SCHS student builds bike rack for local business

Ice cream parlor partners with school for ag mechanics project

From left, Brilynn Oglesby and Easton Oglesby, Ida Claire owner Meredith Oliver, Social Circle High School student Adrien Baynes, SCHS agriculture mechanics Ben Brand and Monica Carter stand with the new bicycle rack Baynes built for the new ice cream parlor in downtown Social Circle as part of a supervised agricultural experience project through the high school. Photo credit: Stephen Milligan | The Tribune

When Meredith Oliver started to set up her new ice cream parlor, Ida Claire, in downtown Social Circle, one of her concepts for the location was an outdoor area for families to sit and eat their frozen treats.

“We are making this sweet and quaint store for the town to enjoy,’ Oliver said. “As part of that, we will wanted to give people a place to sit and enjoy ice cream outside.”

Oliver knew her location on Sycamore Street would be perfectly walkable from the nearby park on Cherokee Road, but she also envisioned people arriving on golf carts and, sometimes, on bicycles. From there, she had the idea of putting a bicycle rack next to the outdoor patio and play area, but then faced a simple problem: where to get such a bike rack?

“We looked online and other places to try and find something,” Oliver said. “Then it came to me to try and see if the local high school might have classes that make such things.”

Oliver reached out to the school and was soon talking with agricultural mechanics teacher Ben Brand, who was able to inform her, yes, Social Circle High School definitely had students who could make such things.

“We enjoy building things in the community,” Brand said. “We’re always looking for projects for kids to build things like this in class.”

Brand handed this project off to SCHS student Adrien Baynes, a third-year student in Brand’s classes with a lot of experience working with metals in a number of different ways.

“I just knew he could do it,” Brand said.

Baynes took the project as what they call an SAE, or supervised agricultural experience, project. He immediately got to work taking measurements, selecting material and then putting the bicycle rack together for his business client.

“It was a good experience,” Baynes said. “It went pretty smoothly.”

Brand said his pupil did a great job putting together the rack.

“Adrien cut all the metal himself,” Brand said.”

Baynes, however, gave his instructor much of the credit for his successful job.

“Mr. Brand taught me a lot,” Baynes said. Oliver, however, was grateful to everyone at SCHS for their efforts in making her rack a reality.

“It’s great,” Oliver said. “I’m real happy with it.”

Ida Claire is set to open within the next three weeks, as Oliver makes the finishing touches on the building. But she already has her new bicycle rack.

“All I had to do was tell them I needed a bicycle rack,” Oliver said. “They took it from there.”