By Matt Mackinder
Clarkston News Editor

Preservation Clarkston held an open house Sept. 20 for the Bailey House, an historic home on Sashabaw Road that is being renovated and restored by the group as well as students from Clarkston Community Schools’ Construction Technology program.
“The open house was an opportunity for the students to show the hard work they have been doing,” said Preservation Clarkston President Sam Moraco. “In the spring, we will host another open house to show the progress made throughout the school year for the community and parents of the students.
“This project is more than a rare opportunity for students to learn such valuable skills. Upon completion of this project, the home will be sold and a matching portion of the proceeds that the school invested will be gifted back to re-fund the Construction Tech Program for future projects.”
The Bailey Family, a family of 12, was one of the founding families of Independence Township, helped start the first school house in the 1870s, and farmed a large section of the township – over 494 acres.

“The partnership between Preservation Clarkston and Construction Tech is a match made in heaven,” said CCS Construction Tech Instructor Steve Wyckoff. “Our students get an opportunity to work and learn in a ‘real life’ environment, develop community pride, and become better prepared for an immediate future in the construction industry, or have a head start in achieving a college degree in Construction Management.”
Wyckoff added that over the past few years, the Construction Technology program has been gutting the interior of the house and installing temporary shoring to increase the structural integrity of the building.
“Without walking the floor plan, the improvements are difficult to notice,” Wyckoff said.
“As we have been working on this project, dozens of distant Bailey family members have stopped by to see the project,” added Moraco. “Each and every one of them have expressed gratitude and pride that their heritage is being preserved and that students are benefiting from the experience.”

PHOTO: Sam Moraco explains the latest work done on the Bailey House to two local residents. Photo: Matt Mackinder