When the Sitka Fine Arts Camp was given the Sheldon Jackson Campus, it faced a staggering list of maintenance issues. With the aid of generous donors and amazing volunteers, unbelievable progress has been made and a recently boarded up campus has become the vibrant home of new programs and community events. The roof of Whitmore Hall was one increasingly urgent item on this to-do list, and it has been a great relief to finally cross it off as a job well done.

I spoke to construction supervisor Pete Weiland to get a closer look at the nuts and bolts of the roof restoration. Pete explained how the Whitmore roof had suffered from a legacy of quick and cheap repairs. To remove the old roof was to peel back the layers of its maintenance history. About twenty years ago, the College had resorted to half inch particle board, covered with black tar paper, and cheap shingle over that. Older layers revealed disintegrated sheathing and dissolved nails. For the past year, SFAC volunteers had been patching leaks but the necessary restoration remained on hold. After a storm stripped off a large portion of the roof's shingles, it became clear that action must be taken.

Talking to Pete gave me a greater sense of the value of the campus architecture. He explained how in construction today, you buy the trusses. You do not need to figure out how to cut angles or to cut a hip roof out. As someone with great respect for the architects of earlier ages, it was hard for him to see their good work rotting. Pete spoke of how he sometimes walks through the campus in the morning, admiring its beauty. He said, "I thought, what a shame. What if there is one day that I cannot walk through this with my kids?"

Fortunately, with the funding provided by the Gladyce L. Foster Trust, roof restoration was able to commence this summer. According to Pete, we caught the roof "just in time" before this piece of history and work of art was lost forever. By restoring the roof, we are not only preserving history. We are also guarding the campus' future as a historic landmark in Sitka, one that can be utilized by the community and can also be admired by visitors. Whitmore is just one piece of the historic quad, but it takes us closer to our goal. Pete said, "That roof looks good. When all of those roofs look like that, people will notice."