The two story Bedrock building had no bathroom:

It had an old outhouse in the back that we tore down.  So I got a permit for a new sewer line, installed it, and was ready for the next step.   Holy and Sons drilled deep piers first, and then I poured a large slab, to make a bathroom, and then later rooms on the slab.  So one February Saturday, 1986, we built the first floor on the slab, in a hurry before we got any rain.  We didn’t, and I thought, well let’s build a second story on it, quickly, before it rains.  It went up quickly, so I thought, heck, let’s build a 3rd story on top of that!  It was so neat so high in the air!!

Then I thought of the deck I wanted at my Mesquite house, so I asked Alan to build a deck on top of the 3rd story.  It was on top of the ridge of the 3rd story, and he went to constructing it, mostly with just one or two helpers, and soon it was up there, over 5 stories high.  It was so neat!  Everyone loved it.  We were at the top of the tallest trees, over the top of them.   Some of my workers, afraid of heights, got the willies just walking up there.   And then….then…… I got a phone call from an Inspector from the City of Dallas, and he said,”Dennis, what the hell are you doing?!!!   He informed me that I broke a host of codes, since at that height, I was technically a high rise building.

So I had to get plans from an architect for an existing building.  I did, and the City recommended a number of things to keep my building.  Fire code, all of them  mostly.   I had to take the wood siding off and put up firerock, and also on the inside at the wall studs of each floor.  I had to have the firerock on the ceilings, and where the building met the original building, I had to have enough firerock for a 2 hour firewall, on each side.   Then the exit had to be straight through, not having to go through another room to get out.   All of that, and then they had one last demand.   On completion of these tasks, all the inspectors in the Inspection Department wanted to come down and see the deck.  Apparently I became very well known in the Inspection Department at this point.

I obliged, and after I finished all the adjustments, they all came down, about 30 of them or more. They loved it.  I was jaw dropping, being up there with the wind blowing so pleasantly, seeing into Fair Park and seeing downtown Dallas.

I had to build a ‘second exit’ at the back, in case of fire, we would have a second way to escape, so I build a series of decks at the back, with a roof.  A roof is necessary there, because it gets so hot in the summertime, and it’s nicer up there to have some shade. The ridge of the roof is over 6 stories high.

So I had my deck, far in the air.  It came in handy, too, since I broke up with my girlfriend shortly afterward, and had no place to stay.  I stayed in the bulding, and often slept on the deck in the warm months, with the wind blowing in my face through the night.  It was so enjoyable and I didn’t need air conditioning.

During the State Fair of Texas, the largest State Fair in the country, the deck became handy for small gatherings and parties to watch the fireworks across the street, and especially during the July 4 fireworks.   Everybody loved it.

At this point I must say some good words for the City of Dallas inspectors.

I had a fire 37 years later.   It apparently started in the attic of the original building, from the electric wiring.   It burned the roof to a crisp, but behold, only the roof and top of the deck was burned.  The firerock has saved my building.  Only the roof rafters were damaged of the 3rd story, and the top of the deck.

The fire department had 12 fire trucks there, and they saved the Bedrock deck.

We rewired the building and rebuilt the top of the deck, building it 12 feet wider.

Our engineers on staff liked the rebuild and passed everything.

Now we wait for the next July 4 party, to show our friends and clients, again, the Bedrock deck.

Some people have asked, what it the large black bell at the top of the 5th floor under the roof?

My daddy gave me the old bell.   Daddy was a Landman for Shell Oil Company, and he negotiated oil drilling with prospective land owners, often.   He was not allowed to take anything from the owners, but it was okay to receive whiskey, wine, and such.   And then one owner gave Daddy the bell.  Daddy told me the story about the bell. We lived in Jones County, Mississippi, in Laurel, and Bay Springs, and Ellisville.

The bell had belonged to a Colonel Newton Knight during the Civil War.   Newton went out to fight for the Confederacy, like so many others.   After a couple of years, the Confederacy passed a law called the 20 SLAVE LAW, or something to that effect, and that if someone had 20 slaves at home, he did not have to fight.  He could go home to help manage the slaves, so many of the Confederate soldiers put their arms down and went home.

Now Jones County did not have hardly any slaves, because they did not grow cotton, the king money maker.   The soil was not acceptable for growing cotton, so they grew corn, had pigs, and other crops.   So much that everyone called the people there Free State of Jones.

So Newton thought it wasn’t fair the rich boys went home and left the poor boys to do their fightin.   Also, he heard that a relative had moved in with his wife, and Newton left to go see what had happened.   After a few days of eavesdropping, Newton walked in and shot him dead.   So he had got AWOL from the military, the military police were looking for him, and the local police were looking for him for the murder.  He had to hide out in the swamps most of the time.

So how did Newton get saved by the bell?

When the calvary came to the area, lookouts would often blow large cow horns to alert the deserters all to hide out to prevent their capture.  Once captured, they were likely to be hung or shot for desertion.   But Newton was never caught.  He had the bell.   A lookout would ring the bell, and it rang out all over the county, and Newton knew they were coming.  Once he got into the swamps, it was impossible to catch him.   He survived the war, helping many other deserters as well, that none want to fight in the ‘rich man’s war’   They were the Free State of Jones.  No slavery, no war.

So my daddy was given the bell, and he gave it to me.  Where was I going to put it?  In my front yard?  Well, I welded it under the roof of the Bedrock deck, permanently in place, forever.  From time to time we ring it, to remind me ot the free state of Jones, and this bell of freedom.  We will ring it again on July 4.  It has come a long way from Jones County, Mississippi to here.

When I heard of a movie that came out with Matthew McConaghey, called Free State of Jones, I couldn’t wait to see it.  Many of the facts in the movie were different, but I read a number of books about the free state of Jones, the most detailed and accurate I believe was written by the sister of Newton Knight, who had the most inside knowledge.

The deck is always open for neighbors and friends to walk up the stairs and ring the bell (there is no elevator, sorry).

The Free State of Jones bell of freedom, at the top of the Bedrock deck, overseeing the City of Dallas, Texas.