IBEW Local 257 (Jefferson City MO) volunteers restore Cole County Historical Society Building

Historic transformation under way
By MICHELLE REAGAN
News Tribune

A perennial-lined brick walkway accented by ornate ironwork will lead guests at the Cole County Historical Society from the Madison Street row house museum to the Upschulte House in the rear.

The community-donated courtyard project began Friday morning with representatives from several labor unions and local organizations who will be donating labor and/or materials in their specialty.

The 25- by 40-feet space, to be marked by an eight-feet high brick wall, is the combination of the society's original garden space plus the asphalt covered lot of the adjacent row house, the museum acquired a few years ago.

Men and machines will lift the pavement, install utilities, pour fresh top soil, and lay new walkway pavers at the Jefferson City facility. Then the Hawthorn Garden Club will landscape.

The plantings will be low-maintenance perennials, said member Gayle Fry. The garden club has volunteered for other projects, including the library, Hospice and Habitat for Humanity.

"It's up to all of us to pay back to the community," said member Carole Van Vranken. "We need to keep the interest of gardening alive and beautify our surroundings."

The landscape design consultants said the courtyard's foliage should be appealing year-round. So people may wander through or stop awhile for lunch or a social gathering.

"We're delighted to be involved, to redo our garden," Van Vranken said of the garden club's first landscaping in 1987. "By the time it's finished, it will be very lovely."

Pink roses will bloom throughout spring next to the public sidewalk leading to the city garage on Monroe and State streets. And several native plantings, such as the Christmas fern, have been included.

The dogwood and the cornus kousa will remain and other ornamental trees will be added to the mostly shade-loving area.

The pocket garden will compliment the new plantings downtown to add a relaxing getaway, Fry said.

Volunteer architect Jerrold Scarlett said the small space presented challenges met by compromise. The 10-feet-wide ironwork gazebo with a copper roof will be the centerpiece surrounded by a wide walkway.

With as many as 500 guests at a society function, member Natalie Tackett said, "this will be aesthetically lovely and we can use it for fundraising, garden parties or weddings."

The courtyard is the final step for the society's expansion and renovation project, Tackett said.

The six-year project included acquisition and handicap-accessible improvements to the adjacent row house, which doubled the museum space.

The courtyard project, estimated at more than $70,000 value, will be completed entirely by donations of labor and materials.

"The union supports the community as often as possible," said Greg Schrock, volunteer from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 257. "Most of our living is done here, so we like to give back."

mreagan@newstribune.com