Now, among the holdings of my Genealogy Library Center, Inc., are resources for Tennessee ancestors that even I cannot access at this time. Or, that are unknown to me.
How can such a thing happen?
All around these marvelous resources, are walls and ceilings that require my attention to repair them before I can unwrap and unbox. We are making incredible progress applying insulation and sheet-rock. And patching holes new and old in the ceiling and walls.
Have you ever worked on an old, historic building?
Walls and floors are rarely square. Sometimes the building has been built like topsy–adding more space here, attaching roof angles there, patching and stretching to fill the space. As the materials settle over time, the floor often shifts away from or under the edge edge of the walls. And modern-day renovation, trying to retain the flair of the original, must creatively make them fit together.
Over time, heating was added–huge cast-iron furnaces (for some reason more than one at a time) were lowered into the “basement,” which appears to be an enlarged crawl space. The support of the floor, which was positioned even later as a whole entity over the basement and the extended crawl space, has buckled slightly. Leaving uneven boards and some indents in the flooring.
The new furnaces are mounted on the roof for efficiency–there are three of them so the temperature, in this very large building, can be regionally controlled.
Have I thoroughly confused you, gentle reader?
We project the end of March 2014 to be ready to paint and texture. Then we can begin setting up shelves. Our work crew is committed to that much effort. And my budget is focused on meeting that schedule. Stay tuned for updates!
As I restrain my desire to open boxes and pull out research treasures. forcing my concentration and focus to complete the tasks at hand before complicating the work. Dust cloths and tarps enshroud the work spaces and me. Your favorite Tennessee genealogist, Arlene Eakle http://arleneeakle.com
PS Watch my home page for new pictures–the Library is changing inside and out.