APAI Article Archive

(APAI Web Site, April 2006)

Becoming an "Asphalt Man"

There are times where what we do as HMA contractors, day in and day out, life suddenly shows us a clear picture of how our efforts touch the lives of the many, and the few. It’s the special project that gives us the feeling of purpose and overwhelming satisfaction. This was the case for the North Liberty based, L.L. Pelling Company, Inc. What was to be another simple walking path project for a paving crew that over the years had constructed hundreds of trails and parking lots, became a life changing endeavor for the lives of two young children with Cerebral Palsy.

Gwen and Nick are six year old twins with Cerebral Palsy and experience difficulty walking. Gwen requires a walker to help her get around. The family lives on an acreage and like most six year olds, Gwen and Nick love the outdoors. With an idea to give greater access for the twins to the outdoors, Gwen and Nick’s mother Saren, contacted the L.L. Pelling Company to discuss the feasibility of building a small asphalt walking trail on the property. The trail would wind its way around the acreage and through their apple orchard allowing Gwen and Nick easier access through much of the property. After a short conversation, Saren commissioned the L.L. Pelling Company to construct the trail.

As the L.L. Pelling Company began to form the trail, the twin’s parents were struck by the paving crew’s intense attention to detail. No doubt, after introducing the crew members to Gwen and Nick, the crew’s sense of purpose heightened for these hardened construction workers.

In a follow-up conversation months later, Saren reports the children love the asphalt path and use it nearly every day. Nick, who has spoken of becoming a doctor when he grows up, told his mother recently, he was thinking of becoming an “asphalt man”.