HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-27-1978HASTINGS HISTORICAL COMMISSION
SEPTEMBER 27, 1978, MINUTES
Members Present
Members Absent
Don Eddy
Glenda Schnirring
Florence Peterson
Hazel Jacobsen
John V. McGree
Irene Hefner
Susan Dredge
Art Groth
Dich Fuchs
Irene Hefner and John V. McGree were sworn in by Mayor
Petersen. With the filling of the two vacancies the
Commission now has its proposed nine members.
Committee Reports
Treasury Report - balance of $1,726.00, $1,500.00 of which
is for use for Heritage Hall's copying and other publications.
Florence Petersen announced that the Hastings HRA has sent
official notice that they will be giving the Commission
$3,750~'00 for the study and 4esign of restoration now
underway by Mack & MacDonald.
Hazel reported that the Vandike-Libby House which was
proposed for the National Register had been tabled because
of the stucco addition which was felt to be modern. Hazel
researched the Hastings DemDcrat Newspaper and other
sources and learned the fOl~owing:
Vandike, a banker, built the house in 1880. In 1874
he moved to Minneapolis and in 1880 Libby, who owned
two lumber camps, bought the house. He lost the
house in 1909 when the lumber business went bad and
he moved to the Kentucky/Tennessee area.
In 1913 J. M. Millet bought the house and hired
J.P. Erickson, contractor, to remodel the house in
the spring of 1914 and add the stucco annex for a
sanitarium.
In July 1914 a lease was signed by J.E. Post and a
Dr. Fuller and the house became Hope Sanitatium,
specializing in Ruematism and nervous diseases.
Dr. R.H. Wald, a native doctor, managed the sanitat-
ium.
As an end result the outlook is very positive that the
Vandike-Libby House will make the National Historical Register.
(2)
Tours - Glenda reported of a tour to be given on September
30th for sixty members of the Minnesota State Historical
Society. They will be coming to Hastings via the Johnathan
Paddleford and will lunch at the Gardner House.
There are three other tours planned in October.
Heritage Hall - Irene Hefner will be starting work on
Heritage Hall in the very near future. She will be
working on a system of organization and how to best
make materials available to the general public.
The new manager of the Chamber of Commerce, John Corrigan,
said he would be delighted to set a place aside to sell
the Centennial Calenders and the Spiral Bridge Book in
the Chamber Offices. Florence commented that the more
books and calenders we sell the more money the Commission
will have for Heritage Hall's copying needs.
Glenda thought the Commission should keep public interest
by putting historic information in the papers. Irene will
be in charge of this for the time being.
Roger Tonsager, City Building Official, was present and
showed the Commission an 1887 Builder Portfolio #2 which
contains plates of examples of houses of that era. Out
of his Builder Portfolio he delivered a reading on such
interesting and amusing topics as air duct design in
homes and the requirements of outdoor privies.
Meeting was adjourned.
Next meeting will be Wednesday, October 25th at 8:00 P.M.
in the City Council Chambers.