Nov 20 2006
Heritage Conservation Network has put out a call for volunteers to come to Bay St. Louis, Mississippi to help in the final stage of the restoration of a historic home severely damaged by Hurricane Katrina. Work will begin on January 1, 2007. The goal of the two-week workshop is to rebuild the home's original porch, which was ripped from the house during the storm surge.
The volunteer work crew will be working at 115 Washington Street. The home is located within in the Washington Street Historic District, which was heavily damaged by the 2005 storm. The homeowner, with the help of neighbors, has worked for the past year to rebuild the house. The porch is the final piece, and hopes for the project are high. "Earlier this year, we had volunteer work crews completely restore a masonry bridge in two weeks, so we have no reason believe that, with a good response, this porch can't be completed in that same amount of time," said Judith Broeker, HCN's Program Director.
Volunteers will work under the guidance of a restoration expert. No experience in working with historic buildings is necessary, just enthusiasm and a willingness to work hard. Bay St. Louis is one of the "Historic Communities and Landmarks of the Mississippi Coast" on the National Trust for Historic Preservation's 2006 list of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places.
The workshop is scheduled for January 1-13, 2007; volunteers may sign up for one or two weeks. Participants will be housed in Gulfport, Mississippi as there is still no accommodation in Bay St. Louis. Volunteers are asked to cover their own expenses, and should plan to arrive on December 31, 2006.
The workshop is part of a larger project called Rebuilding After Katrina Using Local Resources. With funding from the Hamer Center at Pennsylvania State University, the project is exploring various avenues of rebuilding, including deconstruction, salvage and reuse. In the workshop, salvaged historic materials will be used to the greatest extent possible.