January 25 -- A Day to Remember
Firemen at the scene, January 25, 2007. [photos courtesy Ed Lehmannn]
Dear Friends of Waterford,
One year ago today our beloved Old School auditorium-
home to countless concerts, plays, parties, meetings, memorable
events in our region-burned to the ground. Through the valiant
efforts of numerous fire departments from both Virginia and
Maryland, the original 1910 classroom structure was saved, but
badly damaged.
Today, after a year of planning, insurance negotiations, a
community forum, valuable guidance from our advisors, the hiring
of fine architects and the general contractor, and a generous
appropriation from the County as well as musical and financial
donations from many friends, we are beginning the renovation of
the Old School. Thank you to Hans Hommels and his truly heroic
Old School Task Force who are bringing this about!
This week some of us journeyed down to Richmond for
Virginia Preservation Day. We took with us an application for a
state matching grant to help us rebuild the Old School. This request
will be presented to the House Appropriations Committee by Delegate
Joe May, who serves on that committee. On behalf of historic
preservation in Virginia and our Old School project we met with
Delegates Joe May and David Poisson, Senator Jill Vogel's adminis-
trative assistant, and Senator Mark Herring, who invited us to watch
the Senate in action in the magnificent, newly renovated Capitol
building, where he recognized us in the gallery as delegates from the
Waterford Foundation, an organization that has done much to preserve
the historic Quaker village of Waterford.
This state appropriation is just one of many grants we are seeking to
raise the $1 million we will need to restore and rebuild the Old
School in a way that is respectful of its history and place in the commu-
nity - but also so the new Old School meets the many expensive
upgrades required by current building codes, zoning regulations, historic
district regulations, Department of the Interior Standards, and our com-
munity's needs for the next 200 years!
At the Waterford Foundation Annual Meeting on Tuesday, April 15th
we'll be officially launching the Rebuild the Old School capital campaign...
and unveiling (we hope) the architect's rendering of what the New Old
School will look like and the promise it brings to our community. More
about this big event later.
In the meantime, we thank all our generous friends and supporters,
particularly for your contributions to our annual fund.We welcome your
help and suggestions! Please forward this newsletter to friends you think
would be interested in Waterford Foundation activities. We want to
spread the word about the good things going on in the Waterford National
Historic Landmark.
President
A fireman works to save the main building.
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