Just a quick note this morning that I will be posting a new series of "work in progress" pictures. However, I need to get a new upload cable as the one for my camera is "at the other house". This is always the case when you have the dilemma of two houses. Whatever you need at one is always at the other??? Go figure. Something about Murphy's Law.
So bear with us as I get my technical dept straightened out and you will see more pics of our progress. Stay tuned.
BTW- our elevator inspector from the state of NC is coming today so hopefully all goes well and he signs off on the inspection AOK....
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
Rainy Day in Enfield
Well, it started out with the sun and a nice 60+ degree F temperature outside but slowly the clouds rolled in and the rains starting coming down. However, not to worry we were inside the Lodge (still the icebox as it is quite chilly in there) just a painting a way. Today was the 'antechamber' room outside the upstairs theatre. Myra handcrafted the decaying plaster molding in the ceiling and I finished up the installed sheet rock wall. Although the spackle still has not dried yet, I may have gone to heavy on spackle. I thought I needed a little heavy spacle due to the way the wall was. We shall see tomorrow when we return.
I rolled on the base coat paint on the walls which is a muted red (mix of greys and browns). Very good color. Myra went behind me and 'fauxed' throughout the wall making indentations in the paint. After the base dries she will apply the 'faux' finish coat which will be a maroon red look (which should go with the current carpet that is already there. This room will have a fully functioning bar built to serve drinks and such to theatre patrons. This will be a GREAT room.
In addition to painting I walked down the street to the Enfield Library. They did not have much as all the microfilm and old documents had been sent to the Halifax Library which I will venture to next. Did find some good synopses of the histories of Enfield and Halifax County which will be nice information to post on our Lodge website to give the background of the town and area for interested patrons. I finished going through Mr. Davis' old Enfield Progress records from 1929 to 1939 and found some great copy of Theatre announcements, playbills, articles and such.
Here are some examples of previous Masonic Theatre/Enfield Theatre shows:
1) April 8 1938 --> On stage Borrah Minevitch presents his world famous Original Harmonica Rascals "in person". Matinee 15 cent and 30 cents; Night 25 cents and 40cents
On the screen -- "The Shadow" starring Charles Quigley and Rita Hayworth
2) March 25, 1938 --> On our stage "direct from a season's run at the World Theatre, NY, ENGLE's famous Marionette Show in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs"
3) Oct 25, 1928 --> Films showing - BEN HUR with Ramon Navarro, Betty Bronson;
THE WIND starring Lillian Gish and Lars Hanson.
4) Nov 28 ,1929 --> On stage Bud Fisher's latest sensation "Mutt & Jeff".
5) July 21, 1939 --> Film: "Young Mr. Lincoln" with Henry Fonda and Alice Brady
6) July 28, 1939 --> Film: "Susannah of the Mounties" with Shirley Temple and Randolph Scott
7) Feb 28, 1929 -->Film: John Barrymore in "the tempest". "a super production featuring white hot love, intense drama and high romance in its tremendous theme" (from the announcement)
all shows 10-25 cents.
8) Mar 14, 1929 --> Film: Douglas Fairbanks in "The Gaucho"
9) July 26, 1928 --> Film: George Sidney and Charlie Murray in "Life of Riley", for laughing purposes only.
Film: Colleen Moore in "Her Wild Act" Laughter and romance.
10) Oct 11, 1928 --> On stage: "Cupid-up-to-date" performed by local talent. Under auspices of the frank m parker chapter, united daughters of the confederacy.
So there is a random sampling of the films and stage shows performed at the masonic theater. We have some MIGHTY BIG shoes to fill!!!
I rolled on the base coat paint on the walls which is a muted red (mix of greys and browns). Very good color. Myra went behind me and 'fauxed' throughout the wall making indentations in the paint. After the base dries she will apply the 'faux' finish coat which will be a maroon red look (which should go with the current carpet that is already there. This room will have a fully functioning bar built to serve drinks and such to theatre patrons. This will be a GREAT room.
In addition to painting I walked down the street to the Enfield Library. They did not have much as all the microfilm and old documents had been sent to the Halifax Library which I will venture to next. Did find some good synopses of the histories of Enfield and Halifax County which will be nice information to post on our Lodge website to give the background of the town and area for interested patrons. I finished going through Mr. Davis' old Enfield Progress records from 1929 to 1939 and found some great copy of Theatre announcements, playbills, articles and such.
Here are some examples of previous Masonic Theatre/Enfield Theatre shows:
1) April 8 1938 --> On stage Borrah Minevitch presents his world famous Original Harmonica Rascals "in person". Matinee 15 cent and 30 cents; Night 25 cents and 40cents
On the screen -- "The Shadow" starring Charles Quigley and Rita Hayworth
2) March 25, 1938 --> On our stage "direct from a season's run at the World Theatre, NY, ENGLE's famous Marionette Show in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs"
3) Oct 25, 1928 --> Films showing - BEN HUR with Ramon Navarro, Betty Bronson;
THE WIND starring Lillian Gish and Lars Hanson.
4) Nov 28 ,1929 --> On stage Bud Fisher's latest sensation "Mutt & Jeff".
5) July 21, 1939 --> Film: "Young Mr. Lincoln" with Henry Fonda and Alice Brady
6) July 28, 1939 --> Film: "Susannah of the Mounties" with Shirley Temple and Randolph Scott
7) Feb 28, 1929 -->Film: John Barrymore in "the tempest". "a super production featuring white hot love, intense drama and high romance in its tremendous theme" (from the announcement)
all shows 10-25 cents.
8) Mar 14, 1929 --> Film: Douglas Fairbanks in "The Gaucho"
9) July 26, 1928 --> Film: George Sidney and Charlie Murray in "Life of Riley", for laughing purposes only.
Film: Colleen Moore in "Her Wild Act" Laughter and romance.
10) Oct 11, 1928 --> On stage: "Cupid-up-to-date" performed by local talent. Under auspices of the frank m parker chapter, united daughters of the confederacy.
So there is a random sampling of the films and stage shows performed at the masonic theater. We have some MIGHTY BIG shoes to fill!!!
Sunday, February 21, 2010
The Big Dig!
Well it's time to start the big cleanout of the main theatre. This large auditorium, which has not been used professionally since before the war...WW2 that is...has become the kitchen drawer for the entire town. Anyone that needed to store "stuff" just put it over here for many many years. As a result, it is just chock full of furniture, receipts, store shelves, and god knows what else. It is where we found the 10 foot wooden "library" tables that we now have in our house. to purchase these tables at a Restoration Hardware, forgeddaboudit!!
I now have halogen work lights inside the theatre wired from next door so we can actually see inside this theatre. I have not even attempted to try the electricity here until I have an electrician over to check everything out. The wiring is probably circa 1930s so there is no telling the condition of these wires and fuses etc. For now, it is an extension cord running fromthe main lodge building (which is attached of course).
Thus, I will be uploading pictures of the mess soon so stay tuned. I have started sorting through the layers upon layers and getting piles ready for my work crew on monday to load into the garbage truck. The town is providing a large dump truck to load garbage into and then they cart it away to the dump at the end of the day. We are going to need about 15-20 loads I am sure. (if not more)
I did find all sorts of building material which may come in handy for our renovations: piles of sheetrock, 2x4s, 4x4s and an assortment of lumber and materials. this should do nicely.
more to come.
Andrew
I now have halogen work lights inside the theatre wired from next door so we can actually see inside this theatre. I have not even attempted to try the electricity here until I have an electrician over to check everything out. The wiring is probably circa 1930s so there is no telling the condition of these wires and fuses etc. For now, it is an extension cord running fromthe main lodge building (which is attached of course).
Thus, I will be uploading pictures of the mess soon so stay tuned. I have started sorting through the layers upon layers and getting piles ready for my work crew on monday to load into the garbage truck. The town is providing a large dump truck to load garbage into and then they cart it away to the dump at the end of the day. We are going to need about 15-20 loads I am sure. (if not more)
I did find all sorts of building material which may come in handy for our renovations: piles of sheetrock, 2x4s, 4x4s and an assortment of lumber and materials. this should do nicely.
more to come.
Andrew
Friday, February 19, 2010
ClusterF##K
Okay so today was a little tiny setback and a lesson in "always check the system" before you leave the building! I had turned the water on (again) to test all the valves again. I had tested before and all seemed to work okay. Then we shut off the water and drained the pipes before leaving the last time (early january) due to the extreme cold weather that would come.
So, yesterday I turned the water on again yet did not go upstairs after turning the water on...BIG MISTAKE. I came back to the lodge today and in the kitchen and prep room was just flooded with water. The faucet had been left open from the last draining (note to self again on this one). Water had been gushing out all night and into the day...as we were hiking in Medoc Mtn State Park taking in the beauty of the day and a brisk 55/60 degree day.
Well I spent the next 2 hours mopping and shopvacing lots and lots of water. The good news is that it did not leak below into the conference room/office that we had just cleaned and painted. The bad news is it leaked into the main floor auditorium. (not such a big deal considering we have not done anything to renovate or fix up this auditorium. The walls and ceilings are still down to the lathing and we need to rip a lot of this out anyway to re electrify, insulate, plumb and install sound to this room. so, it is not a total clusterf**k just an idiot move and am kicking myself for not checking the plumbing after turning on the water. Lesson Learned!!
On to new stuff. We are getting a public works dump truck on monday so we can begin the cleanout of the mess that is in the main auditorium and start removing all the garbage and old belongings that are here. I hope I can post a video of the cleanup process so you can see the sheer magnitude of the furniture and fixtures that have accummulated in this area. My god! Packrats!
Until we meet again
Drew
So, yesterday I turned the water on again yet did not go upstairs after turning the water on...BIG MISTAKE. I came back to the lodge today and in the kitchen and prep room was just flooded with water. The faucet had been left open from the last draining (note to self again on this one). Water had been gushing out all night and into the day...as we were hiking in Medoc Mtn State Park taking in the beauty of the day and a brisk 55/60 degree day.
Well I spent the next 2 hours mopping and shopvacing lots and lots of water. The good news is that it did not leak below into the conference room/office that we had just cleaned and painted. The bad news is it leaked into the main floor auditorium. (not such a big deal considering we have not done anything to renovate or fix up this auditorium. The walls and ceilings are still down to the lathing and we need to rip a lot of this out anyway to re electrify, insulate, plumb and install sound to this room. so, it is not a total clusterf**k just an idiot move and am kicking myself for not checking the plumbing after turning on the water. Lesson Learned!!
On to new stuff. We are getting a public works dump truck on monday so we can begin the cleanout of the mess that is in the main auditorium and start removing all the garbage and old belongings that are here. I hope I can post a video of the cleanup process so you can see the sheer magnitude of the furniture and fixtures that have accummulated in this area. My god! Packrats!
Until we meet again
Drew
Press Coverage
I should take a few minutes and talk about our press coverage to date. For one, the response in and around the town has been terrific and highly motivating and encouraging. I developed a press release along with my wife and friend Suzann A. I released it to the local, regional and national press for publication.
The first response was in January 2010 with the publication of the press release in the Commonwealth Progress, a local weekly based in Scotland Neck NC. This was a full reprint of the PR by the paper.
The second response was the Daily Southerner in Tarboro NC. They also printed the PR in its entirety.
Just this week I sat down with Della, a reporter for the Roanoke Daily Herald (Roanoke Rapids, NC) to provide details on who we were and on our plans for The Lodge. We toured the facility together and introduced her to Myra. She expects a story later this week and perhaps a series of 4-6 stories over the next month or so. This is very exciting to get this kind of feedback and support from the community. I knew this was going to be a great project and really and truly a labor of love. My two passions being music and film and I get to create a space to fulfill both those passions and then some. And I get a blank canvas to create and program incredible artists and performers for a willing audience. How great is that?
More to come!
The first response was in January 2010 with the publication of the press release in the Commonwealth Progress, a local weekly based in Scotland Neck NC. This was a full reprint of the PR by the paper.
The second response was the Daily Southerner in Tarboro NC. They also printed the PR in its entirety.
Just this week I sat down with Della, a reporter for the Roanoke Daily Herald (Roanoke Rapids, NC) to provide details on who we were and on our plans for The Lodge. We toured the facility together and introduced her to Myra. She expects a story later this week and perhaps a series of 4-6 stories over the next month or so. This is very exciting to get this kind of feedback and support from the community. I knew this was going to be a great project and really and truly a labor of love. My two passions being music and film and I get to create a space to fulfill both those passions and then some. And I get a blank canvas to create and program incredible artists and performers for a willing audience. How great is that?
More to come!
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Elevator updates
Okay so we got a notice taped to our door from the state elevator inspector stating that since this elevator has not been inspected and/or serviced in over 5 years we had 60 days to get it tested and inspected or it would be CONDEMNED! Yikes. What this would mean is that we would have to pull out the entire elevator (this is an old Monarch lift from the 1930s mind you!)
We would then have to replace it with a modern code elevator. Can you even imagine the price we would pay for this? Well, the inspector was very pleasant and provided a list of names of elevator companies that were in the area and as far as Raleigh. I reached out to several and got Dave of Abell Elevators in Rocky Mount. Dave was Fantastic! He was out the very next day and took a look and thought it would be a pretty routine test and review. He then came with his technical person the following day and tested the elevator, lubed it up and fixed the "dohickey" mechanism that was preventing the exterior door from opening. There was a latch that was not firing properly to signal that the inner door was closed resulting in the exterior door not opening. This is kind of a huge problem for an elevator, you think?
Well, they got their minds together and within 2 or so hours they had all fixed and ready to go; and they ran the 1000 lb weight test which is required every 5 years. All systems go. Now, next week we have the state inspector put his seal of approval on it and we are certified for human cargo!
This elevator is one of the fastest elevators I have been on. The WTC in NYC was probably the fastest but for a 1930s era classic this takes it for sure. It stops with a bang but it gets you there!
We would then have to replace it with a modern code elevator. Can you even imagine the price we would pay for this? Well, the inspector was very pleasant and provided a list of names of elevator companies that were in the area and as far as Raleigh. I reached out to several and got Dave of Abell Elevators in Rocky Mount. Dave was Fantastic! He was out the very next day and took a look and thought it would be a pretty routine test and review. He then came with his technical person the following day and tested the elevator, lubed it up and fixed the "dohickey" mechanism that was preventing the exterior door from opening. There was a latch that was not firing properly to signal that the inner door was closed resulting in the exterior door not opening. This is kind of a huge problem for an elevator, you think?
Well, they got their minds together and within 2 or so hours they had all fixed and ready to go; and they ran the 1000 lb weight test which is required every 5 years. All systems go. Now, next week we have the state inspector put his seal of approval on it and we are certified for human cargo!
This elevator is one of the fastest elevators I have been on. The WTC in NYC was probably the fastest but for a 1930s era classic this takes it for sure. It stops with a bang but it gets you there!
Monday, February 15, 2010
Cold Times in the South
Just arrived yesterday back down in Enfield NC...beat a little more snow which should fall in a day or two back up north. although the temperature here in NC is pretty frigid...feels like NY/NJ weather.
Went inside the Lodge and it is like an icebox in there. Need to get the HVAC guys to adjust the gas blower fans so we can get some heat pumping. Myra and I walked through (hats & gloves on) and inspected the area to see how it fared the ice cold temps. It held up well and the only leaks are the 3 little ones that we had noticed before we left the last time. Appt with the roofer later this week to put the seal on these and get us air and element tight.
Received a notice on the door from the State elevator inspector who says that this old elevator which has not been serviced or inspected in over 5 years needs an inspection within 60 days. IF not done, the elevator is condemned and that would not be good. If this happens we have to replace the entire elevator with one coded by today's standard. Do NOT want that cost. I found a couple local elevator companies (in and around Rocky Mount/Raleigh) who are coming out tomorrow and the next day to assess and check out the Vator. Thank you!
Tonight is the night of the Enfield town council. On the docket is the approval of the sale of the enfield jail and enfield rescue squad to me. These properties are the adjacent properties to the lodge and I need to purchase them from the town to keep the property intact. Also, we plan on using these buildings as special VIP reception areas for pre and post show activities. Possibly, longer term we can have a cafe in here to serve lunch/dinners. So, off to my first council meeting! Should be fun....I am sure there will be subsequent posts on this.
Until then,
Went inside the Lodge and it is like an icebox in there. Need to get the HVAC guys to adjust the gas blower fans so we can get some heat pumping. Myra and I walked through (hats & gloves on) and inspected the area to see how it fared the ice cold temps. It held up well and the only leaks are the 3 little ones that we had noticed before we left the last time. Appt with the roofer later this week to put the seal on these and get us air and element tight.
Received a notice on the door from the State elevator inspector who says that this old elevator which has not been serviced or inspected in over 5 years needs an inspection within 60 days. IF not done, the elevator is condemned and that would not be good. If this happens we have to replace the entire elevator with one coded by today's standard. Do NOT want that cost. I found a couple local elevator companies (in and around Rocky Mount/Raleigh) who are coming out tomorrow and the next day to assess and check out the Vator. Thank you!
Tonight is the night of the Enfield town council. On the docket is the approval of the sale of the enfield jail and enfield rescue squad to me. These properties are the adjacent properties to the lodge and I need to purchase them from the town to keep the property intact. Also, we plan on using these buildings as special VIP reception areas for pre and post show activities. Possibly, longer term we can have a cafe in here to serve lunch/dinners. So, off to my first council meeting! Should be fun....I am sure there will be subsequent posts on this.
Until then,
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