Volunteer Opportunities: November 2007 Archives

If you're looking for a volunteer community project about strong women and local heritage, the town of Dillsboro is looking for you.

This Saturday, Nov. 10, the Monteith House Restoration Committee is looking for helpers to get "down and dirty" at a volunteer clean-up event at the Monteith Farmstead in Dillsboro. The event begins at 10 a.m. and continues through the afternoon.

Volunteers will help clean, repair and catalog at the turn-of-the-century Monteith Farm, which has a four-level farmhouse, a canning house, a flower house, a greenhouse and a barn. Workers are needed for a variety of tasks, including sweeping down cobwebs, cleaning and organizing artifacts, and fixing broken windows and boards.

More opportunities to help will be on Wednesday Nov. 14 from noon to 5, and on Saturday, Nov. 17 from 10 a.m. continuing through the afternoon.

The restoration eventually will bring the home to almost-original condition. It will house the Southern Appalachian Women's Museum, which will showcase the lives and contributions of sisters Edna and Edith Monteith, who were the home's last owners, and other outstanding Appalachian women.

The town of Dillsboro purchased the 16-acre property from the estates of the sisters. Edna and Edith lived in the farmhouse with their family and were its last surviving members. The 2 women, one of whom was married for a time, ran the farm themselves. They had gardens, chicken coops, butchery, beehives, greenhouse, canning and laundry rooms.

A lot of dust and dirt needs to be removed because the house was unoccupied for several years, but it already has yielded treasures, including the sisters' school essays on the then-recent passage of the 19th amendment allowing women the right to vote; dozens of shoes and dresses in near-new condition; letters, postal records and other documents that describe the history of Jackson County as it grew in the 1950s though 1980s; and the orignial beehives the women kept to make honey.

According to Volunteer Coordinator Tim Osment, the two events also enable the all-volunteer restoration committee to put other events in motion. By cleaning out the first floor of the house and cataloging its contents properly, the committee then can use the space to collect donated items for a planned January attic sale fund-raiser. Early next year the committee plans to jump-start its fund-raising drive with a traveling Appalachian exhibit and opening gala. Osment would like the house to be in "tourable" condition for people participating in those events.

Attic sale items can be donated during the 3 clean-up days, and those interested in information about the park are encouraged to stop by, whether or not they can help clean.

To volunteer, wear old clothes and sturdy, close-toed shoes. If you'd like to dust artifacts, bring a new or clean paint brush. Flashlights, permanent markers, and any food or drinks would be useful, too. Come to the park for one, two or all three of the events (for a map, click here).

From Sylva, take west Main Street towards Dillsboro to the first stop light after passing the Dillsboro Court shopping area. Turn right at the light and then approach the farmstead using the first road on the right. Parking is in the gravel lot. From Highway 441, turn into downtown Dillsboro at the traffic light (Haywood Road) and continue to the first stop light; turn left and then approach the farmstead using the first road on the right.

If you'd like to pre-register (not necessary, though) or to get more information, contact Osment at 828-273-7619 or by email at timosment@gmail.com.

The town of Dillsboro's website has an article about the project (click). The town plans to run a section of its portion of the Jackson County Greenway through the farmstead, and to build a fine arts theater, visual arts gallery, public restrooms, playground and picnic shelter.

Shown below is the flower house, one of the outbuildings scheduled for restoration and salvage. Here the Monteith sisters grew plants and stored canned goods. Beehives were in the top portion of the shed. (Click photo to enlarge.)


The photo below shows, from left, the main farmhouse, the butchery shed and chicken coops (which shared a building), and the canning and laundry house. A fireplace grill in the laundry house was used for boiling vats of laundry and canning vegetables. The building contains one of the first Maytag washers made. Its upper floor is clear of nearly all items; volunteers are still trying to determine its use.