Plains Superintendent Thom Chisholm is a symmetrical kind of guy

Symmetry is clearly an expression of order, proper alignment and in many cases perfection.

Given that definition, it would be fitting to call Plains Schools Superintendent Thom Chisholm a symmetrical kind of guy.

It’s a concept that is reflected throughout the Plains campus, thanks to Chisholm and the “Fantasic Five” as he calls his band of builders that have shaped and formed the school inside and out.

“Roy was meticulous,” Chisholm said when asked to describe the origin of his desire for symmetry and perfection “He was the kind of guy who had building things in his blood”.

Roy was a math teacher at Plains High when Chisholm first became an employee of the school system. His actual name was Roy Hanson, “with an O in Hanson”, Chisholm is quick to point out.

“He was a good friend from the beginning and helped get me interested and motivated in building things,” Chisholm said recently while on a walking tour of the structures and improvements he and his crew have made over the past several years. “Working with Roy was a lot of fun and played a major role in my development as a carpenter”.

A math teacher/carpenter helped the current superintendent catch the carpentry bug.

And that’s where symmetry comes in.

In the initial stages of his career, Chisholm was a shop teacher, an instructor with a degree in Industrial Arts and an ability to grasp concepts of math and physics, which he also taught.

“You see that flag pole there?” he said pointing to the towering silver, slender obelisk near the end zone of the school’s football field. “If you look closely you can see that there is a straight line from that pole that goes symmetrically through the uprights of the two goal posts.”

How would he or anyone else know that or even notice that fact? Chisholm installed the flag pole on a square concrete pad whose corners point in correct alignment to the four basic compass points. And, he and his son built the goal posts that stand guard over each end zone in near-perfect alignment with each other.

Over the course of the past 25 years, Chisholm and the other members of the “Fantastic Five” as he calls his building buddies, have built or rebuilt numerous structures that have created a top notch athletic facility.

In so doing, Chisholm and the others: Mike Cole, Jim Holland, Keith Baker and of course Roy Hanson, have transformed rickety bleachers into solid stadium seating. They have added form, function and a touch of class in their wake with more to come.

The most recent and most visible product of the love of building things lies on the south end of the campus, adjacent to the elementary and junior high buildings, where the school celebrated the completion of an addition that gives them badly needed storage capacity (function) and allows for increased abilities in the arts, athletic and theatrical abilities (form).

That addition is also ripe in symmetry as Chisholm is proud to point out.

“If you look down the sidewalk along the side of the building, you will see that it aligns perfectly with the other buildings in our system,” he said. “There’s a reason for that”.

symmetry.

“Roy was the kind of guy who paid attention to every detail and he passed that on to me,” Chisholm said as he surveyed the straight line that is the sidewalk on the west side of the new structure.

The building spree and ensuing spread of the construction bug began in 1995 when Chisholm and other volunteers remodeled some elementary school classrooms. Working from early in the morning until late in the evening became the norm as building after building and new structure after new structure began to spring up from one end of the campus to the other.

In the process, the group’s building skills led to other projects throughout the area.

“There are numerous buildings throughout this area, including the Camas Prairie, that have been remodeled or restored because of the drive Roy and the others have shown,” he said. “I can’t count the number of buildings we have changed along the way”.

But the Plains Schools campus is where most of the construction frenzy is readily visible to students, parents and teachers.

“The grandstands at the football field was a major project in that it was getting old and in need of improvement and upgrades,” he said. “Instead of the press box and coaches’ facility you see today, there was a small, square building on what I would describe as a crow’s nest until we tore it down and replaced it with the new structure”.

No more wobbling, unsafe observation tower and it’s safe to say it is built squarely along the midpoint of the seating structure in keeping with the basics of symmetry.

And over the years Chisholm has improved and expanded his own knowledge of building and the myriad of processes involved. He points with pride to the symmetrically aligned iron sign that now sits adjacent to the existing gymnasium.

“I worked for a metal fabrication company in Missoula for awhile and learned a lot about welding,” he said. “We made this sign and put it right here”.

In addition to increasing fan comfort with the grandstand project, Chisholm and company have built several outbuildings to provide badly needed storage space, remodeled and expanded the football facility’s concession stand, added an improved cold storage building to enhance menu options for the school’s students and many more properly aligned and designed projects that dot the outdoor landscape.

One of the most recent projects has involved construction of a new press box/observation booth behind home plate of the school’s softball complex. In conjunction with that project has been an undertaking to expand bleacher capacity around the field.

The list goes on and on.

And when you ask Chisholm the fair question “what motivates and drives you all to this level” you get a squared away, symmetrical if you will, answer.

“The kids,” he said. “It’s for the kids”.

And like many property owners, Chisholm knows there is always something to do.

"I have a big pile of projects to get to," he said. "It's like being a home owner, there is always something you can do to make it better".