“Nichols Brothers employees Steve Swain, left, and Jim Romero are lifted into the air to work on strengthening Freeland Hall with steel cable as part of the deck expansion project.Jim Larsen/staff photoHow to helpFreeland Hall renovations take materials, money, time, labor and expertise, and donations of all are needed. To help call Cassie Nichols, 331-1769, Betty Moore, 331-6341, or Carol Engeset, 331-7964.Partygoers in historic Freeland Hall will soon be able to enjoy an outdoor deck offering fresh air and impressive views of the Freeland Park forest and the blue waters of Holmes Harbor.The deck is no small project, but the community has chipped in to make it possible. Architect Richard Rhydes, a member of the Holmes Harbor Activity Club, drew up a design for a self-support deck on the back of Freeland Hall, and club members and others went to work.Nichols Brothers Boat Builders, located just down the hill, lent its expertise and its workers to shore up the building through a system of metal cables that will secure the walls. The cables are attached to a new steel channel installed below the eaves. The old building was swaying in the middle like a horse, said Betty Moore, Activity Club volunteer.Or, as Rhydes described the building, The old girl settled down and pushed the walls out three-inches.Other volunteers ripped off the old boards dating back to the hall’s construction in 1914, cleaned out the walls, added insulation and replaced the boards. There was 87 years worth of starling material inside the walls, said Moore, not specifying what she meant by material.Still more volunteers poured concrete footings for the new deck and are now at work assembling the lumber. Building materials were provided by South Whidbey businesses, among them Sebo’s, Hanson’s Building Supply, Frontier Lumber and Lumbermen’s.The deck will be approximately 60 feet long by 15 feet wide and feature a staircase going down to the park. It’s such a beautiful view, Moore said. This has been a dream of the Holmes Harbor Activity Club for a long time.Island County owns Freeland Hall but the Activity Club operates and maintains it. The hall has been undergoing various renovations for the past few years, and the county has been paying for some of the work. Next up is an upgraded electrical system.But first, the deck.It must be finished by July 19, Moore said. We’ve got a wedding party.The hall is a popular rental for weddings and other parties, and getting increasingly popular as improvements are made. I’m already booking 2002, she said.However, Moore sees no time in the immediate future when the hall can be declared finished. It’s the domino effect, she said. You fix something and something else pops up.But for the volunteers, maintaining and improving Freeland Hall is a labor of love. It’s a sweetheart of a building, Rhydes said. “