An Iola man’s love of children and a passion for construction are colliding to make life a bit more enjoyable for some area elementary students.
Mike Barnes, a Jefferson Elementary custodian, built a 9-foot-tall wooden play fortress with an eight by eight base set to be delivered to the school’s playground today. Barnes said the fort, resembling a rook on a chess board, is his Christmas gift to Jefferson students.
In his third year working at Jefferson, the 55-year-old Iola native said the kids and staff at the school have become family.
“Those kids are the highlight of my day,” he said. “Just to see the kids smile and listen to some of the things they say and do, it’s worth a million dollars.”
The fort, made with high quality Douglas Fir lumber and equipped with a green slide, is the first of many Barnes hopes to build. A regular donor to the Jefferson Parent-Teacher Organization, a group that raises funds for school resources, Barnes plans to replicate the building project, hold a raffle and donate the money to PTO.
“I don’t make a lot of money but I have enough to get by, so this is my way of giving something back,” he said. Barnes said he likes to work with his hands so the fort projects are a great way to spend his free time.
Jefferson PTO president Mandy Middleton said Barnes is a godsend. All PTOs rely on the goodwill of others, but to have someone as selfless as Barnes to help the organization makes a world of difference.
“He loves the children,” she said. “His contributions go a long way and he just does it out of the kindness of his heart.”
Earlier in the school year in anticipation of the Jefferson PTO Carnival, Barnes raffled a 1990 Ford Ranger pickup and donated the $700 raised to the PTO.
The fort is a sort of test run for Barnes.
“I’d like to be able to build three or four of these a year,” he said.
Barnes, a Jefferson Elementary alum, suggested the potential to raise funds with the forts has a very high ceiling, citing the quality of the product.
Barnes said he spent 70 hours during a five-week time frame building the fort in his driveway. And although he refused to say exactly how much money he spent on materials, he didn’t deny spending more than a couple thousand dollars building it.
Middleton said Barnes is as selfless as anybody she’s ever known.
“We give the staff something for their birthdays and Christmas, and it’s hard to get Mike to accept any kind of gift,” she said. “He likes to give and not receive.”
