MISSOURI—When Mingo Jobs Corps Civilian Conservation Center instructor Lloyd Stilts took a detail assignment as the Zone Recreation Manager on the nearby Mark Twain National Forest, he wasn’t about to leave his students behind. According to Stilts, “It was the perfect opportunity to bring together trade skills, student learning, and history.”

Due to the well-established relationship between the forest and Mingo Job Corps, forest employees supported his desire to accomplish work utilizing Mingo students. Stilts, along with Mingo instructors Kenny Smith and Jamey Heisserer, tutored carpentry students in handcrafting a wooden display for the historic Turner Mill grindstone.

The old mill was located along the Eleven Point River and once supported a thriving village named Surprise. Named after the village's postmaster, John Letcher Clay Turner, the mill was powered by a spring that flowed out of a cave. A chute was built from native rock to carry the water to the wheel, which connected to a turbine. Part of the chute can still be found near the mouth of the cave today and spring water still flows clear and cold.

Students hand-planed walnut provided by Stilts to ensure it was smooth and ready for assembly, then used their carpentry skills to create a custom box to support and frame the grindstone before installing a plexiglass cover. The display is eye-catching and better protects the stone, allowing visitors to continue to enjoy this piece of history.

The display housing the Turner Mill grindstone is located at the Eleven Point Ranger District office in Doniphan, Missouri. After visiting the office to see the grindstone, visitors can drive to see the remains of the historic Turner Mill.

Its construction demonstrates the impact Stilts has made on students for the 24 years he has worked on the Mingo Job Corps campus. Stilts has taught many maintenance trades during his two-and-a-half-decade long tenure at the center. When he talks about the programs at Mingo, he shares his stories with a matter-of-fact style and a detectable undertone of his pride in supporting the center’s mission to teach students life-long trades.

“It’s a great place that teaches the students a lot—they often come in with almost nothing and they leave with great skills and a career path,” stated Stilts.

Stilts, along with several other staff, continued working onsite at the center through the pandemic so that nine students with nowhere else to go could stay onsite. Most students had to learn from home during the pandemic, and Mingo staff worked hard to continue to help students remaining on site as well as those needing to learn remotely.

While Stilts adapted his curriculum so he could teach online, nothing beats hands-on training for a trade school. The students who worked on this project are part of the carpentry trade school, and projects like this are excellent opportunities for them to practice their trades. Stilts said, “I am very excited to see students coming back into the program and being physically on campus again—there are about 50 now on site and that number is growing each week.”

In October 2022 at the National Job Corps Directors Award Ceremony Lawrence Ferrell, director of Mingo Job Corps, was presented Center of the Year award as best center out of 24 centers. Staff at the center will humbly attribute this to the dedication of their students. The instructors and staff at the center stay mission-focused, teaching young adults trade skills that will serve them for the rest of their life.