1st Open House of the New Millineum!

Well, that may sound a bit grand, but it was a great start.  The rumor is that Mr Benjamin's first open house was attended by very few or even boycotted all together.  We did not really know what to expect from the announcement in the Shelbina Weekly News, but were very surprised when people started arriving and the groups kept growing.  We quickly abandon the plan to give orderly group tours with explainations of the work in progress.  Plan "B" went quite well as my wife, Marilyn joined forces with Jo Kampschmidt to provide information upstairs.  Kathleen Wilham and I worked downstairs to answer as many questions as possible.  Kathleen had printed a nice folder that included a copy of an 1872 artical published before the home was even completed.  She combined this artical with another from 1899 that described the completed home and furnishings.   We are very fortunate to have so much information about the home from various sources.  We are also very fortunated to have the likes of Kathleen from the Historical Society and noted author Jo to support the mansion with their expertise.  The only drawback to such a large attendance was the inability to speak with each and every person as much as we wanted.  The mansion has so many different points of interest and we could see people who concentrated on the architecture while others liked the color schemes or original furnishings.  The rare faucets, medallions, lighting fixtures, and fireplaces offer so many items to view.  Then, there are all the stories about John Forbes Benjamin himself, which Kathleen can tell so well.  We want to give thanks those who attended for being so orderly and respectful of the rare items in the house.  Some of the people were from the St Louis area while others heard about the openhouse in Mexico, MO.  Since the openhouse, many people have asked when the next opportunity to tour  would be scheduled as they were unable to attend this one.

Tours begin at the Mansion!

• Several organizations met and toured the Benjamin House in October.  It was nice to meet with so many people who had knowledge about the house and see their excitement with the direction that the work is progressing.  The philosophy of light, color, and hard work seems to meet the approval of nearly everyone.  There were stories of past visits, furnishings, and many heartfelt expressions of support for the house.  The Mansion has had several narrow escapes from severe decline and it is our hope to do more than restore the structure.  A support plan is needed to improve the likelyhood of survival for one of the areas most unique pieces of history.   It is great to see the enthusiasm of others.

Former resident of the mansion passes away.

 When I received word that Charles E. (Sonny) Magruder had passed away from injuries in a fall at his home, I was saddened more than might be imagined.   You see, I had never met or spoken with "Sonny", but knew much about him.  The bedroom that he occupied while growing up has been shared by other "boys" such as the Crists and Todds as we know.  He was well respected as a person and as a singer.  He was mainly a studio or background voice for several famous groups including the Ray Charles singers.  It had been my dream that he would one day walk up the sidewalk and introduce himself.  Then we would walk through the house and he would tutor me on the house as he knew it when his father, Elmer, was the owner.  My letters to him had not been delivered as he had moved from his Bronx, New York address.  Shelbina has seen a lot of finality this year.  Marilyn and I hope that the house with so much history will grow in recognition and support.  It is amazing how much energy and expense is used for clean up instead of preservation.  A bit like the story of Humpty Dumpty.

Body found in the yard of the Benjamin House!

While working on the front porch, I noted a Shelbina Police car entering the drive.  A young officer parked the car and approached me.  Sir, we had a report from one of the school bus drivers that there was a dead body in the yard.  I felt both surprise then relief as I understood what was reported.  It was a nice early spring day and the plasterers where working away (which made a mess with a lot of dust).  One of their girl friends was visiting, but watching them do the "wax on, wax off" motion is rather boring so she wanted to read a book.  Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING was dusty in the house, so she brought a blanket out to a shady spot in the front yard.  Well, a gentle breeze with soft grass resulted in a sleeping young woman on the lawn.  It is so peaceful in Shelbina that I thought nothing of it.  Time passed and she awoke and decided to go inside to see her friend.  That's when the police "raided the joint".  The officer enjoyed seeing the inside of the house and the young woman.  Dutifully he asked a few questions inside and was satisfied with my explanation.  So, yes, there was a body in the yard, but no, not a dead body.  Mr Benjamin was the last dead body in the front yard that I can confirm.  He was buried there after his death, but later moved to Shelbyville Cemetery.

The Big Muddy - basement!.

One big concern about the house was the moisture in the basement.  There was mold about 3" deep on a couple of areas and all the sheetrock ceiling had to be removed.  Moisture is fairly easy to detect, but the source takes a bit more study.  We checked the sump pump, walls, and drainage around the house.  The sump was at the west end of the basement and it was determined that a more central location would help.  There is a long, narrow room in the center of the basement that parrallels the upstairs halls as they are the central support walls of a very heavy house.  Moisture in this area could enhance (in addition to mold), so we took action, more action, and really tough action.  The unused room (like most damp areas) had become a storage room filled with cans of paint, lumber, benches, insulation, and all on a floor of plastic and indoor/outdoor carpet.  There was one bare light bulb, so it was tough to see well in the long narrow room.  Your shadow would grow and project onto the walls.  Any movement by a person or object was broadcast on two or three walls.  This was tough, since everyone I had met asked about tunnels, slaves, and ghosts.  Get real!  You spend time in a dark basement of an old home after having read most of Steven Kings's books and I bet that you have apprehensions too.   I carried out everything and was so pumped by listening for noises and watching shadows move that I could go all the way to daylight with a very heavy load.  Man,  it was nice when that room was cleared and we could get DCF electric to add lighting the length of the room. 

     With light, I could see much better and the walls were very stable.  The floor; however, was a mess of wet clay type soil.  It was difficult to tell where the source of water started.  Our first idea was to dig a trench down the middle of the room and have Snyider plumbing install a sump pumb to get the water out of the house.  The pump worked fine, but the clay soil would not pass water from the edges to the center of the room, so the drain tile did not carry enough water to the pump.  Next, I talked with Kieth Baker.   The Spurgeon brothers came to help me excavate the long room by hand to detect the inflow of water.  What a mess.  Each shovelfull of dirt stuck to the shovel like one of those swifter commercials.  You had to bang the blade of the shovel on a board to get 80% of the mud off and just accept the 20% that weighed down the shovel for the next load.  This 28 foot long room had no windows, so we had to carry the mud into the large wonderful room that Bob Crist and Paul Todd had so loved.  Load after load of the sticky stuff went onto the cement floor of their meeting room.  A wheelbarrow of mud on a slick floor is a tough job.  Darren and Aron are strong as well as good natured.  We stumble all over the place in boots that kept getting stuck, but no one fell into the muck.  Finally, about 18" of mud floor was evacuated.  Water flowed from the east wall and out from under the cement floors to the north and south.  The benefit of the clay was that we could scrape a trough toward the sump and the water dutifully flowed that direction.  The room began to dry and the source of the water flows was identified for further action. 

     The mud in the meeting room was another adventure.  Once again, Kieth and the Spurgeon brothers found a solution.  They manufactured a small elevator much like might be used on a farm to take hay to the second floor of a barn.  We stuck it out a window and plugged in the motor.  Zoom, it took off at a high rate of speed throwing mud and rocks out the window and against the inside wall.  We scooped'm up and threw them back on the rolling belt for another shot at the open window.  Since we let the mud dry a bit on the concrete floor, it was not as sticky this time.  If you read the next episode (blog), I will tell you some of the discoveries that we unearthed.

How do you move a bath tub?????

It sounds simple enough, but I must confess to my lack of skill in this area.  We were working on restoring the east bath upstairs and Dennis of Snyder Plumbing was helping.  In fact, I was helping and Dennis was the brains of the operation.  You must understand that we found many water lines that had broken due to freeze up during some previous winter.  Dennis found all the breaks that we could possibly see and did a great job of repair.  It came to "test time" and he turned on the water to the house and watched on the first floor while I watched the second floor.  All went well until I heard running water and someone yelled on the first floor.  Water was pouring out of the chandelier in the parlor and the chandelier in the main entrance hall.  It takes considerable time for water pressure to relax and all we could do was watch and hope until the flow stopped.  We looked at each other and went upstairs to search out the break.  Well, the breaks were well hidden under the flooring and under a bathroom vanity built in the 1950's.  The first break we found by looking in an old electrical access panel over the parlor chandelier.  The second was found by eliminating all the other possibilities and taking a guess, which was confirmed when we tore out the bathroom vanity.  Bingo, spit copper tubing was found and repaired.  Since we had started the bathroom restoration, I asked

Dennis how to remove the tub.  My suggestion was to use a saw's all.  The tub was blue and I assumed that it was made of fiberglass.  Dennis is a very understated person and he sounded like the actor Jimmy Stewart.  "Well, if it were me, I would close this bathroom door, see? "  I nodded.  "Then, I would put on some safety classes."  He paused to see if I grasp the concept, and I nodded.  He asked if I had a big hammer and, like a bobble head, I just kept nodding.  Then with a sly, but gentle smile he said, "hit that bathtub with the hammer until she breaks into a lot of little pieces"!  I told him that it would be almost a sin to destroy a tub in such good condition.  Couldn't we just remove it and slide it out the door to the porch and give it away?  Dennis went back into his Jimmy Stewart, "Well, yes we could, but that tub probably weighs over 400lbs"!  A vision of it chasing me down the stairs and crashing through a wall lead me to accepting the advise of Dennis.  So, I called Kyler (Big Hammer) Rash and we did some sinnin' on that tub and threw 400+ lbs of cast iron out the window, and over the porch roof to the ground.  Man, Kyler can swing a hammer!!!!

Betty Lou Crist visits the mansion for first time in 16 years!

We have all watched children grow up overnight.  Time seems to crawl during certain moments, but the years can fly.  Betty Lou Crist recently visited the mansion for the first time in 16 years.  Can you imagine the questions she had as she watched other people adjust the building that she had called home with her husband, Robert, for 35 years.  It must have been similar to hearing a sound upstairs when you are home alone.  Should I look or stay where I safely stand?  It was also a question for Marilyn and I, as we have always hoped that our taste and ideas meet with the approval of the Christ family.  Things seemed to be going in the right direction when Robert made his weekly inspection and Betty Lou related the story of her mother's first visit.  Mother walked through the doors for the first time and said, "Betty Lou, this house needs color!".  That story made us feel a little better, because color and lighting were our main goal for the house.  Well, Mrs LaGrand and Betty Lou, we have color!  It was great to see Betty Lou and Robert, along with Robin, Dan, and Camron Buckman walk up the front porch stairs and into the house.  From room to room we roamed the house up and down discussing the design, colors, and furnishings. 

       It was pleasant to finish the tour in the parlor and relax on the Victorian furniture.  Betty Lou enjoyed the fainting couch while she related stories of her adventures in the house.  Robin's sister Camilla called just as we entered the bedroom that she and Robin had shared so many years ago.  It was a psychic experience to hear her voice and Robin laughed as she described the room to her sister.  They were both very happy that the closets now had lighting!  They had moved into the house as very young girls and the other kids had often told them ghost stories about the house.  For years Robin and Camilla had a ritual of checking under the bed each night and in the closets to insure that there were no extra forms of energy lurking in the dark areas.  Whooooooooooooooooooooooo!