Ellen Shaw in her book “ This Old House …In Watonga” mentions two parts of the Ferguson Mansion that are currently receiving much needed attention. The first are the storm windows. She writes in March 1977 “This past fall, the State Department of Parks (the Ferguson Home Museum was under that Department at that time), asked us to list the things we thought were of first priority. We listed the need for storm windows on at least half of the windows this year and the remainder for next year. To our surprise, all the windows (26) now have storm windows. Iva Mae Hinkley, curator, says that the fuel bill was cut from $180 to $50 as of last month. The dust coming in around the windows is practically nil. We appreciate this a great deal.” This was over 48 years ago!
Now, most of the storm windows have disintegrated. They were custom-made of wooden frames and inlayed with glass. A few can be renovated and preserved, but most need to be replaced. As Mrs. Shaw says, these storm windows, in addition to protecting the 1901 glass, provide essential insulation and prevent the silting dust from coming in. Dust is a destroyer of artifacts.
Our painter, Tom Olsen, is doing his best to paint the windows with the dark red sash color, but all windows need to be reglazed to help prevent the panes from blowing out and to keep the rain out. Reglazing the original windows and placing new storm windows is a high priority in 2025, just as it was in 1976. Can you assist with funds or reglazing at heights?
Second, Mrs. Shaw mentions the porch. I believe the porch was rebuilt when the mansion was restored in 1971-72. Shaw says in 1976 “the porches have all been painted with a good oilbased paint.”
Now, 48 years later, Tom Olsen has started sanding down the many layers of paint on the porch to get down to bare wood. This will need to be primed and two coats (minimum) of high-quality paint applied, with sand integrated in the paint to ensure a non-slip surface. In addition, we are pulling loose nails on the porch that are rusted and coming out and replacing them with weather resistant deck screws. There are probably 1,000 nails that need to be replaced. How are you at replacing nails with screws?
Every visit, word of encouragement, elbow grease applied or monetary donation is greatly appreciated as we work to preserve this historic home.