Committee raising funds to begin exterior work on the Van Allen House

By STEPH TAHTINEN

Mt. Pleasant News

Henry County Heritage Trust is raising funds to begin exterior work on the Van Allen House.

?In order to continue with the project, there?s some work on the exterior that needs to be done,? said Sheila McAllister, member of the fund-raising committee. ?If we could just get the exterior work done this year, it would help preserve the already deteriorating exterior.?

Boards and windows need to be repaired and paint needs to be scraped and re-painted. To pay for this work, the Henry County Heritage Trust has received a matching grant from the State Historic Preservation Society.

?If we raise $58,000 from fundraising, they?ll match that,? explained McAllister. So far, just over $20,000 has been raised, and the rest of the money needs to be raised by the end of the year.

Fund-raising efforts have been mostly food-related.

?I?m a part-time caterer, so food is kind of my specialty,? said McAllister.

The group held a sweetheart dinner in February, and they sold the 30 tickets they had in three days.

?I said to Lea [Bradley], we need to figure out a way to raise money to pay for this food if we want it to truly be a fundraiser,? said McAllister.

The committee started selling cookies at Jerry?s Restaurant in Mt. Pleasant, which is owned by Bradley. Since February, the committee has baked over 3,000 cookies and takes orders for them, such as for a graduation party.

The committee has also held a Christmas tea, a mother-daughter brunch the Saturday before Mother?s Day and a free-will breakfast buffet on July 4, which raised $1,300.

?We ran out of food,? said McAllister. ?We served 111 people.?

The group?s major fund-raising effort is an ice cream social and auction being held on July 11 at Jerry?s Restaurant.

?Our big thing that we?re hoping is a big success is our ice cream social,? said McAllister. The ice cream social, which starts at 6:30, will feature 12 different kinds of homemade ice cream and cookies and bars. The benefit auction will start at 7:30 and features gift certificates from local merchants and antiques donated by individuals.

McAllister and Bradley will be donating a gourmet holiday meal for 30 to be held in the carriage house at Bradley?s house and includes a tour of her home.

?We?re hoping that this is our crown jewel for the auction,? said McAllister.

The committee also has other fund-raising plans for the future, including an Oktoberfest and a hayride and hog roast. The Henry County Heritage Trust will also be converting old postcards into 16 by 20-inch puzzles to be sold, which will be available on its Facebook page.

?We?ve had a couple of porch sales and will have a garage sale over Old Threshers,? added Bradley.

The Van Allen House previously was located at 502 West Washington Street but was moved to the Saunders School property on North Van Buren in September 2009. Built in 1862, it was the birthplace and childhood home of James Van Allen.

For more information on the Van Allen House or the fund-raising efforts, contact Lea Bradley at 931-0671 or Pat White at 385-4983.