MOKENA, Ill. (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Ten-year-old Jameson Tyler is one determined kid.
He and his friends decided they wanted to build a fort over the winter in the backyard of Jameson's Mokena, Illinois home.
“I just thought of it one day, thinking oh, maybe I could hide away from the cold so I’m not extremely cold and chill,” Jameson told WBBM.
His mother, Lisa Tyler, was reluctant.
“A hundred percent reluctant, yes,” Tyler said.
She told her son building a fort would require a permit.
Jameson and his friends decided on their own to go visit the mayor, who lives around the corner, to show him their plans and talk about a permit.
They had one two weeks later.
The next hurdle would be actually building the fort, on a budget of about $17.
As it turned out, a kid getting a building permit got some attention and the Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters heard about it.
Tony Janowski with the carpenters union brought Jameson and his friends to their training center where the fort was built.
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“They were part of the whole process. They even understood the importance of taking a break. Had to get them good donuts. ‘Union break’s only 15 minutes, get back to work now.’ It’s been heartwarming,” he said.
Vince Sticca, director of training for the union, championed the project.
“Everybody when they were little wanted some kind of a fort,” Sticca said, “they designed it, they helped us build it.”
Janowski said he had a handshake contract with Jameson.
If he agreed to listen to his mom, especially when she tells him to clean his room, there would be no charge.
A donated crane lifted the 8-by-10 fort over the fence and into the back yard.
It’s more like a tiny house with a door, a window, a skylight, a tropical plant, a rack for nerf guns and a solar panel that will power a small TV, a slushie machine, and some LED lights.
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”It’s insane,” Jameson exclaimed as he watched the fort being lifted from a flat-bed truck, over some trees and into the back yard.
His mother said she couldn’t thank the union enough. “It’s been nothing but a positive experience,” she said, “and honestly with the year that we’ve had, I think this is exactly what we all needed, this has been so great.”
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