“I am one of hundreds of people who drove by the building a hundred times saying, ‘What is going on with that building,'” Karen Goodlow explained.
Karen and her husband, Gary, began the restoration project this past summer.
The fire hall was built in the 1930’s and served the community for nearly half a century before falling into disrepair.
In 2011, a fire destroyed a portion of the roof, and for years no one would touch the building. No one except the Goodlows.
“What’s really special is just when we found out how much it meant to a lot of firefighters,” Karen said.
Under the layers of soot and grime, history has been re-emerging.
“Anytime we can preserve something of the past, I think we need to do that,” said Gary.
However, the project hit a snag when contractors discovered the sewer and water lines were severed. The cost to repair it: more than $30,000.
“That was like the kicker, that was going to push us over the edge, but then we were just like, we’re going to make it happen somehow. We have to do it,” said Karen.
So far the Goodlows have funded the project with their own money.
“We’ve kind of reached the extent of our personal resources,” Gary said.
So they’ve launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise the funds.
“This is a big leap of faith for us, so I think when we get to the day where we can actually open the doors and be open for business and welcome the community into this space, yeah its going to be big,” said Gary with tears in his eyes.
If you’d like to help out, click here.
The Goodlows have also been working to get the fire hall on the National Register of Historic Places. They have planned to turn the space into a creative public area for the community.
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SOURCE: Project To Restore Historic Fire Hall Hits Snag, Kickstarter Launched To Raise Funds
By: Jonquil Newland
