"In memory to our fathers and in honor of all brick masons and their craft."
As Irish immigrants, the Powers family had a long history of working as brick masons. In the late 1800s, the family ventured west to Pueblo, Colorado where Frank Powers laid brick at the CF&I steel mill. Frank taught the trade to his two sons, Jim and Tom. Jim Powers, born in 1905, headed north to Cheyenne in 1928 to lay brick on the new McCormick Junior High School being built at 2001 Capitol Avenue (now the Emerson Building). As demand for masons grew, Tom, born in 1909, joined his brother Jim in Cheyenne in the early 1930s to work on the Fort D. A. Russell (now F. E. Warren Air Force Base) noncommissioned officers quarters, earning $1.00 per hour.
In 1936, Jim was awarded the contract to complete the masonry work on the Frontier Hotel. The price quote to buy the block from a Denver company was too expensive, so the Powers brothers decided they could make the block in Cheyenne for a much cheaper price. They got cinders from the C&S Railroad
steam engines, crushed and mixed them with cement, then poured this into a block mold. After investing $11 each and borrowing $1,200 to purchase a hand-operated machine, Jim and Tom formed Powers Brick and Tile, producing their first block in April 1937. Blocks sold for $0.25 each. By June, a block plant was built on 15th Street. Jim and Tom laid the brick and block they sold and hired two people to run the block plant, producing 400 8x8x16 blocks per day. Within a few years, an automated block machine was leased.
In 1942, Jim and Tom founded Powers Builders Supply and built a modern brick office building at 1003 East Lincolnway. This company was created to meet virtually every need of the home builders, home owners, and commercial builders in Cheyenne from planning to construction. According to a Cheyenne news article published in 1948,
“Through hard work, planning, and outstanding customer service to the people, Jim and Tom Powers have built their builders’ supply firm from a humble start to one of the finest and most highly recognized in the entire State.”
Military Buildings:
Early in WWII Tom and Jim were involved in building the Modification Center on Dell Range Boulevard, now the Wyoming Air National Guard. The Center was used to arm and refine cargo planes for the war. Over 3,500 bombers were completed at the center. In 1943, when the Modification Center was at its peak and most physically fit personnel were fighting in the war, the brothers built, nearly singlehandedly, 325 emergency housing units known as Frontier Villa, Careyville Acres, and Van Tassel Terrace.
In 1950, they formed Wyoming Builders in partnership with Alex Morley, A. B. Nuss, and others to build the Wherry Housing project to house military families on F. E. Warren Air Force Base. Once the construction of 500 housing units were completed, Wyoming Builders had full supervision and administration of the facility, thus owning and renting each unit as provided in the Military Housing Act enacted by US Congress in 1949.
At the time, this was the largest single construction project ever launched in Cheyenne.
It was also the largest single job in the first 14 years of Jim and Tom’s careers went on to include many notable
buildings in Cheyenne and the State of Wyoming:
• Lions Park red flagstone Equipment Buildings, in conjunction with FERA (Federal Emergency Relief Administration), now part of the Children’s Village in the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens, 1934
• The Todd Building (now the Manitou Gallery) at 1715 Carey Avenue, 1936
• The Frontier Hotel at Central Avenue and 19th Street, 1937
• DePaul Hospital now part of the east campus of Cheyenne Regional Medical Center located at 2600 East 18th Street, 1952
• Cheyenne’s first McDonalds located at 2535 East Lincolnway
• Blue Cross Blue Shield at 4000 House Avenue
• Roedel’s Drug Store at 2017 Carey Avenue
• Many physician and dental buildings, banks, cleaners, and car washes Located in Rawlins, Wyoming and vicinity:
• Nurses’ Home, 1936-1937
• Carbon County Courthouse, 1938
• Parco Refinery (now Sinclair Refinery) to the east of Rawlins in nearby Sinclair, Wyoming
Jim and Tom were masonry contractors on many homes in popular neighborhoods, schools, and religious buildings with several local partners.
These include:
• Many of the brick homes in the Capital Heights area south of Pershing Boulevard to the Wyoming State Capitol building between Central and Carey Avenues
• Moorehaven Heights between Pershing Boulevard and 8th Avenue and Central and Carey Avenues
• “Happy Homes Group” on Snyder Avenue between 6th and 8th Avenues, built for United Airlines employees. At the time of their construction, these homes were to cost no more than $5,000.00.
• Eastridge - 53 homes from Pershing Boulevard north to Newton Drive and Converse Avenue west to Salem Road
• Western Hills between Western Hills Boulevard north to Vandehei Avenue and Bishop Boulevard west to Buffalo Avenue
• The original Johnson Junior High School between 5th and 7th Streets on House Avenue
• Fincher, at 2201 Morrie Avenue, 1940
• Deming, at 715 West 5th Avenue
• Alta Vista, at 1514 East 16th Street
• Rossman, at 915 West College Drive, now rebuilt
• Hebard, at 413 Seymour
• Dildine, at 4312 Van Buren Avenue, now rebuilt. Tom’s son, Tom, laid brick on the original building one summer during his college years.
• St Mary’s School and Convent, on Central and 25th Street across from the Wyoming State Capitol Building, 1938. It has since been razed.
• Mount Sinai Synagogue where Jim and Tom laid the cornerstone at 2610 Pioneer Avenue
• United Methodist Church Education Building where Tom and son Tom laid the cornerstone in 1967 at 108 East 18th Street
Jim, Tom and their families established themselves and became business leaders in the Cheyenne community. They also became very involved in local businesses including bank ownership, and charitable, government, wildlife, and tourism organizations. Tom was President of the Cheyenne Chamber of Commerce, while Jim was General Chairman of Cheyenne Frontier Days in 1952-53. Young Tom Powers was Chairman of Cheyenne Frontier Days in 1982-1983. J. Michael was president of the Cheyenne Chamber of Commerce in 1975 and was the Founder and Chairman of Cheyenne Leads in 1988.
The Powers family also provided the naming rights funds for the construction of Powers Field baseball stadium in East Cheyenne. It is a fitting tribute to Jim and Tom who were always active in baseball. There are numerous Powers family members who remain Cheyenne residents today and all are very involved in community projects.
In 1971, Jim’s son, J. Michael Powers, took over as owner and CEO of Powers Builders Supply and Powers Brick and Tile. He also expanded into the athletic flooring contracting and installation business and formed the Powers Products Co. In 1980, the company increased their Colorado presence by building an office in metro Denver. In 2000, Powers Brick and Tile was sold to Robinson Brick in Colorado.
Today, J. Michael’s son Brent Powers is the owner and CEO of Powers Products Co, a multimillion-dollar commercial architectural specialties company and contractor
based in Denver, CO.
Special Thanks To:
Patricia Powers Kennedy Family; Tom and Peggy Powers Family; Warren and Gail Brown; Dean and Annette Temte; Robert and Anne Coletti, and Family; Scott and Lisa Laird; Mike Bell and Amy Trelease-Bell; Jim and Sharon Wilkinson; J. Michael and Martha Powers, and Sheryl Powers Family; Ron and Carol Powers Waeckerlin Family; Lauri Dee Powers; Eric and Erin Waeckerlin; Dave and Tammy Rohde; Nic and Kara Armano; Brent and Andrea Powers; Alex and Beth Kean
To learn more about the Capitol Avenue Bronze Project, visit this link . For more information about each artist, sponsoring a bronze, or becoming a donor/supporter at any level, please contact Harvey Deselms at Deselms Fine Art, located at 303 E. 17th Street Cheyenne. Email is deslemsart@aol.com or call at 307 432 0606
