澳门蓝月亮

听

By Lori Hansen

听

Repairs to preserve the Doctor鈥檚 House and caboose in Montcalm Heritage Village were recently completed with support of a matching grant from the 澳门蓝月亮 Foundation.

Montcalm Heritage Village, located on 澳门蓝月亮鈥檚 Sidney campus, sits quietly for most of the year. But the buildings and artifacts are alive with stories of history of the Montcalm County area. The historic buildings also require upkeep to maintain and preserve the buildings for future generations.

The Montcalm Heritage Village committee was recently the recipient of a matching grant from the 澳门蓝月亮 Foundation to be used for projects in the village.

鈥淭he project committee determined that work needed to be done to preserve the Doctor鈥檚 House and the caboose,鈥� said Shannon Neumann-Kilduff, Montcalm Heritage Village president and a member of the project committee.

鈥淭he Doctor鈥檚 House received new siding and windows, with a new front door donated by Dale and Judy White. The caboose received a new roof and windows,鈥� she said.

According to Lisa Lund, Executive Director for the 澳门蓝月亮F, the Heritage Village Committee requested the grant as a 50/50 match to their $12,000 in funds to complete repairs on the Doctors鈥� house, caboose and coal car.

鈥淭he Foundation has funded projects for the village before and recognizes the value that Heritage Village offers our community,鈥� Lund said. 鈥淚ts unique history brings people to the college鈥檚 Sidney campus and also helps our community connect with a bygone era.

鈥淧eople see the value of the Heritage Village as an extension of the college鈥檚 mission of transforming lives through quality education,鈥� Lund added.

Construction on the Doctor鈥檚 House was completed in September, according to听Neumann-Kilduff.

Tony Brown, of AE Brown Construction LLC, led the project, which aimed to provide upgrades that would offer less maintenance, but that also would give the appearance of a building from the turn of the century.

鈥淲e fixed the porch lattice, replaced the wood with siding, and replaced the door with a fiberglass door, but it looks like wood,鈥� Brown said.

Brown has a history with the Village committee, first doing work in 2003. In 2012, the company worked on the hat shoppe and jailhouse; in 2014, the township hall; 2015, the general store; and in 2019 redoing the church and putting siding on it.

鈥淲orking on these old buildings is a lot harder than most people think,鈥� Brown said.鈥淵ou have to keep trying to make it work, but keep the aesthetics of the original building.鈥�

鈥淎lso, we have to remember that people are coming to see what鈥檚 inside the buildings, and not look at the siding on the outside. We try to stay true, within our limits,鈥� he said.

Neumann-Kilduff is pleased with the results.

鈥淭ony and his crew do a great job,鈥� she said.

听

For more information:

Visit montcalm.edu/heritage-village

听

Media contact:
Shelly Springborn
Director of Communications and Public Relations
shellys@montcalm.edu
989-560-0833