Foundation Plans

Lorna Grabe: of the noise difference and there's not that many of them, if it became a lot of either one, I think it could become a problem.

Bob Zybach: You work with the School House Foundation, have you seen any other projects in the neighborhood that would be compatible ... for instance ... (end of tape)

Bob Zybach: The Foundation, has it been involved entirely with work with wild flowers ... in the school house, has there ever been discussion about picnicking in other areas or work on Sulphur Springs or anything of any related recreational nature or historic nature?

Lorna Grabe: I think just because we're so small we've just confined our efforts on preserving the school house and having exhibits and we haven't tried to preserve any of the other historical old buildings along the road, and we probably should be.

Bob Zybach: You can see that as a function of the Foundation if they had a larger community interest?

Lorna Grabe: Yeah. I think we should be involved in preserving some of the old houses and photographing them and documenting them and ... it was mentioned about ... doing something at Sulphur Springs, but a lot of people didn't ... some of the people on the board didn't really want to develop that into a huge park with thousands of the people there, so I don't know how

Bob Zybach: They realistically see thousands of people going to the park when they can't even get thousands of people to a baseball game? Is that a realistic assumption?

Lorna Grabe: I don't know ... if you had a rock concert.

Bob Zybach: Special major event type things they were talking about.

Lorna Grabe: Well, when we last spring, we were wanting some suggestions for ideas for raising money for replacing our foundation under the school house, someone suggested a blue grass concert. And so they were looking for a place to have it and they said, how about Sulphur Springs Park. And quite a few, some of the other people on the board thought our getting a couple of thousand people at a rock concert down there might be a negative thing in the community, you know, so we didn't have

Bob Zybach: So the discussion was about not getting too big?

Lorna Grabe: Yeah. People are concerned ... are you going to just destroy the status quo. There's some people who want to really develop, we have certain people in our community, I'd mention a person but I think ... who are really developers, they make good chamber of commerce presidents, I mean, they really like crowds and people and they want big ... they want everything developed. And then there are some people in the community that don't. They want it not developed.

Bob Zybach: Has there been any question about why these developers moved out here? Is it solely so they can develop their area?

Lorna Grabe: You mean like which developers?

Bob Zybach: When you say some people are real development prone, and then the other people that are here really aren't too interested in development?

Lorna Grabe: So you get different kinds of people. That look at their community in a different way.

Bob Zybach: How about the zoning out here, when LCDC (Land Conservation and Development Commision) went through was that a big issue to keep the zoning or discourage development or encourage development? Are there any particular discussion among

Lorna Grabe: Let's see my husband was on that. There are people who want to subdivide and have real small lots, you know, and then there are people who think that twenty, I think when we moved out here it was a twenty acre minimum. And now I think it is five or ten, I'm not sure, but there are one acre places around here, so

Bob Zybach: Did the people who put in the one acre places, did they get resistance from neighbors?

Lorna Grabe: Yes, definitely. Things for water, septic tanks space, and water.

Bob Zybach: How about concern for types of building, is there ... community pressure say against mobile homes, against Swiss chalet styles or is it pretty much people out here have the attitude that ... ?

Lorna Grabe: You can do your own thing.

Bob Zybach: Your own property is your own property and your own business is your own business.

Lorna Grabe: Right. See, like Ted works as a builder in Portland and he said that the communities there ... that every house has to be a certain shade of a certain color and your boat and your cars have to be parked in the garage and ... everybody's yard has to be mowed, nobody can have something sitting out in front of their house if it isn't like all the other neighbors. And so there's a very standardization of people in your community, where here so far it's probably changing fast, but people have mostly been individualists, more rugged, and more do-it-yourselfers. They want something done and they go do it themselves. They don't hire somebody to do it, if you know what I mean.

Bob Zybach: So if I wanted to move in here with fifteen close members of my family from Oregon State campus with a giant geodesic dome and rainbow colors, the community would say, "Well, he pays his own taxes. "

Lorna Grabe: Right. I think you could get by with it.

Bob Zybach: That's reassuring. Not that I'm planning on doing that.

Lorna Grabe: There was a family down here that were just trying to build putting in a big stables that drew a lot of resistance. Extremely a lot of resistance because they have a very small property, it's down very close to the school house, and they want to put in this gigantic stables and so it will bring in we didn't go to the hearing, but it's going to bring in a lot of traffic right down there by the school house. So I see that area and the property right next to the school house was for sale. Doc Schell's place which was, I'm not sure the size of it, twenty to fifty acres was for sale this summer and the county should have bought that and made a park out of it.

Bob Zybach: Did anybody recommend they do that?

Lorna Grabe: No.

Bob Zybach: Oh.

Lorna Grabe: I guess it's my weak ... my failing.

Bob Zybach: Oh, I see, so you think ... it's your personal opinion that the county should have

Lorna Grabe: Yes, I think it should have been made a park because it was right next to the school house and I heard it was for sale for $150,000. And I was trying to get my husband to buy it, but he didn't think we could afford it and we don't have parking space on the school yard, the parking lot was not a

Lorna Grabe: parking lot at the time that the school was being used, it was a ball diamond and people parked along the main road. And so if we ever need a place for buses to turn around or to park, there is not room, we can't get into that driveway.

Bob Zybach: You'd like to see the School House Foundation maybe develop and expand?

Lorna Grabe: I would have if we could have afforded that property, it would have been perfect right next to the school house. So I don't even know who bought it. And then there was another property which is right across from where that horse barn, which is across the road, that was a two acre place that was just bought this last year, too. It would have been very nice for picnic area, to help with the school house. It takes a lot of money and we don't have, we're trying to get money together for fixing the foundation.

Bob Zybach: Is there any chance that the Foundation members will discuss money raising efforts in an effort to expand the property or maybe just in an effort for a donor?

Lorna Grabe: We haven't looked beyond our borders is our trouble. We just worry about keeping the place from falling down.

Bob Zybach: How big is the property that goes around the school?

Lorna Grabe: Just one acre.

Bob Zybach: So that doesn't really leave much for expansion or even to accommodate the present attendance?

Lorna Grabe: No, because we're accumulating things like we really need a I would be very much opposed to building any other structures on the property because I think that is why it's still beautiful as no other big signs or structures have been built on the property. But we're accumulating all sorts of furnishings like desks and these books and things that should be stored in moisture controlled environment and that someday we're going to need a space for the building.

Bob Zybach: Has there been any discussion to work out an agreement where Homer Museum where you could archives the materials and then simply pick them up during display periods and put them back into moisture and fire proof ... ?

Lorna Grabe: We never pursued that. We tried to get an exhibit from them and they didn't want to loan us anything so ... we really didn't

Bob Zybach: So your dealings with Homer haven't particularly

Lorna Grabe: been that great. One time they gave us carpenter's tools and then after that they ... that was when a different person was in charge, and they didn't give us anything so we thought their reception was cool, so we thought we'd better . we'll take care of our own things.

Bob Zybach: You're not the only one getting a cool reception from Homer Museum.

Lorna Grabe: You are too. Well, we keep most of the things in my house and then Margaret keeps a lot of the things in her house. The reason I didn't keep some things, so their spread around, but it would be nice if they were kept in a building someplace, a storage building by the school house, but I would not want a building erected on the property, because I think we should keep that property ... that one acre in the whole valley set aside for historic preservation and it never be changed. It should just be

Bob Zybach: Is there a way to develop parking off site, maybe at a neighboring land owners where people could walk to the school or take horses to the school?

Lorna Grabe: This place, Doc Schell's, depending on who got it, they may be willing. It would be great, but

Bob Zybach: It sound's like the Foundation has more work and more project that are possibly there for the years to come.

Lorna Grabe: Mrs. Daily owns the barn across the road ... and we've had to keep a sharp eye out because at one time the school property was part of the Moore .. apparently her property was formerly the Moore's and so she has claimed a couple of times that some of the local citizen advisory meetings that she has the deed and so Dick took our deed to his wife and she looked it over and said, no she doesn't have the deed and

Lorna Grabe: so anyway she's given us a little static on that she thinks that maybe that acre could be hers and so we have to be we don't keep our historical stuff going that we're worried that this property could revert to her property. So she owns the barn across the road and so far she's been friendly to us but every once and awhile she kind of gives us a hard time.

Bob Zybach: She's not a member of the Board then, I take it?

Lorna Grabe: No, she's not.

Bob Zybach: Are there any deed restrictions on the property that say that it has to be maintained for school or educational or spoken purposes? Or is it just a free and clear title? You don't need to look it up.

Lorna Grabe: That's ... it's says it's supposed to be used ... the original deed said that the property was to be used for educational purposes, the one in 1900.

Bob Zybach: Did it have any restrictions that it would revert back to the landowner?

Lorna Grabe: No, I don't believe so.

Bob Zybach: Did Camp Adair, did they own that property during World War II?

Lorna Grabe: No.

Bob Zybach: So that property was given to the school and then after it stopped being a school it went directly into the Farmer's Union and the Farmer's Union transferred it directly to the Foundation?

Lorna Grabe: Right.

Bob Zybach: It's only had three owners?

Lorna Grabe: Right.

Bob Zybach: Since the Moores?

Lorna Grabe: Right.

Bob Zybach: That's ... and as far as you know there's no restriction on the use of the property and the Foundation can do whatever they want with it?

Lorna Grabe: It's restricted to historical educational uses. It is, because the Farmer's Union let us have the deed if we would continue using it the way we were using it when we leased it, and we were having historical exhibits with old desks and slates and we'd show spinning or historical craft or wild flower or what ... one time we had the Heart of Valley show the development of the Willamette Valley. And so we got the deed with the condition that we continue to use it as a historical educational purpose.

Bob Zybach: Would that allow you to sell and take the money and buy a bunch of history books and give them to the college? All I'm curious about are the restrictions as people have transferred this

Bob Zybach: property and there's a neighboring landowner that might be able to change the use or the Foundation members that come after your time that might alter the intent or the purpose of the Foundation, is that possible?

Lorna Grabe: Not if we get it on the National Historic Register, I don't think.

Bob Zybach: I don't think so either, but I'm just curious.

Lorna Grabe: I think that National Historic ... we're still working on it, but Louise's husband, she's doing the typing of the significance narrative and her husband had a stroke and so she was just starting to type it and so she said she needed a month or so to get ... and so after Christmas. This last deed that we got from the Farmer's Union said that if we let's see ... if we didn't keep the property it would go to the Benton County 4-H Association or a similar youth activity or other non-profit organization. So that we were talking about that at the last board meeting, and said it would be like the Benton County Historical Society because that's the closest that we ... to us.

Bob Zybach: So if your Foundation disintegrated you would probably be your last act of the Foundation to donate it to the Historical Society?

Lorna Grabe: Right.

Bob Zybach: I see.

Lorna Grabe: In our constitution bylaws, "upon the winding up and dissolution of the this corporation after paying or adequately providing for the debts and obligations of their organization, the remaining assets shall be distributed to a non-profit fund, foundation or corporation." So that would be like the Benton County Historical Society.

Bob Zybach: So you could amend it or if you decided to keep your

Lorna Grabe: And one of the first amendment, "this corporation is organized exclusively for historical educational purposes, or within the meaning of this."

Bob Zybach: Such things as this tour, would count

Lorna Grabe: I would say so, it is historical education.

Bob Zybach: I've gone through all my questions and covered all the way from 1900 on the school and before 1900 on your family and we up to the present and gone into the future what could happen. Do you see anything in your notes that to talk about at this time? After it's transferred, you'll have another opportunity to go through this and add and amend.

Lorna Grabe: Well, I can't think of anything, we're still planning to go ahead with maybe the fun run again this year. We need to raise about $4500 more for the putting our foundation under the building, so we're still moving forward.

Bob Zybach: So your main purpose or short term objective, I should say, is right now is to get a foundation under the building and for that will need to raise four or five thousand dollars. So that's kind of the focal point at this time.

Lorna Grabe: We need, actually we need about $8500 and we have almost $5000, and that's from donations and fund raisers the last couple of years.

Bob Zybach: Come full circle, the Foundation got organized to put a roof on the building and put electricity in and now you're trying to put a basement under the roof and take the electricity out.

Lorna Grabe: Right. Yeah, it's a fun project to work on, I think it brings the community together, you know, that you won't know all these people if you weren't working on the Foundation. And a lot of people ... if people are stopping there, they'll check in and see if they're going to damage it or something and so ... I don't know what's going to happen when a whole lot of people start using it and I don't know what we'll do because so far it's just a few people using it, like once in a while an art group will come out and make a painting of it or something. One time

Bob Zybach: You don't want it loved to death, then?

Lorna Grabe: Right. I think there's such a thing as ... tromping ... too much tromping ... the floor ... the two school houses I visited back in Iowa when we were there three or four years ago that were set up as historic sites did not let you go