Pictured : President Debbie Vaden, Volunteer Coordinator Janis Henderson- Hunsucker, Deputy Director Carol Tingly, West District Superintendent Sean McElhone, Jody Reavis, Jerry Howerton, Park Superintendent Robin Riddlebarger.
Not pictured – Johannah Stern
On December 12th a group of state park folks came up from Raleigh to talk with Friends of the Sauratown Mountains members, Debbie Vaden, Johannah Stern and Debbie Vaden to address concerns relating to the maintenance and preservation of Cheshire Hall and the gym at Vade Mecum.
As I have given tours of Vade Mecum, many visitors have commented about the state of disrepair the hotel and parts of the gym are in. Most of the damage is due to water which has rotted out the wooden siding and some of the floors of the deck and railings around the 2nd floor porch. There are gutters that need to be cleaned out and downspouts that need to be re-attached and fixed. Luckily the wonderful maintenance department at Hanging Rock can fix some of these things.
The state park system would like to do band-aids for now while design bids are taken in 2020. There is no point in doing major repairs, if they will be ripped out during renovation.
Construction on the 1st floor of the hotel, public bathrooms (where the arts and craft shed is) and gym repairs will start in 2021.
Last year we (the state and it’s people) needed 3 million for construction, now it’s 4.5 million. There is 1 million for Vade Mecum in the budget if it will ever pass. There is also the Connect-Ed bond money from several years ago.
We hope to have work days in the spring to trim the bushes in front of the hotel and do various odd jobs in preparation for the open house we will have after the Our State Magazine comes out. Also in the works is another large open house and fund raising gala. We will need volunteers.
If you have not done so, please join Friends of the Sauratown Mountains.
~ Janis Henderson-Hunsucker