Depot receives important donation; support remains strong

by Peter Jakey, Managing Editor

The historical Millersburg Depot continues to look better by the day and is getting close to completion. ?We?re well over the hump now,? said Virgil Freel, chairman of the Millersburg Historical Society.

At the organization?s June 16 meeting at the depot, the board was told that Pine Lumber of Millersburg would donate $2,000 of tongue and groove flooring, so the ticket agent?s office can be completed and restored to its original turn-of-the-century look. The depot is believed to have been built in 1906.

Pine Lumber has donated enough material to cover the concrete floor in the lobby, one of the largest rooms in the building. The floor is about the way it was more than 100 years ago, but is not easy to maintain.

?We think we should put flooring on it for the simple reason that it is very difficult to keep concrete clean,? said Freel. ?There are a lot of things we are not going to want dust on.?

Volunteer carpenter Rick Adas appreciates the old building and wants to be a part of its preservation. ? I believe it is one of the few landmarks we still have,? said Adas. ?We?ve lost a lot of our antique buildings. Any time I have the door open, people are more than welcome to come in and look around.?

The building will open, as it does every year, during the Millersburg Homecoming during Labor Day Weekend.

Freel said more people are more willing to donate money to the restoration project than were when the project started. ?This past year, we sent out another letter, seeking contributions and giving updates to people who have been faithful in supporting this and we had good response again,? said Freel. ?At first, it was tough to get support, because it was somebody?s pipe dream. It?s not a pipe dream anymore.?

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