The ceiling lights and fans are up and running in both library and lab. Ceilings and walls have their final coats of paint and IFWEF’s contractor has installed laminate flooring throughout the two rooms except where work is pending on two exterior doors and their wood jambs and transom lights. Baseboards are cut to size, painted, and in place. The rooms’ four interior doors await only their final coats of paint.
The library’s baseboard heater is ready for next winter. The fireplace encapsulation is fully wired, with a picture light and a French cleat to serve as a picture rail for the Grant County Archaeological Society’s small gallery of treasured documents and photos. Construction of built-in bookshelves has just begun; once these are done we can begin relocating our GCAS library materials and completing the room with brand-new chairs and a refinished work table and file cabinet.
The lead photo to this post shows the utility sink assembly with dorm-size refrigerator is in its place in the lab room, awaiting final testing of the cold-water-only plumbing lines. This will be the first time in many years that the Wood House has enjoyed any kind of indoor plumbing! Once the sink is fully functional we can assemble a second workbench, two workbench shelves, and a freestanding locking cabinet for the lab. Up next: purchasing chairs, rolling storage carts, and other supplies in preparation for this Fall’s educational archaeological programs developed by the GCAS’s own Marilyn Markel. She reports that – pandemic permitting – she will resume some if not all of her usual archaeological experiential workshops for local grade schools and high schools, as well as at least one adult-education class.
Our contributors are making this possible, supporting us through the final phases of the Wood House rehabilitation into the upcoming season of the educational programs we intend MAREC to host. Thank you, one and all, and stay tuned for more updates!
[all photos by W.Hudson]