Meiko, an American Eskimo Dog, stands watch as Garrett McMullin lays tile in the bar of Yankee Run Golf Course. The wood floor in the foreground was made from hickory trees that were blown down in the Father's Day 2019 tornado.

Meiko, an American Eskimo Dog, stands watch as Garrett McMullin lays tile in the bar of Yankee Run Golf Course. The wood floor in the foreground was made from hickory trees that were blown down in the Father’s Day 2019 tornado.

Gary and Garrett McMullin can say that some of the building materials used in their remodeling of the bar at Yankee Run Golf Course, which they own, is locally sourced.

In fact, much of the wood came from the golf course property on Warren Sharon Road in Brookfield.

The Father’s Day 2019 tornado left the course a wreck, knocking down trees and blowing debris all over fairways, greens and cartways. The clean up sparked a massive volunteer effort from golfers and organizations that have held gatherings at the course, and the McMullins – Gary is the father and Garrett the son – hit upon the idea to turn some of the waste into something useful.

“This plan was all Garrett’s idea,” Gary McMullin said.

They sent hickory trees to Mitcheltree Brothers Logging and Lumber, Pulaski, to be cut and kilned into three-quarter-inch boards.

The pair spent a frantic month in February laying 410 square feet of hickory board for the floor of the dining area of the bar, and laying tile in the walking areas. Some of the hickory slabs also were used for trim behind the bar.

“It gives us a little reminder that things do happen,” Gary McMullin said. “It’s a blessing that we were able to take something from our own property to do this.”

promoThey rushed to get the remodeling done by March 4, when the bar had been booked for a reception of the Brookfield Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame Class of 2020.

The McMullins have another 500 square feet of hickory in storage for a future use, and a good supply of cherry, also tornado refuse, that they plan to use in a second remodeling phase of the bar.

“We eventually hope to vault the ceiling here, get rid of the (ceiling) tile, and put in the cherry,” Gary McMullin said.