LITH School Restoration: Now Comes The Hard Part

Moving Lake in the Hills' 22-ton one-room Ford School from Algonquin back to its original location in Ford School Park this Summer may have been the easy part, according to restorers at the Lake in the Hills Historical Society.  Returning the building to the way it looked circa 1922 may prove harder.

"Well, there's the ceiling joists," said carpenter Dan Reitz, Saturday.

"You can see they're about two feet below the top sill," said partner Bruce Becker.

"We don't know why," said Reitz.  "It doesn't make a lot of sense."

"It must have been after they moved it," said Becker.  "You can see in the old pictures there's more space above the windows."

At least the ceiling fix won't show, however, in contrast to the inside paneling.  "The interior was beadboard," said Becker. 

"Only most of it's missing," added Reitz.

"Beadboard today has different spacing," said Becker.  "We'll probably have to get a head and  mill some ourselves."

Windows?  "We've got five," said Becker, although they have to be disassembled and rebuilt.  "I'll have to make the sixth," he said.

Doors?  "I'm guessing they were two panel," said Reitz.  "It's really surprising there aren't more pictures," he added wistfully.

In the pic:  LITH carpenters Bruce Becker and Dan Reitz did some patching to the clapboards on the 135 year-old Ford School Saturday.