July 06, 2007 09:51 pm
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My apologies to Judy Krieger for the misinformation given her on the McHaffey Opera House in Eldon. She does not have to worry about retiring quite yet.
When we first started with this building in 1994, it was well over 100 years old. Our goal was to preserve and restore what was once a beautiful old building in Eldon. Along the way we were able to get this building on the National Historic Register. We have preserved the building and kept it from being empty and possibly being tom down.
We are well into the restoration of the building, but yet have a lot of work to do before we see completion of second and third floors. Overall things are progressing nicely. As we go forward, we will keep you informed of our progress. Feel free to visit anytime, and we will be glad to give you the nickel tour and show you what has been accomplished and what is yet to be completed.
This has been a tremendous project to undertake, but for the people who have been involved, it has also been a labor of love. We won’t quit until it’s done and some of us will not quit even then.
Our goal at the opera house now is to be prepared to have a concert during Gothic Days of 2009, which is also the date of the all-Eldon High School reunion. That goal is but a short two years away. We certainly hope that we can make this goal, but as is with everything, we must be realistic and we realize that we have an enormous amount of work yet to be done.
The people of Eldon and surrounding communities should be proud of all that they have accomplished. In addition to McHaffey Opera House, there is also GATE (Gothic Area Tourism of Eldon), which is the group responsible for the planning and execution of the annual Gothic Days.
In addition, we have the Gothic House and the new Visitor’s Center (where you can learn about Grant Wood), the Railroad Depot which has many railroad items on display, the beautiful AIl-Veteran’s Memorial located on the Rock, the former Legion building currently being restored and renovated, the Avenue of Flags at the cemetery, the former railroad barracks which has been turned into the K.D. Center, a wonderful community building used by many, and let us not forget the four buildings in Eldon that have been placed on the National Historic Register.
All of our volunteers have worked very hard to preserve and restore what we have, and to build new, those things that would help the area. This is a community working together at its best. For this we are very proud and we say thank you to all who have worked so diligently.
Sorry about the misunderstanding, Judy. Don’t put away your pencils just yet. We aren’t quite ready for you to retire, as you do such a wonderful job.
Jan Harville
President, McHaffey Opera House
Main Street
Eldon
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