SAGADAHOC

PRESERVATION, INC.P.O. Box 322Bath, ME 04530.

SAGADAHOC PRESERVATION, INC.Box 322, Bath, Maine 04530

E-mail: join@sagadahocpreservation.orgwww.sagadahocpreservation.orgSPIThe

Newsletter

Est. 1971

Trustees and Officers: Peter Kahl, Co-President(term expiring 2009)Elizabeth Knowlton, Co-President(term expiring 2009)Elena Vandervoort, Secretary(term expiring 2009)Kathryn Klingaman, Treasurer(term expiring 2009)

Terms expiring 2009Ray FredrickSue Fitzgerald

Terms expiring 2010Judith BarringtonTina GoodmanJane MorseThomas PagnottiAvanel PayneBeverly Reynolds

Terms expiring 2008Carolyn LockwoodArthur JenskyMartha MayoJane KresserPatty SamplePaul Seaman

For one year’s membership, clip and send to:SPI, P.O. Box 322, Bath, ME 04530. Please makechecks payable to Sagadahoc Preservation, Inc.

Name:_______________________________________

Address:_____________________________________

____________________________________________

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Phone:_____________________________________

Email:________________________________________

❐ $20 Single

❐ $35 Family

❐ $50 Patron

I wish to volunteer:❐Preservation

❐ Development

❐ Winter Street Center

❐House & Walking Tours

❐ House Plaque Research

SAGADAHOC PRESERVATION, INC. www.sagadahocpreservation.org

❐ $100 Sponsor

❐ $20 Nonprofit

❐ $50 Business

❐Education

❐ Development

❐ Membership

❐ Newsletter/Publicity

❐ Website

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This past fall, SPI President Peter Kahl brought a group of Morse students for a “long advisory period” on a walking tour. After opening remarks by Reverend George Dole in the Church of the New Jerusalem, SPI volunteers Peter Kahl, Gerard Dorian, Judy Barrington, Martha Mayo and Tina Hammond divided the students into two groups and lead them on a circuit of Middle, North, and Washington Streets to the home of Mr. and Mrs. D, the miniature horses that reside at the Gothic Revival home of Mr. and Mrs. Zimowski on Washington Street. From there the students either went to the Winter Street Center or the City Park in front of the Library for more architecture information before returning to school. Once again, it was heartening to realize that many of them remembered their 4th Grade experience with SPI. Others were quick to pick up on styles and details. It is clear that all of these students have a greater appreciation for the built community of Bath because of SPI’s Education Programs.

Winter/Spring 2008

Winter/Spring 2008

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SPI’s Education Program Expands - Martha Mayo

Morse High Students listening to Reverend Dole talk about the architectural history of the Church of the New Jerusalem. Built in 1844, it is Bath’s premier example of the Greek Revival Temple Style of architecture.

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New Attraction at Winter Street

Recently, the Winter Street Oversight Committee under-took a small project. Over the years, Sagadahoc Preservation has received a number of awards. It was decided that these honors should be matted, placed in matching frames and hung in the entry hall for all to see. Each of the awards, in chronological order, is now on display. The committee is grateful to Bath artist Elizabeth Messler who contributed her time and framing talent. Many thanks to Art Jensky for hanging them. Please stop and look at the new display next time you visit Winter Street.

What a relief, spring is in the air! SPI has had a really busy winter. Our January Trustees meeting was held at the home of Marie and John James on Garden Street. We had a tour of the house, followed by a slide show that gave us a great picture of the before and during stages of the restoration – their house is wonderful – we will sign them up for the house tour next year.

We hosted a workshop on March 30th at the Winter Street Center featuring Jon Brandon, a former SPI trustee and furniture conservator extraordinaire! Jon talked about chair repair, demonstrating how best to dismantle a chair for gluing, not nailing! We had

75 attendees, including some who became first time members; everyone was really pleased with both the workshop and the turnout – a perfect kickoff for our workshop series- stay tuned for more.

Main Street Bath hosted its 2nd Annual “So You Think You Know Bath” event on April 5th at Winter Street Center, and SPI had a team this year. It is a great event that supports a terrific program and the entire Bath Community. The Chocolate Church team of Barbara Gaul, Mary Eosco and Pat Taggart won with the most accurate answers and lightening buzzer strikes.

The “Button–up Winter Street Center” Campaign was a great success this year, raising more than $9000 to heat, light and tighten up the building for the winter; thank-you to all of our members and friends who chose to contribute.

Speaking of Winter Street Center, we held two focus group meetings on March 27th and April 2nd . We invited community leaders, non-profit directors, SPI members and friends to participate in brainstorming sessions to help us to see what the community envisions for the restored Sanctuary. The goal of SPI is to preserve Winter Street Center for community use. To that end we need to define the possible future use of the Sanctuary before embarking on the capital campaign. We found the process informative and helpful.

And then there is the Podcast Project! Elena Vandervoort and Gerard Dorian have been writing the script for a walking tour of selected Bath homes – it is an exciting project and an adventurous one- the first phase will be out by the summer! This is a joint effort between the City Tourism Committee and SPI. We will let membership know when it is available to download or where you may borrow equipment so that you too may walk the streets of Bath and hear about the days of yore.

As you can see, SPI has been really busy! All of these events are in addition to the 4th Grade School Pro-gram, the June House Tour, the House Plaque Research and the May 17 Antiques and Ephemera Auction.

In closing, we must say good-bye to two great friends of preservation. Peter Robohm died on February 28th. Peter and his wife Sharon moved to Bath just 10 years ago and Peter soon became an invaluable volunteer in the Bath and Midcoast community. Peter had a passion for trains and railroads and was instrumental in the renovation of the Bath Train Station, Chairing the Bath Transportation Commission which oversaw the project. Peter joined us at the Annual Meeting in 2007 and received SPI’s Preservation Award on behalf of the work of the Commission, the City of Bath, MDOT, Maine Historical Commission, Bath Iron Works, SPI, The Bath Garden Club and the Southern Midcoast Maine Chamber - truly a community-wide project. We shall remember Peter fondly as we continue on the course he charted for us and for the City of Bath.

And our past president, Trustee Emeritus, Charter Member and preservation guru, Mel Rogers, died on March 27th, leaving a hole in the hearts of all who knew her. (See page 3 for more on Mary Ellanor Donnell Rogers)

Fair Winds and Following Seas, Good Friends, from the City of Ships.

Peter Kahl & Elizabeth Knowlton

LETTER FROM THE CO-PRESIDENTS Winter Street Happenings

On March 27 and April 2, the Winter Street Oversight Committee hosted two Focus Group Sessions. A broad spec-trum of people from the Bath area were invited to attend, ranging from the Chocolate Church, City representatives, other local non-profit heads, caterers, and groups from out of town such as the Choral Arts Society and Mid-Coast Or-chestra. In anticipation of beginning our capital campaign for the restoration of the former Sanctuary, we want to make sure that we will be providing a space to be used by the com-munity. We are currently assessing their input which is vital to the future use of of our great space.

SPI Co-president Elizabeth Knowlton and Winter Street Oversight Committee Chair Patty Sample address the March 27th Focus Group.

Jon Brandon-Furniture Conservator

On March 30th, as the first in our revival of the SPI Lecture series, past trustee Jon Brandon gave a talk on “Preserving Antique Furniture”. Attendees were en-couraged to bring a small piece of antique furniture or photo for advice. The talk consisted of a slide/lecture presentation along with a demonstration on repairing an old chair. Jon is the owner of the East Point Conser-vation Studio located in the Fort Andross building in Brunswick. He is a graduate of the Smithsonian Conser-vation Training Program and has had more than 25 years of experience in private conservation practice.

Bath Mystery House II

This photo is also in our files. Can anyone identify this two family federal style house, now long gone? Note the two-toned paint scheme on the handsome front

Bath Mystery Interior

This photo is in our files without a caption. The fireplace in the background could be a clue as to this room’s location. One of the Washington Street Italianates perhaps?

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Mary E.D. Rogers, Charter Member of SPI - Elizabeth Knowlton

It is with great sadness that we report the death of Mary Ellanor Donnell (Mel) Rogers, a charter member and Trustee Emeritus of Sagadahoc Preservation, Inc.

Mel’s Maine roots are long and deep; Donnell ances-tors arrived in York, Maine in the early 17th century, and she is a direct descendent of Henry Donnell who came to Bath in 1843 to work in the Donnell Ropewalk. As a child, Mel and her family lived in Bath for a short time, between years in China, Michigan and later Japan. After graduating from Smith College and during World War II, Mel worked for the OSS, predecessor of the CIA. Mel and her husband, Colonel Joseph Rogers, moved to Bath upon Joe’s retirement from the Army in 1967 and, in the midst of raising their sons, Chad and DJ, Mel jumped into Bath as a volunteer extraordinaire!

As Mel’s interest in the historic preservation movement grew, she became a consummate preservation advocate, working with a small group of original SPI members to save the Winter Street Church and what is now the Chocolate Church Arts Center. She was a founder and a continuing supporter of the Chocolate Church, and she was instrumental in establishing the Winter Street Endowment Fund. As the civic affairs chairman of the Bath Garden Club, Mel was a member of the Ad Hoc Committee on Downtown Restoration and of the Waterfront Park Committee and as such, was involved in the restoration of downtown Bath by burying power lines, replacing the street lights with the period lighting we now have, and re-bricking the side walks as well as working with property owners to restore facades. Along

with Diane Curtis (Dee) Francis and others she was re-sponsible for helping to create the first National Historic District in Bath. Mel may be best remembered for work-ing on the first survey of all buildings in the city starting with those built before 1920 and later to include those built up to 1985.

Mel served for many years on the Board of Trustees of Sagadahoc Preservation Inc., as well as serving as our president, secretary, preservation officer and in later years, the head of the finance committee. She was still an active member of the Winter Street Center Oversight Committee at the time of her death. Mel also served on the Board of Maine Preservation and was a member from Maine on the Board of Advisors of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. In 1986, she received a State of Maine Historic Preservation Award and, in 1999, Maine Preservation’s Statewide Historic Preservation Award.

Mel was one of the first to welcome many of us when we chose Bath as our home. She was a mentor, advisor, teacher and friend to many aspiring old house owners and preservationists. Mel, you will be sorely missed.

Memorial contributions may be made to Sagadahoc Preservation Inc. for the Winter Street Center Building Endowment Fund.

PO Box 322, Bath Maine 04530

Old House Windows - What to Do? - Judith Barrington, HDARC ChairAs a preservation society, SPI recommends that if you own an older home you should do everything in your power to

restore the wooden windows you have. The argument being that with proper restoration the wooden windows will outlast the guaranteed lifetimes of the vinyl and aluminum substitutes as well as maintain the inherent character of the design. Along with a few statewide courses to teach individuals simple techniques to increase their home’s energy efficiency and preserve its historic integrity for years to come*, there are several old window preservation carpenters in Maine including Bath carpenter Nate Jung who specializes in this area. The Historic District Architectural Review Committee (HDARC) has been faced many times with owners who insist on changing their old wooden windows to new ones, the most recent being the Sewall mansion at 963 Wash-ington Street, Since this structure is a Bath “flagship” building within our historic district, I recently contacted Mike Johnson of the Maine Historic Preservation Commission as to what type of replacement window is acceptable to the Commission within Historic Districts or in any building eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.

Mike responded by submitting the following outline:

“Based on the information submitted, I have concluded that the subject property is likely eligible for nomina-tion to the National Register of Historic Places. Therefore we are recommending that the existing windows be restored if this is possible within reasonable means (ie: repairing with wood putty, re-glazing, scraping/stripping and painting, and weather stripping).

If restoration of the existing windows is not possible, and the windows must be replaced, the following replace-ment window specifications must be followed:

1) The replacement sash lite configurations must match the existing (i.e.: 2-over-2, 6-over-6, etc.);

2) Replacement windows must match the existing as closely as possible in materials (aluminum clad wood windows/sash are acceptable, vinyl windows/sash are not acceptable), design and dimensions (including exposed glass area and overall dimensions, as well as rail, stile and muntin widths);

3) All original exterior and interior trim must be retained;

4) Any replacement window/sash model must include permanent exterior muntins (or “grills”), permanent or removable interior muntins, and must have shadow bars between panes at the muntins (usually referred to as true-divided lite, integral divided lite, or authentic divided lite models);

5) If the stipulations above can be met by replacing the sash only (rather than the entire window unit), only the sash shall be replaced. If not, the window units may be replaced. If any of the these stipulations cannot be met by either alternative, further consultation with the Commission is required.

The following window and sash replacement products have been reviewed and found acceptable to our office for similar projects, though this is not a guarantee they will be acceptable for the subject project. There may be other products that are equally acceptable that are not included on this list.

Brosco ----------------- Authentic Divided Lite Anderson -------------- Woodwright Kolbe & Kolbe -------- Heritage Weathershield --------- Legacy Harvey ----------------- Majesty Pella--------------------- Precision Fit Architect Series Trimline---------------- Ultra-fit Series Lincoln----------------- Simulated Divided Lite w/internal aluminum gridwork Marvin------------------ Heritage windows – custom designed

Implementation of these recommendations into the scope of work for the proposed undertaking will likely re-sult in a finding from our office that there will be no adverse effect to the historic property in question. Measured drawings of the existing windows, and specifications and product information on the replacement sash or windows product being proposed should be submitted”.

Note: The new owners are planning to use one of the above listed vendors.

* SPI would consider a workshop on wooden window restoration as part of our lecture series. (See article on page 4.) Curtis Henderson and Mel Rogers at last year’s SPI Gala, a Winter Street Center fund raising projct dear to Mel’s heart.

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Volunteers Gerard Dorian, Judy Barrington and Rev. George Dole are well dressed and ready for a chilly walk around Bath’s North End Historic District last November

COMING EVENTS AND DATE CHANGES

Members! Friends! We need your help! Please check your attic, basement, sheds, over-flowing china closet, and jewelry boxes. We can use rugs, furniture, paintings, vases, mirrors, etc... To donate items, please call: Ray Fredrick, 442-9948, Art Jensky, 443-6610, or Bev Reynolds, 443-8812

Pick-up is available.

Sagadahoc Preservation, Inc.is sponsoring an

Antiques and Ephemera AuctionSaturday, May 17, 2008 from 6:00.p.m.

at Winter Street Center880 Washington Street, Bath, ME

Join us for suitable refreshments and lots of fun.

Saturday, June 14th, 200810:00 a.m.– 3:00 p.m.

Open Houses & Hidden Gardens of Bath

Stunning homes and fabulous gardens of distinction to peruse at your leisure. An added plus, the historic Beth Israel Congregation Synagogue will be featured in the afternoon.

SPI Presents its 6th Annual House Tour

SPI Revives Lecture Series

In the early days of SPI, there was a very strong lec-ture program, and it was a money-maker for the organi-zation. Several years ago, SPI sponsored some excellent lectures, but there has been a hiatus. On Sunday, March 30, 2008, a very well received lecture by former trustee Jon Brandon on “Preserving Antique Furniture” got us back on track.

Seventy six people attended the lecture, and, while it was a “gift to the community,” the group donated $200. What is even better, several of them became members! A number of the attendees completed an “Information Gathering” piece which asked them to indicate which of the following topics would be of interest to them. There were a lot of new faces, so we are asking for input from established members as well. Please take 5 minutes and indicate the topics for lecture that you might attend.

We have tentatively engaged Earle Shettleworth, Di-rector of the Maine Historic Preservation Commission, to lecture on our own Bath born Francis Fassett (teacher of John Calvin Stevens) on November 5, 2008. Raise your hand if you are interested…

• Greek Revival in Bath, ME (author Joyce Bibber)• Upholstery techniques• A Primer on Architectural Styles in Bath, ME• Francis Fassett: Bath born, Maine famous (11/5/08)• Making old houses more energy efficient• Repairing old windows• Nathan Lipfert “Victorian Interiors” (Please suggest a topic of interest to you)

Send your preferences to info@sagadahocpreserva-tion.org , call 443-7124 or drop a line to SPI, P. O. Box 322, Bath, ME 04530. While you’re at it, include your email address. With the growing cost of postage, we would prefer to communicate via email.

Besides reaching out to the high school, the tradi-tional fourth Grade Education Program by the SPI Edu-cation Committee was expanded in the Fall of 2007 to accommodate the Purple House’s Expeditionary program “Beyond Bath Buildings.” The Purple House of eighth graders combined Art, Social Studies and Language Arts in a mixed discipline focus on architecture in Bath. SPI volunteers participated in the kick off by giving a Power Point presentation on a wide range of Bath buildings at Winter Street Center to numerous small groups of stu-dents. During the mornings, the groups were also cir-culating through a walking tour, an introduction to the History Room at the library, and the start of sketching lessons. We made a point of reviewing the architectural details that many of these students had been exposed to as 4th graders and were pleased to note that many of them remembered!

Back in the classroom, students looked at various styles in an era and learned what features defined those styles. They used pictures on the City Assessor’s Office website, and determined, not surprisingly, that Greek Revival is the most prevalent style. They also reviewed SPI and Main Street Bath walking tours. Groups of four students then chose one house from 20 representative houses and focused in on specific architectural features.

They sketched the feature and then molded them in clay that was fired into tiles. These tiles were framed for presen-tation at the Expeditionary Exhibition; they have an ac-companying catalogue that shows the address of the house, the style, and the name of the architectural feature.

Vince Chatto, one of the participating Social Sci-ence teachers at the Middle school, offered the framed tiles to SPI, and the SPI trustees voted to accept the gift. We are hoping that the tiles can be exhibited at the Visi-tor’ Center at the Railroad Station this summer and then come home to the Winter Street Center.

Date

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