December 2001 - Posts

• 138) Blacksmith expert visits

  138)  Blacksmith expert visits - December 31, 2001                  Blacksmith Bob Valentine visits the tavern and inspects all the door hardware in the building.  He is an expert in early American iron hardware.  He takes notes and will be producing an inventory of the door latches and door hinges in the building.  Many of the hardware items are thought to be from the early 1800's and late 1700's.  It is amazing the clues an expert can piece together by looking at simple details on an early iron door latch.   Posted Dec 31 2001, 02:27 PM by Paul with no comments Filed under: Squires, Expert

• 137) Squires Tavern committee meeting

  137)  Squires Tavern committee meeting - December 29, 2001                  Floor plans of the Squires Tavern have been produced and copies are handed out to the 12 people attending the meeting.  One priority identified is a major update of the strategic plan including room use and how each room will be restored or renovated.  To help understand how rooms were used in the early tavern period, plans are made to visit local tavern buildings in town.  Also discussed were bathroom issues and various options to accomplish the extensive plaster work which will be needed.  Posted Dec 29 2001, 02:26 PM by Paul with 1 comment(s) Filed under: Meeting, Squires

• 136) First Friends of the Squires Tavern newsletter!

  136)  First Friends of the Squires Tavern newsletter! - December 28, 2001                  The first newsletter to the Friends of the Squires Tavern is completed and mailed.  Many volunteers put in a lot of work on the newsletter led by Linne Landgraf and Karen Ansaldi.  The Squires Tavern Quarterly contains an update on the progress of the restoration work and information on Bela Squires who occupied the building for about 40 years during the 1800's.    Posted Dec 28 2001, 02:00 PM by Paul with 1 comment(s) Filed under: Squires, Volunteers

• 135) Squires Tavern work party

  135)  Squires Tavern work party - December 26, 2001                  Volunteers go to work on taking down much of the first floor bathroom.  One wall is removed, along with the bath tub, some pipes and the bath closet.  Workers removed about 5 bushels of spruce cones, nut shells and insulation that had been left by squirrels under the tub. Bill Parsons completed closing off the chimney opening in front bedroom fire place. Posted Dec 26 2001, 01:58 PM by Paul with no comments Filed under: work party, Squires

• 134) Squires Tavern contractor work

  134)  Squires Tavern contractor work - December 22, 2001                  Plumber Clayton Web installs a shutoff and drain valve so that the plumbing to the bathroom can be shut off and drained for the winter (this bathroom will be relocated). Posted Dec 22 2001, 01:58 PM by Paul with no comments Filed under: Contractor, Squires

• 133) FRCC tours the Squires Tavern, wood stove operational

  133)  FRCC tours the Squires Tavern, wood stove operational - December 20, 2001                  Three representatives from the Farmington River Coordinating Committee tour the Squires Tavern.  They were very pleased with the work that has been done and the atmosphere and quality of the building.  It is the hope of the Barkhamsted Historical Society that FRCC will consider renting a small area of the building for office space.  Dave and Walt have the wood stove operational and today fire it up for the first time. Posted Dec 20 2001, 01:55 PM by Paul with 1 comment(s) Filed under: Squires, FRCC

• 132) Squires Tavern work party

  132)  Squires Tavern work party - December 19, 2001                  Volunteers stacked brick on the porch and removed nails from damaged clapboards and stored the clapboards in the wood shed for woodstove fuel. Walt and Dave go to Shutesbury, MA to pick up a load of radially sawn pine clapboards to replace damaged clapboards on the Tavern.  Mill owner Fred Johnson gave a wonderful tour of the mill and the machinery obtained from an old water powered mill which he uses to make clapboards from native pine.  Fred is very well known in the restoration field and ships custom work all over the U.S. Posted Dec 19 2001, 01:54 PM by Paul with no comments Filed under: work party, Squires, Volunteers