GALESVILLE, Wis. (AP) - Stone-walled and white-steepled, Old Main in Galesville has been run by seemingly every Christian denomination since the place was built in 1862.
But these days, Old Main is in the hands of people bound together by a singular, secular belief - that this old building deserves a prominent and lasting place in the community where it stands, the Winona Daily News (https://bit.ly/2ifY9c1 ) reported.
“We realize how special Old Main is and that we need to preserve it,” said Alex Wegner, a core volunteer at the Old Main History and Community Arts Center - a group of volunteers working to revitalize Old Main by turning it into a museum, performing arts center and community gathering place.
“We love this place, but there are people who live in Galesville who have never heard of Old Main,” he said. “We need to figure out how to get them to buy into Old Main, how to show them the value that we see in it.”
Old Main has been many things over the years, most notably a college until 1939. It was falling into disrepair when the city of Galesville purchased the building in 1995, refurbishing it and turning it over to a small group with a grand vision.
The history and arts center brought community festivals to Old Main, hosting the city’s Founders Day celebration as well as the Main Event, the group’s biggest fundraiser of the year.
The center began scheduling drama productions in the third-floor theater and summer concerts on the expansive lawn.
Most recently, it got into the business of hosting private functions - birthdays, graduation parties and weddings.
“Every community is going to have varying interests,” said Wegner, whose primary role is that of vice chairman of the group’s board of directors. “We have the history. We have the performing arts. We’re trying to catch everybody.”
That Old Main is here at all is a credit to the people who spent time and money trying to save it.
The building was originally the centerpiece of Galesville University, a small school founded by Vermont-born George Gale.
It remained a college for nearly 80 years as Methodists, Presbyterians, Lutherans and Catholics all had turns at running the place.
By the 1990s, Old Main had a bad roof and bursting pipes. It might not have lived into the 21st century had the city not stepped in and found the money to fund the repairs.
Ken Kopp, a former president of the Bank of Galesville, came forward with a sizable donation - so that Old Main would not become a “pile of rocks,” he said.
It was around that time volunteers started to come in, as if tugged by gravity.
Wegner got involved when he was in high school, because his choir teacher asked him if he would dress up as Civil War drummer boy Johnny Clem for an appearance at Founders Day.
Gary Olson, chairman of the group’s History and Genealogy Committee, got involved because he used to be a history teacher and thought Old Main was worth preserving.
Keith Cook, who is on the History and Genealogy Committee, got involved because he has been studying the history of Galesville since he was a boy.
And Jim Riley, chairman of the Arts Committee, got involved because his fellow Methodists first owned the place, and because he saw an opportunity to advance local arts.
“Old Main is like an electrical wire,” he said. “You can’t let go of it.”
This core group of volunteers has slowly put their own marks on Old Main.
They filled a second-floor office with artifacts and old documents - photos, annuals and scrapbooks they hope to put on display.
They turned a third-floor room into a gallery where local artists can show off their work.
And they purchased a $15,000 grand piano made by Steinway & Sons, which they squeezed through a third-story window using a lift, manpower and a coat of wax.
Wegner said the group is hoping to expand the roster of events at Old Main.
There are music professors at nearby colleges who could play recitals here, he said. And holding events intended for children would draw families to a place that needs all the support it can get.
“I’d like Old Main to be here for my children,” he said. “I see it as a living, breathing thing.”
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