Watch the window restoration process by following along the blog at “Prime Sash”, who is doing all this magnificent work. We can’t wait to see all that they do with the original windows from the home.
Spring Bolt
Original spring bolt found on a window that was recently taken from the house. This little piece of metal would hold the window open.
Image by Ian Baldwin of Prime Sash
Even during quarantine we don’t slow down.
The window company we’ve hired has come in has begun removing windows, so that they can refinish the framing and remove the asbestos glazing. It is easy for them to follow isolation orders because it is a dedicated husband and wife team. They will remove a few windows at a time, take them back to their workshop and begin the arduous restoration of the wooden frame and removing the asbestos glazing.
We were lucky to catch them working at the house on our newly released video.
What Stay at Home means for Non-Profits.
Like most nonprofits, we rely on events, programs and social contact to inspire financial support from our community - all of which is not currently possible. Despite our recent windfall of capital grants, we still rely 100% on our supporters to fund operations - the command center for obtaining and managing those capital grants. These grants DO NOT cover administration.
We understand people are skittish about giving at this time. So does Congress! The recent legislation passed by Congress, the CARES Act, includes provisions to encourage giving even when people are tightening their belts. It provides the following temporary incentives:
Donors, even those who do not itemize, can now claim an above-the-line deduction up to $300 for donations made to 501(c)3 organizations - through 2020.
the Act also raises the deduction limitation on individual taxpayers from 60 percent of adjusted gross income to 100 percent.
Please consider taking advantage of these temporary incentives to keep the Haller House rehab moving forward! No gift is too small.
Just as we sent out our invitations for our annual donor appreciation event the first U.S. death occurred from COVID-19. Due to the ongoing struggle with containing this disease our Board of Directors have decided to cancel this years event. We will be looking at rescheduling the event for the future, only after more is known about this virus and how it can be contained.
We thank everyone and their understanding in this decision. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us here.
As we move toward Spring, our team of volunteers came together to help us prepared the house for lifting by removing the decrepit plaster and drywall from the walls to see the inner working of the house.
As the walls came down beautiful craftsmanship was revealed with the balloon framed walls and diagonal placed sheathing. With this new access we can protect the chimney during the lifting process as well as plan for new utilities to be run throughout the house to make it accessible for modern use.
During the discussions on Washington State’s 2020 budget, Governor Jay Inslee sought an additional $1 million dollars in grant money to support the preservation of the historically significant buildings of Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve. This one-time grant program, to be administered through the State’s Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation (DAHP) and Ebey’s Reserve, was approved by the State Legislature for the 2020 biennium.
A dozen qualifying historic property owners received grants under this program, and on January 21st, Kristen Griffin, manager of Ebey’s Reserve, announced that Historic Whidbey would be receiving $196,940 towards a new foundation, structural stabilization and rehabilitation work on the windows and doors of the Haller-Brunn House.
We at Historic Whidbey are very thankful to all those who worked to make this grant program a reality, especially the staff at Ebey’s Reserve, the Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation, the State Legislature, Governor Inslee and his staff. With this generous funding, our vision of a Territorial Heritage Center in the Haller House is much closer to becoming a reality
