SCHOOLHOUSE: Community works together

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The committee envisions five major uses for the site: historical displays, education displays, community engagement and leadership programs, a meeting space and a significant stop along the Hardwood Creek Regional Trail.

But it takes more than a strong interest in history and community to get a big project like this one done. Doug Amundson and his son DJ Amundson are the owners of Precise Exteriors, a roofing and siding business that provided some muchneeded repairs at Cinqueonce’s home. She asked whether the pair would have an interest in restoring the schoolhouse’s roof, and the answer was a resounding yes.

“It’s history, that’s why I want to get involved,” Amundson said. “This is my community. It’s very important to get that done, and the city agreed and allowed them to take the next steps. It shouldn’t be demolished. Originally the city was thinking it would take a million and a half dollars to get this done; I kind of laughed because I know what things cost.”

Amundson and his team got to work last fall to make the roof temporarily watertight using heavy-duty tarps. Their next project, once the winter weather has relented, will be to fully redo the roof, using materials that match the ones already existing on the schoolhouse as closely as possible. What’s more, they did the project at no cost other than materials, and have offered to do the same for the permanent roofing.

The schoolhouse also has a brick chimney that has seen better days—at some point, it was struck by lightning, scattering bricks everywhere. Amundson reached out to Rusty Pastorius, owner of Sealant Technicians, who would have the know-how to fix up the chimney.

Pastorius and his son Zach, both longtime residents of Hugo, have also offered their services free of labor charges.

Pastorius has previously worked for the city of Hugo, and remembers being called to board up the schoolhouse at times when mischievous kids would break in.

“It’s a cool old place, and I thought it would be really neat if they saved it,” he said. “It’s good to see somebody’s interested in preserving some of Hugo. All the old icon buildings I grew up with have disappeared off the map. There’s nothing left downtown anymore. It’s good to see something staying that we can preserve.”

Cinqueonce has also made connections with Northern Bedrock Group, an organization that trains youth in historic restoration and preservation. This organization will be doing an onsite assessment to choose a feature of the schoolhouse suitable for them to work on in the near future.

“There’s a really cool herringbone soffit underneath the roof, and it’s a unique pattern and that’s not work that Rusty or Doug does,” Cinqueonce said. “One of the roadblocks now is the snow. We need to get up there and continue working on the assessments for the next steps.”

At the same time, the group will be working on a fundraising effort, trying to increase awareness of the restoration and gather community support in whatever ways they can. There will be an outdoor community cleanup day coming up this spring, once the weather is a little nicer.

The project is meaningful to many in the community who want to see Hugo’s history preserved and protected.

“I think just in general in Hugo we don’t really have very much like history and heritage of the area,” Cinqueonce said. “Every community should have something reflects the past. It’s important and what we do today really does matter down the line. As soon as we can get actual improvements done at the site, it’ll make it more real for the community.”

She also expressed gratitude for the generous attitude of the community, and the resourcefulness of its people.

“It’s a snowball,” she said. “The only reason we connected with Rusty is because Doug knew Rusty. Everybody knows somebody. I know the figures that came out of the assessment were really large, but if we take a ‘stone soup’ approach to it, we can do it for a lot less than projected because of the generosity of businesses and community members.”

Learn more about the historic schoolhouse at https:// hopkinsschoolhouse.org.

Washington County Briefs

Schaefer receives 30 Under 30 designation

Connor Schaefer, senior planner for Washington County Public Works, was recently named by the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) as a 30 Under 30 winner.

Parks & Recreation magazine’s 30 Under 30 honors young park and recreation professionals who are making profound impacts in their communities and the field of parks and recreation.

The Washington County Board of Commissioners congratulated Schaefer on his award at its meeting March 7. He has been with Washington County since 2016, and over the years has been the primary planner working with the county’s parks division. S

The magazine noted that Schaefer leads projects to improve Washington County’s growing park and trail system, including master plans, policy initiatives and project funding. Schaefer also works to connect communities of underrepresented populations, specifically people of color, first-generation immigrants, people with disabilities, low-income community members, and adults ages 65 and older by tailoring engagement strategies to meet the needs and goals of the project and community. He also designed a new funding approach to help park agencies address equity issues in parks and trail systems. Award winners are selected based on one or more of the following criteria:

• Impact on the agency’s community and service population.

• Contributions to the professional development of the field of parks and recreation.

• Innovative ideas, programs or research in the field of parks and recreation.

SEE WASHINGTON COUNTY BRIEFS, PAGE 15