieved by wooden construction techniques during the Middle Ages. It is surprising that these structures have lasted for so long, even more surprising when one realizes that most medieval structures left today were constructed in stone. Norwegian wood (17) Norway had no church-building traditions to draw upon when Christianity was introduced in the eleventh century. They had to trust their instinctive and extensive knowledge of the landscape to find a suitable site for these buildings. Norwegian architecture (27) The stave churches represent the transition that the Norwegian people had in the eleventh-century, they went from pagan and animism worship to Christianity. Norwegian wood (103) The Old Norse building techniques were customized the Christian usage in the stave churches. It received many Romanesque features; the basilica shape is similar with the old Romanesque basilica. The circular arcs wad used in most of the stave churches from the Middle Ages, mainly for construction and dà ©cor. The dà ©cor could be found on gables, portals and in the interior. The dà ©cor were mostly animal ornamentation, interspersed with Christian motifs. Norske stavkirker (19) The appearance of the stave church is unlike anything else. They have a very simple basic constructional system, but its extrapolation has created complex and extravagant architecture. Some of the churches contain of more than 2000 individual elements, without counting the roof shingles. The church rests on horizontal beams of wood that rests on a stone foundation. The vertical poles, the staves, wraps around the central square. The staves are joined to each other by clamping beams, usually with additional St Andrews crosses and knee braces to make the frame more solid. The pitched roof of the central part of the church is then supported by this frame. Norske stavkirker (13) Stave churches were often built in the best stored pine. The builders used different techniques to make the wood more solid. One of these techniques were to not cut down the tree, but to only cut the top of the tree off, all the branches and remove the bark, and then let it stand there for sevral years. The tree then tried to survive, but became more and more covered in resin. The more resin it came on the wood, the more solid it became. Stil og interià ¸r (70) The Nordic sky is low and mostly grey, compared to the high, burning sun of the Mediterranean countries. This means that in Norway the sun casts long shadows. The interior in the stave churches was dark and mysterious, and the light was dimmed, this expressed the environmental quality of Norway. The staves rise like the pine trees of the woodland toward the dark ceiling, and the people coming from the closed horizontal stue are transported into a superior world. Stave Churches in Norway (13) The wood also helps to create the quietly mysterious atmosphere, together with the structural pattern rising towards the sky, which contrasts the hard undecorated effect of the material and technique of stone architecture so radically. Stave churches in Norway (20) After the Reformation many churches became too small for their congregation and had to be enlarged. The liberal pastors also though the churches were to dark, and there for had windows built in. They also often lowered the ceilings in order to preserve more heat in the winter. Stave churches in Norway (26) The Black Death swept through Norway in 1349, with catastrophic consequences. Between half and two-thirds of the population died. It was to take 300 years for the population to return to its original size. By the time new churches were built again, the knowledge of complex stave construction seems to have been lost. Architecture in Wood It was built more than 1000 stave churches in the thirteenth century, but today only 22 remain. Norwegian wood (52) Todays architecture The union with Sweden was dissolved in 1905 and Norway became an independent nation. Most countries in the turn of the nineteenth century experienced a romantic, nationalist movement, also Norway, this was caused by a longing for the greatness of its past. The building styles that emerged were an imitation of the stave churches, but the period also recognized the lost art of the laft construction. As a result, remarkable buildings built in the old log technique were moved from several farms and assembled into open-air museums. The need to describe building as an art quickly arose. As a result of the peoples national feeling, the open-air museums came to be regarded as folk museums. What was called folk art in other European building cultures was Norways main form of expression and was being produced even as late as 1900. Norwegian wood (68) The Norwegian folk museum in Oslo, known as Norsk Folkemuseum in Norwegian, is the largest museum of Norwegian cultural history. It has a collection of over 150 buildings from all around the country, and it represents how people lived in Norway from 1500 to present time. These buildings represent different regions, different time periods, and also the differences between town and country, and social classes. The stave church located in the open-air museum is Gol Stave Church, dating from 1200, this is one of five medieval buildings at the museum. (http://www.norskfolkemuseum.no/en/target-groups/About-the-Museum/) In earlier times beauty was an expression of the people; today it is the expression of each persons personality. However, one instinctively feels that beauty is not either old or new, it is timeless. Medieval buildings have the quality of beauty that one can rarely see in contemporary architecture. My readings have led me to determine that the idea of beauty exists, and was always used prior to modern times. The concept of beauty seems to have been lost in todays building culture, because of the loss of good craftsmanship. The characteristics of Norways traditional buildings were the remarkable ornamental qualities. This shows the importance of the craftsmanship process when construction was still considered an art and a craft. The marriage between fine materials and good craftsmanship seems to have been forgotten by todays builders and architects. This marriage offers the greatest inspiration for the building art. The past contrasts the present-day in many ways, and its constructors naturally had fewer choice of materials. But the lessons and knowledge given by a vernacular building culture are still valid. Norwegian Wood (9) One of the most important qualities for an architect is the response to the physical surroundings. It requires an understanding of the land to solve the problem of how to dwell in a particular area. The end result, generally for most traditional architecture, can be a quality linked to a specific site, or to a particular landscape. The mountains that generate wind or rain, the seasons that bring snow, the way that sun shines, or does not shine, are all important in determining a settlement social events are not the only thing that create its character. How a builder responds to these issues reflects his ability to build within a certain landscape. Norwegian wood (27) The vernacular buildings reflect the skill of building when tradition, and not new inventions, inspired builders: the beauty of this was that the tradition uncovered existential meaning. This is missing in todays building culture, together with the drive of the craftsmen and the joy of constructing. Vernacular buildings have a breathing uniqueness, independent of its con structor, and because the builders highlighted this unique individuality in all its elements, a wonderful building appears. The Norwegian architect, Gunnar Granberg, said, the craftsmens knowledge was a given: rather than thinking about it, they simply built the buildings. Norwegian Wood (9) Learn from vernacular architecture Older buildings have many features that we can learn from and leverage further, both in modern construction and the maintenance of older buildings. Older buildings are often built with materials that are locally produced and lightly processed. The production of these materials has required little energy and caused little environmental impact. This is an argument both to preserve older buildings and to use their knowledge for new construction. One should take advantage of the material properties, which means the right capacity and quality at the right place and function. This means that this part of the building will be more effective for a longer period of time, and one is then resource efficient when using the best qualities where it is most needed. Good craftsmanship is all about good material knowledge, good practices, knowledge of what is going to last, and how to perform the work. Each part of the buildings life span has great importance when thinking about resources. Old buildi ngs are often constructed of materials and building components that are built to last, without losing function or become aesthetically undesirable. How long a building can be used depends on the original quality, and whether it can be maintained in an appropriate manner. Traditional materials and building components are often very easy to maintain because the materials are lightly processed, and because the components are easy to get to and remove from the building. (Book) Many modern materials are presented as maintenance-free, but in reality they do not last and must be replaced more often. Many modern building elements consist of different materials which cannot be taken apart, which means that it is the material which has the shortest life span that determines the building component longevity. This is a poor use of resources. In older buildings not all rooms are heated to the same temperature. The hallways could often be colder than the living rooms, and some rooms were closed off in the winter. It was also common to furnish the center of the room or up against the fireplace, so that the breeze from the windows was not so infuriating. The indoor temperature was also kept lower. This was who they saved energy. Traditionally the natural ventilation made a good indoor climate. Wood heating and air channels create negative pressure, and fresh air is drawn in through leaks or vents in the winter. Venting through open windows in summer is also a simple and good solution. Natural ventilation provides ventilation without the need for energy input to operate the fans and heat exchanger, etc. When using a ventilation system the durability of the system corresponds to the durability of the building. The current building regulations make it almost impossible to build for natural ventilation. The tighter and better in sulated a building is, the more energy is required for ventilation and the more dependent one is that the advanced technical equipment works, maintained and used properly. Development of natural ventilation will give us knowledge and solutions that contribute to energy efficiency also in modern construction. (book) Modern construction relies on as tightly insulated as possible and represents with other words, a completely different building physical principle the traditional buildings. It is therefore important not to think modern when working with old buildings as it can cause major structural damage over time. A very thick insulation layer requires efficient sealing of the house. This is challenging both during construction and later in their life cycle. Leaks may lead to rot and mold problems. A well-insulated house is totally dependent on a properly functioning ventilation system at any time. The physical principles in traditional buildings can provide useful knowledge in the de velopment of new construction that looks more into these challenges. Traditional buildings are often characterized by the fact that there were few resources when they were built. Everything had to be done by hand, transportation was cumbersome, and the processing was often done on site and was limited. We then developed a tradition of building energy and resource efficient based on passive measures. This stands in contrast to the current to todays trend towards ever more advanced technical solutions and energy-intensive processes. (http://www.riksantikvaren.no/Norsk/Tema/Energisparing/Hva_kan_vi_lare_av_eldre_hus+/) Older houses are often less isolated and leakier than the requirements set in the current building regulations. They therefore require more energy in the production phase. The reason for the increasingly stringent energy requirements is the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It is often difficult to isolate older houses so that they meet the regulations without destroying the heritage values. The Directorate in Norway are working towards trying to compensate the use of renewable energy for the higher energy consumption in older houses. This will help achieve the goal of reducing CO2 emissions while preserving the cultural historical values. Wood as a building material causes little environmental impact compared to for example the production and use of concrete and steel. This relates to the entire life cycle (production, transport, maintenance, durability and disposal etc.). Using more wood in buildings as a replacement for less environmentally friendly materials will help to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions. (http://www.riksantikvaren.no/Norsk/Tema/Energisparing/Bruk_av_tre_i_et_miljoperspektiv/) It is essential that vernacular building traditions are supported; to assist local builders in matter of sanitation and disaster preparedness, while same time learning and benefiting from their experience, knowledge and skills. Paul Oliver Conclusion By investigating vernacular architecture we can recover much accumulated wisdom. The ever-growing number of vernacular studies that has kept on appearing since the nineteenth century, these has improved our knowledge and understanding of historic and modern vernacular traditions. (Built to meet needs) Housing the ever-growing global population is one of the biggest problems we are facing today, but this has not yet caught the same attention as issues of food, health, climate change or the reduction of biodiversity. This problem has to be recognized for the future well-being of the people to be ensured. The survival of the vernacular will help not only with housing, but also sustainable techniques. (Vernacular Architecture in the 21st Century) Architects and builders should look at vernacular knowledge and performance to respond to the over-growing demands for housing and natural disasters. Studying vernacular traditions will give us better adaptation knowledge. Many traditions from the vernacular have been an associated with poverty, underdevelopment and the past; this became apparent in the process of urbanization, globalization and modernization. It is not viewed as a work of architecture that is well-adjusted to its local surroundings, cultures and economies, but rather as a wo rk in progress. This has led to the replacement and abandonment of many unique and distinctive vernacular buildings. (Atlas of Vernacular Architecture) It is important to take care of the local traditions. And in Norway that means that we need to use more wood in modern buildings. The challenge with timber is that it takes a long time to warm them up, but when they are warm, they stay warm for a long time. If we unite the old log technique with the best of new heating technology it will be big changes. The question is not old or modern building technique, but more use of timber. The vernacular buildings still standing today should be preserved and learnt from. In the case of Norway, some measures can be made, if all the Norwegian boroughs that have houses from 1650 and earlier built houses in this tradition, the Norwegian heritage buildings could be saved, and young people would then also learn how to construct in a traditional and sustainable way. This would make a radical change considering the environment; when one kilogram timber can bind 1.7 kg CO2, and a house made in log technique with locally produced timber have a lifespan on 800-900 years. This is what I call sustainability! Take it easy and be completely focused on the task. Remember, in the end, no one asks how long it took. What is crucial is that what you have done is correct. Arne Berg (http://www.vl.no/kultur/var-byggekunst-er-doende/)

Can Culture Be Caught or Taught Essay

A culture of an organization includes the norms, feelings, beliefs, attitudes, collective experiences, history, assumptions and values of an organization. Culture is something a new executive senses even before his first day on the job. That is, new employees are told ‘how things are around here’ by their colleagues and their team-leaders. â€Å"Caught and not taught† means you learn values or behaviors from the people that practice them, instead of by being told. You â€Å"catch† such values by seeing them lived. For example, if you were told (or â€Å"taught†) by someone, â€Å"You ought to live a certain way† (but you saw them not being a very good example of their teaching), chances are you won’t â€Å"catch† or consistently practice that value. On the other hand, if you see someone consistently living out what they believe, you might â€Å"catch† it. If their modeling of those values is powerful enough, their values c an be caught. The amount of catching and the amount of teaching is a balancing act that depends on any organizations existing culture (how entrenched it is, how far removed from the culture you need etc.), the degree of change that is required to make it happen and then the stage that you are going through. E.g. you will do more teaching in the early stages of rolling out a culture, but less when it is clear that influential people (top managers, team leaders etc.) have caught the gist of it and are out there passing it around. There is a well-known saying â€Å"You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink† Building a company culture is the aspect of strategic business planning that most employers feel is most important to their business. Companies that truly live their corporate cultures are higher performing and better places to work than companies that lack them. The 10 reasons why it’s important for a company to pay close attention to its solid corporate cult ure: 1.Generates positive public relations. Free PR creates visibility for a company. 2.Attracts ideal candidates. If the company’s corporate culture permeates everything from the way meetings are conducted to the format for the bios on the company’s Web site, candidates will know if they are a good fit. 3.Repels undesirable candidates. Without a clear corporate culture, undesirable candidates might join the company only to find months later that they do not fit in. 4.Rejects poor hires. Firing an employee is painful both financially and emotionally. Employees who are out of sync are often unproductive underperformers; they also disturb the established culture. 5.Fosters company loyalty. Employees who are a fit with the corporate culture will quickly integrate with the team and find their stride. This combination of ease and teamwork fosters employee loyalty. Loyal employees perform better, are more productive, are willing to exert extra efforts and are likely to influence others in a positive way, will spread po sitive energy throughout the office and attract top talent through word-of-mouth advertising. 6.Encourages dialogue between employees and management. A clear corporate culture opens the lines of communication for employees and employers to discuss what employees really want and what management expects of them, utilizing the right combination of coaching, knowledge and skills that focus on high performance. It communicates to employees what they need to do if they want to fit in, survive and become successful within the organization. 7.Facilitates creation of relevant benefits packages. When employers know what their employees really want, they can offer benefits that are customized to suit their employees’ needs. The benefits a company offers should be tied directly to what the employees want, making them a great recruiting and retention tool. 8.De-emphasizes the importance of cash compensation. A thriving corporate culture that fosters loyalty and provides intangible benefits to employees, such as work that is fulfilling and leaders they respect and trust, can actually reduce employee demands for higher compensation. 9.Encourages utilization of technology for productivity improvement. Leverage personalized, interoffice technologies that are customized to suit the company’s specific needs to save time, improve communication and enhance productivity. 10.Increases the efficacy of outsourcing. A solid corporate culture allows focus on the firm’s core capabilities. Hence, from the above discussion we can clearly state that solid, clear corporate culture has to be caught — not taught.

Longman Communication 3000 Essay

The Longman Communication 3000 is a list of the 3000 most frequent words in both spoken and written English, based on statistical analysis of the 390 million words contained in the Longman Corpus Network – a group of corpuses or databases of authentic English language. The Longman Communication 3000 represents the core of the English language and shows students of English which words are the most important for them to learn and study in order to communicate effectively in both speech and writing. Analysis of the Longman Corpus Network shows that these 3000 most frequent words in spoken and written English account for 86% of the language. This means that by knowing this list of words, a learner of English is in a position to understand 86% or more of what he or she reads. Of course, â€Å"knowing† a word involves more than simply being able to recognise it and know a main meaning of it. Many of the most frequent words have a range of different meanings, a variety of different grammatical patterns, and numerous significant collocations. Nonetheless, a basic understanding of the Longman Communication 3000 is a very powerful tool and will help students develop good comprehension and communication skills in English. ‘This [frequency] information is gold dust for the language learner. LDOCE shows in graphic and immediate form which words are really worth learning and knowing how to use.’ Jeremy Harmer, ELT author These frequency markers added to the headwords in the dictionary give users access to a wealth of information that can help the selection of the appropriate word or phrase in a variety of situations. Not only are the words and meanings given descriptive labels, for example formal or informal, AmE (American English) or BrE (British English), humorous, old-fashioned, but now they have the added information about relative frequency in spoken and written language. Take for example the verb book (in the meaning of book a table at a restaurant). It is marked as S2 – one of the top 2000 words of spoken English. Note that is has no marker for written English because according to corpus analysis, it is not part of the top 3000 most frequent words in written English. However, the entry also indicates that a synonym for book is reserve which is in the top 3000 most frequent words in written English. The conclusion to be drawn from this is that in speaking (for instance when phoning a hotel or restaurant), book is the most appropriate verb to use when asking for a room or table to be kept for you. In writing, however, it would be more appropriate to use reserve. ‘There are two distinct modes of English: thoughtful, accurate and more formal, reflected mostly by written English; and spontaneous, real-time, less formal language, typified by spontaneous speech and some informal writing.’ Professor Geoffrey Leech, Emeritus Professor of English Language and Linguistics – University of Lancaster To ensure that users have access to the appropriate information, the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English marks all the words that are in the Longman Communication 3000 in red accompanied by special symbols: W1 , W2 , and W3 for words that are in the top 1000, 2000 and 3000 most frequent words in written English, and S1 , S2 and S3 for the top 1000, 2000 and 3000 most frequent words in spoken English. Nowadays, many learner’s dictionaries include information about the most frequent words in English, but Longman dictionaries are the only ones to highlight the differences between spoken and written frequency. Learning a language can be exciting, but also sometimes difficult and frustrating because there are so many things to learn and it is difficult to know what to focus on. The frequency markers that identify the Longman Communication 3000 help students see clearly which words are frequent in written and spoken English, and enable them to focus more attention on mastering the meanings, grammatical patterns and collocations of these words.

The Battle Of The Somme - 1473 Words

Prepare for war! That is what you hear and your heart stops, your jaw opens and you gasp for air that is not there. While the history and establishment of Camp Lewis is not as important or as serious as preparing for war, it is important to know the past. The past helps posture and mold the future of tomorrow as we learn and grow from the success and/or mistakes of those before us. In Washington State, the civilian populace fought for the idea of bringing a military base to the American Lake region. In late 1916, â€Å"Battle of the Somme† escalated and that rumored the possibility of other countries joining in to create a world war. A private group of concerned citizens got together at American Lake to organize a training†¦show more content†¦Major General J. Franklin Bell visited the area after hearing the recommendation of the site from Captain Parks. He met with Mr. Appleby and the league about the possibilities of the land use. In August 1916, the U.S. Sen ate passed a bill allowing the Secretary of War to accept donated land to the military for a supply station, mobilization, training, and other strategic military purposes. The General and the appointed members from the league of Washington State took their proposal for a military training post to Washington D.C. The negation with the Secretary of War, Chief of Staff, and President Woodrow Wilson ended in success. The president gave his blessing that set forth the beginning of a new camp. Part of the agreement for establishing the post was Nisqually Valley donating 140 square miles to the government for military use. Mr. Appleby and his league now had the daunting task of convincing the community members that purchasing and donating the land to the Army was the beneficial thing to do for Pierce County and the Puget Sound area. â€Å"On 6 January 1917, 86 percent of the Pierce County Electorate voted to bond themselves for 20 years for $2,000,000 to purchase 70,000 acres to be donated to the federal government for use as a military base† Lewis Army Museum (2015). The community agreed to the terms but could not give the land until the United States