School may once again be approaching the minds of children around Lake Orion as September draws closer, but for one Lake Orion group, one school has never not been on their mind ? the Howarth School that is.
Restoration work continues on the building under the supervision of the Orion Historical Society through community support.
According to Leslie Pielack of the Orion Historical Society, Steve Morris, of Woodcrafters, Inc., and Todd Elder, of Elder Construction, have re-attached the bell tower to the schoolhouse. The bell tower was removed for painting and repair by the students from Upland Hills.
Not only has the bell tower been re-attached, but a school bell has also been installed and secured within the tower.
Repairs have also been made on the roof.
Larry Mullins of Environmental Wood Solutions, who has committed to donate $10,500 worth of construction work to the schoolhouse project, helped remove the concrete front porch, which was a modern addition to the building.
Currently, repairs are being made to the rotted original wood beam that runs across the front of the timber framed building.
‘This is a necessary repair to make it possible to strengthen the front wall and straighten its sag,? Pielack said, adding that the rotted wood siding will also be repaired and replaced.
After the current work is completed, the building will be properly scraped to be repainted with a specialized long-lasting paint, as well as the windows be scraped and re-caulked and a new wood door installed.
According to Pielack, once the painting is finished, ‘the outside of the building will have been fully stabilized and preserved from further deterioration? and assessment for the interior work will begin.
‘All of this work is necessary to preserve the building, and would need to be done whether the building was going to stay where it is or whether it would be moved at some point,? she said.
Pielack added that when the project first came to fruition, it was a case of crisis-management, with the immediate threat of demolition by an interested developer in the purchase of the land the schoolhouse sits upon.
It was originally planned to get the building moved as soon as possible, but with the threat of demolition evaporating, so is the need for immediate relocation of the building.
‘The building is no longer threatened by immediate development, so there is no pressure to move it before fixing it,? Pielack said. ‘Instead, we can stop its deterioration now with the funds we have.?
According to Pielack, through the money that Lake Orion school children (over $23,000) and the public raised, along with the donated construction services, the Historical Society has enough funding to ‘complete most of the interior work, after the exterior work is completed.?
Pielack also noted that with the original project concept of immediately moving the building having changed, ‘it’s not a crisis anymore and that means (the Historical Society) can plan.?
And planning they will, as the hope is to get the building restored and to the point that it can be opened to students as soon as possible.
‘We felt that it was in the best interest to the students in the historical community to get (the schoolhouse) open,? Pielack said.
‘The goal of the Orion Historical Society is to preserve and restore the building, using the grant money and the funds raised thus far, so that our children and community can visit and use the building as soon as possible,? she added. ‘We hope that will be in 2008.?
For more information on the Howarth School Project, visit www.lakeorionreview.com, search keyword ‘Howarth.?