Week 9: Final Week

Summer Supper MenuAalto vase at Summer SupperThe mission/ purpose of Knox Heritage

The mission of Knox Heritage is to restore and maintain historic buildings and homes. I have known this mission since the beginning of my Knox Heritage internship. During my internship I have been able to experience what this really means. I have also learned that Knox Heritage is not just a business but an organization with a passion for history and beauty. Everyone I have met at Knox Heritage from office staff, board members, and volunteers all have so much joy when working on projects or talking about historic structures. Knox Heritage is a place where everyone always seems to enjoy their job and gain excitement from working. The work environment is one of the most positive environments I have experienced.

This Week (and Last Week)

I am combining this week and last week in this blog because I went on vacation in between. Last week I got to spend time in the Salvage Room working with clients. I got to help them choose the correct items for their needs. For example one lady wanted to find a door for her historic house. I helped guide her to one that was the correct size and style for her home. I also labeled the measurements on the doors so customers could easily find the correct size they needed. I took inventory of all of the items at Nostalgia so it would be easier to answer questions customers had about items and so we would know what we need to take to Nostalgia when the supply is low.

Door Entrance From Keller HouseBeth and I went to Lenoir City last week to document items from the historic Keller home. The Salvage Room will be having a sale in Lenior City two Saturdays later in the month. We measured, organized, and photographed items there. One of the most interesting items there was an entire staircase. Throughout my internship I have seen many spindles, treads, and risers from old staircases but I have never seen all of the parts to a single staircase together and not assembled in a house. 

Last week I also helped pack up the Westwood house. It was one of the most interesting things I have gotten to do so far in my internship. I mostly packed books and magazines. Many books were given to the first family family members that lived there as gifts and they had personal letters in them. Most of the books and magazines were from the 1800s and early 1900s. Some of my favorite books included art books from the 1800s and a set of Charles Dickens novels printed in the 1800s! I also got to see some of the plans for the renovation!

Summer Supper FruitsThis week I got to help with another Summer Supper. It was at Marleen and TK Davis's house. It was interesting to see a house that an architect lives in. Everything seems like it is just the right item/ material in just the right place. The home was built in the 50s by Barber McMurry Architects. The supper theme was 50s and 50s music was played throughout the home. I went the day before the supper and met with the rental company. The day of the supper I helped set up, served during the dinner, and helped clean afterwards. I enjoy working at the Summer Suppers because I get the opportunity to meet new people and to learn about the history of a home in Knoxville! 

New People

I am introducing two new people this week because one week I was not able to introduce anyone.

Melissa CharlesI have been able to work with Melissa Charles who is one of the committee leaders. She plans the Knox Heritage Summer Suppers. She is one of the hardest workers I have ever met. The Summer Suppers are one of the most enjoyable Knox Heritage events because of her dedication. She is a part of the special events committee in Knox Heritage. She is also a Knox County teacher at Holston Middle School. She aims for perfection and cares about those she is planning events for. Melissa's attitude reminds me that it does matter to pay attention to details when designing and to always aim for a happy client.

Mark DonaldsonThe next person I am going to introduce is Mark Donaldson. He and his wife Pat volunteer with the Summer Suppers. The Donaldsons have a pet cat and currently live in Knoxville.  Mark is the Director of the Metropolitan Planning Comission. He is originally from Minnesota. I have family in Wisconsin not too far away from where Mark is from and he was familiar with where they lived. Mark became interested in the Summer Suppers when he moved here because he wanted an activity to become part of the community. Mark is also half Finnish! His mother is Finnish. Mark has never lived in Finland but he has visited and said it was a wonderful experience! Since I am going to go to Finland soon this was great news. 

Week 8: HABS

Light at NostalgiaHistoric American Building Survey

The historic American Building Survey is commonly abbreviated HABS. It is a documentation collection of historic buildings. It started during times of depression to give people jobs. The jobs given were along the lines of surveying buildings. HABS has around 556,000 architectural drawings. The documentation for the buildings typically includes a photograph of each elevation, and data pages that tell information about the building. Sometimes it includes architectural drawings, but not always. The Ramsey House, The William Blount Mansion, and the Tennessee School for the Deaf are some of the buildings from Knoxville that are in the HABS collection.

The process is to record each elevation through photographs and research the information for the data pages. This information includes the architect, the date it was built, who owned it, and other historical information. If the drawings are available they are also included in the documentation.

Tongue and Groove Board This Week

This week I hung a tiffany style lamp from the L&N Station in the Nostalgia booth for Knox Salvage. We received a donation of tongue and groove boards. I separated the complete pieces from the broken pieces and measured the linear square feet of the complete pieces. I learned how to remove hardware from an antique door, and addressed letters to donors. I attended a Summer Supper meeting at Professor Davis’s house in Sequoia Hills. I also went to a meeting of the Events Committee. We discussed an upcoming Auction to raise money for Knox Heritage.

Casey at Knox HeritageNew Person

This week I am introducing Casey Fitzgerald. Her title at Knox Heritage is Administrative Assistant. She goes to University of Tennessee in Knoxville. She is Sandy Martin’s daughter. Last semester I had Sandy Martin for my Interior Design Business class. Sandy is on the Knox Heritage Board, and that is how Casey found out about the position. Casey and I share a passion for horses. We both enjoy jumping and like to watch the Rolex Horse Show. We also both went to high school in Knoxville.

Week 7: Humes House

Door Hardware in the Salvage RoomFinancial Aspects

There are not often project fees for Knox Heritage. It differs from the typical firm or designer because a firm for example typically would has a client aimed business. Knox Heritage has a focus on restoring and maintaining history.

Knox Heritage is a non-profit business. Therefore it mostly relies on donors and grants. For example the Salvage Room receives all of its inventory from donations. The money made in the Salvage Room goes back to Knox Heritage.

This Week

The most interesting thing I worked on this week was doing research on the Humes House. We have pieces of the Humes House in the Salvage Room. It was one of the four most important historic houses in Knoxville. I learned about the history of the house and Thomas Humes who had it built. Thomas Humes was the first president of the University of Tennessee. He also was an important figure in Knoxville in many subjects. The house was torn down in the 1980s. A man named Bill Powell saved the pieces from the house with intentions of rebuilding it. However the house has still not been rebuilt.

I also finished my as-built drawings of the Fowler’s Mill this week. I also worked on inventory, price research, Nostalgia, and Westwood.

Salvage Room sign at NostalgiaNew Person

This week I am going to introduce Jeff. He is the manager of Nostalgia. He is kindly donating an area in Nostalgia for the Salvage Room to use. He has helped me several times when I am doing difficult tasks at Nostalgia. He has helped me carry large items and hang items out of my reach. He has an appreciation for vintage and historic items.

Week 6: July 4th!

Marketing

Knox Heritage markets to the entire community. However, they especially target those who are potential donors such as historic home owners and historic building owners. They also especially target those who would likely have an interest in historic preservation like realtors, architectural firms, and Interior designers.

Knox Heritage has many strategic planning activities . They have summer suppers for those who donate money. They also have photography contests and tours to raise awareness of Knoxville’s history.  Knox Heritage has several physical advertisements like a cookbook for the summer suppers, a pamphlet for noteworthy historic places, and others about various aspects of Knox Heritage.

I am not sure who does the accounting for Knox Heritage. I was not able to speak to many people this week because of the holiday. I will find out the accounting information for next week’s blog.  For the Salvage Room specifically Beth handles and logs the financial records.

Working on Autocad at the farmThis Week

This week I inventoried new items donated to the Salvage Room. Windows, chairs, an architectural concrete statue, and other items were among these inventoried items.  I also worked on moving items from Westwood to the Salvage Room because renovation is about to start soon. I believe it is supposed to be completed in the spring.

My focus this week was working on the as-built drawings of the Fowler’s mill.  I believe they are going pretty well. Our studio class with Jeff this past semester helped greatly. We went to a mill with Jeff and measured it to create as-built drawings together as a studio. I remembered what I forgot about measuring last time and was able to measure everything I needed in one trip this time.

This week during the holiday break I started farm sitting! I also had dinner with my grandparents for the holiday.

Sketch of measurements for millNew Person

This week I did not get to speak to anyone I have not introduced already because of the holiday. I will introduce two new people next week to make up for it. I did find out something interesting about people though! I was talking to Ethiel who I introduced earlier in the blog and his wife is Michelle Garlington who we met at Workspace Interiors! I always find it interesting when I meet people who have connections with people I didn’t even realize.

Week 5:Fowler's Mill

Allied professions

There are many types of professionals that work with preservationist during a project. Within Knox Heritage itself, there are many educational backgrounds including: Historic Preservation, History, Architecture, Interior Design, and Business. In addition, many allied professionals assist Knox Heritage: Engineers, Artists, Contractors, Carpenters and many more. The Fowler’s Mill project that I am working on will have a Historic Preservationist, an Interior Designer, a Farmer, and a Marketing Professional working together. 

Professional organizations related to Historic Preservation

Two examples of Professional organizations related to Historic Preservation are: American Institute of Architects is an Architectural organization that supports and encourages historic preservation. The National Alliance of Preservation Commissions is “the only national non-profit organization dedicated to supporting local historic preservation commissions and the historic resources they help protect.” The East Tennessee Preservation Alliance is a Knox Heritage Initiative which supports local counties in preserving their historical structures. 

Type of registration/certification available to historic preservation professionals

The National Trust for Historic Preservation offers training and a leadership forum to professionals in the Historic Preservation field. Many colleges offer various degrees in Historic Preservation including undergraduate and graduate levels. 

Conflicts could arise because of the variety of professionals on a project. The Interior Designer and the Artist may want the structure to look as it did initially, whereas the Engineer may focus on the structure more than the aesthetics. 

Mill EquipmentThis week

This week I worked on writing Thank You letters to donors. It is important for an organization such as Knox Heritage that relies upon donations to operate, to reach out to donors. This letter also serves as proof of donations for tax purposes. I also took pictures of new inventory and delivered some of the new inventory to Nostalgia. I also removed paint from door hardware by putting then in boiling soap and water then scraping the paint off. 

The main project I worked on this week was the Fowler’s Mill Project. I will be doing as-built drawings and renderings of the mill as well as renderings of what it will look like as a residence. We met with the owner of Fowler’s Mill and learned about the history of the mill. I took measurements of the entire mill to prepare for my drawings. Ethiel photographed the mill so I can use the photos for references when rendering. 

Fowler's Mill OwnerNew Person

Earl Alexander is the current owner of the Fowler’s Mill. He is around 90 years old and has lived near the mill for many years. He has a passion for preservation the mill and believes Knox Heritage can do it. He has a daughter who lives beside the mill on the same property. He also lives in a historic home in Loudon. He showed Ethiel and I around the home after we toured the mill. Both the home and the mill have many of the original FF&E.  Mr. Alexander showed us old bags from the mill and how some of the equipment worked, and told us what it would have been like when in use. His home was used by the military in the war to store meat in the upstairs area. Almost everything in the home was of the original period of the home. His house has all of the original molding. There is an original fireplace in his bedroom that had been painted so many times it had to be stripped.  He has a piano that was given to his Grandmother that had to be completely taken apart to fit through the small doorway. The chairs and sofas were shorter than modern day furniture.