This St. Patrick’s Day, while most people were putting
on their green, over 30 Capon co-workers were putting on their clean! This year’s start for the annual top to
bottom scrub down began at 7:30 am March 17th, thirty days before the
first guests walk through the door. (Although the official Capon calendar shows
April 30th as “opening day”, the Wilkinson/Eastlick families will
arrive 4/17 for an exclusive use wedding weekend.)
Third generation family member Ginny Brill, who took over
food service department last year after the retirement of Carolyn Budnyk, started
the morning off by welcoming everyone back and thanking them for their support during this time of
transition. Next, to prepare the cleaners for what they
would encounter in the buildings, Maintenance Supervisor Bub Brill highlighted
a list of fixes, repairs and upgrades they have been working on over the winter.
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| Maintenance Supervisor, Bub Brill, addresses the group. |
Before the cleaning crews can come into the buildings to clean, the water (which was drained from all the pipes in the fall) has to be turned back on to the buildings. The maintenance workers go around and open up all the water valves, checking for leaks and broken pipes. Then every room is checked for heat and hot water to make sure all are working properly. Bub remarked, “There were so many catch up
projects like the water line leaks and so on and so forth, that I would have taken up
their first day of cleaning if I had to list them all.” In fact, it took a little more than four days just to get all
the water lines open and running properly. This includes over 225 sinks, 200 toilets and 180 shower/tubs. (Four days may seem like a long time, but due to maintenance upgrades the last few years, this process now only takes 4-5 days when it used to take 10-12. Its one reason we have been able to open earlier and stay open longer!)
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| A new 6 in. water line being installed to replace the original cast iron pipe from the 1880s that leads to the pool. |
Also starting back to work before spring housecleaning begins are Back Kitchen Supervisor, Patricia Helmick and Housekeeping Supervisor, Vicki Smith. They spend the week before Spring Housecleaning starts making sure cleaners have everything they need: stocking all the supply kits for each working pair (5 types of cleaners, 4 types brushes/rags, brooms, mops, fix-it tools). They also begin to get the first layer of winter dust out of the kitchen, and take down and start washing all the curtains hanging around the property.
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| A group of co-workers clean one of the Main House bathrooms. |
Patricia, with 45+ years of experience in the Capon kitchen has been co-directing the annual "scrubbing effort" for about 25 years. She and Vicki have been teamed together for the last 10 years. They direct an interdepartmental team of about 13 full time and 17 part time cooks, bakers, waitresses, room workers, spa attendants, grounds keepers and night shift workers. They have just four weeks to clean every building (guest lodging, recreation and storage buildings) top to bottom-- including porches. Their goal is to average 2-3 guest rooms/day. It is back-breaking work. As a testament to the strong work ethic among these co-workers, about a third of the crew is either near or above retirement age.
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| Co-workers begin to clean and move furniture in one of the Main House living rooms. |
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| Co-workers hang freshly laundered curtains in the Main House game and puzzle room. |
Meanwhile, the painting crew, who also started before
the cleaners, has been following behind the maintenance fixes, working on their own winter list. Their crew of five has brightened up just about every building around Capon, including the large stairwell in the Fairfax. One of their most time consuming jobs so far this spring has been repainting all the dining room chairs. “There were 316 of them and it took Tammy
Arbaugh and me 10 days,” reported Lydia Hott. (Many guests know Lydia for her dining room duties and as Waitress Supervisor, but she has been part of the painting crew for about 25 years.
Tammy, who leads the painting crew, has been using her brush for about 15 years. During the season, Tammy is the one who keeps "the pantry" stocked-- inventorying and ordering all the food that the Capon kitchen needs to prepare those delicious meals.)
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| Dining room chairs with fresh coat of paint. |
Just like the past 82 Spring cleanings, it takes all these dedicated and diligent “elves” working their magic, so that Capon will be ready to welcome folks to their home away from home. Even though there is snow on the ground, we still have happy thoughts of spring and of upcoming visits with you!
