There has been a flurry of activity in the DuBois House for the last
few weeks - thanks in part to Elaine Weed who has been relentless in her
search for a cabinet to display school records from the
One-Room-Schoolhouses. She found a curio cabinet in the newspaper and I
investigated and found there were 2 for sale and they would not sell one
but they were perfect and a great bargain. After talking with Elaine and
Mary DuBois Wright they said "get them both and we will figure out how
to pay for them".
With that both were in the DuBois House by that afternoon.
Mary said they were great and she would buy one and after discussions
with the board, the other came out of the Ronk One-Room-Schoolhouse Fund
The next issue was where the 2nd curio cabinet would go. The board
decided that it could go in the other front room but the room was far
from ready for such a nice cabinet. Some of the more optimistic members
(Adam) said we could redo the room before the December 3rd meeting when
we planned on dedicating the One-Room-Schoolhouse. With that it was
agreed that we would have our December 3rd meeting at the DuBois house
with dedication of the One-Room-Schoolhouse and the other front room as
a museum. Much activity began in the North Front Room:
The first issue was the flaking white paint from the Ceiling. The 1800's
ceiling were painted (whitewashed) because candles were the only source
of light at night.
"
Adam said we could "sandblast" with walnut shells and he had all the
equipment to do the job but we needed 220 volt for his compressor. An
adapter had to be made to go from the stove outlet to Adam's plug:
Adam's equipment was brought and the stripping began.
Meanwhile work started in the Cellar cleaning out the remains of a coal
bin and moving historic bricks to the Cellar.
The town Water Supply people were called about our issue with the pipes
that froze last winter and they came and worked with Al & Joe to replace
the valve and supply water to the outside faucet and an inside faucet.
The next issue was the trim painting in the North Front Room:
The first thought was to just repaint the trim and doors but after
investigation it was discovered all the trim was painted with "faux
Wood grain" painting that was started in the late 1700's and was very
popular in the 1880's. It is very possible that the last the trim was
painted was when there were major renovations in 1860.
The "faux" painting method is to first paint with a lighter color as
shown where the darker layer has flaked off and then to paint with a
darker color and "squeegee" the wet paint off leaving a pattern that
looks like wood grain. This was done until the early 1900's when stains
were developed that would enhance the wood grain.
The next decision was what to do with the wallpaper that was falling
off.
After consulting with "wallpaper experts" areas were marked off where it
would be "framed" and protected.
Still moving at light-speed at 70
The blasting started after several problems were solved: Plugged valves,
hose broke, walnut shells not screened. The finished job looks great>
The wallpaper cut at the marked areas and the rest removed.
Then the remaining wallpaper was cleaned with archival methods by Libby
Then the plastering began by Bob. The fake fireplace was in bad shape
but after a little plaster looks good and will be ready for paint.
Fireplaces fell out of favor in the mid-1800's and were a sign of lower
class people and the fireplaces were likely removed when they did major
renovations in 1860. All fire places were removed in the house and
replaced with wood stoves that were much more efficient at heating a
house.
Stoves similar to this were used for heating in the mid-1800's. Thanks
to Jim Mallow for donating this stove that will be placed in the Front
North Room when finished.
We look forward to seeing you for the
December 3, 2014 meeting at the DuBois House