As summer works its magic on Ellsworth, we have days when the museum is full of visitors and then others with no one tapping at the door~ the beach is just too enticing. Yesterday someone told the docents a story she remembered being told during a visit 20 years ago ~ that George Washington had been a visitor at Woodlawn and that the corner chair was his preference when seated in the parlor because his sword could slip through the handles. While I challenge the accuracy, I love the legend. The docent and I shared a laugh as we imagined the President bringing, instead of a bottle of claret, a self-portrait when he visited and maybe the fact that we have more than three images of him (take the scavenger hunt to learn exactly how many) indicates he did drop in on the Colonal a few times. Who doesn't love a loyal visitor with a great story? Today, someone who had been a museum docent 40 years ago came and shared her memories. She wanted to know if we would ever open the attic to tours so that people could appreciate what it took to live and work at such a place - there were no heat extraction fans in the windows in the 1880s. And the answer is yes! Once we no longer need to store archives and other items in the attic (they will move to the barn), we intend to interpret the living space of servants at the Black House. We are ensuring that you have a reason to keep coming back. So far this season, our attendance is 65% ahead of last year! That is encouraging. And to show our love for the locals, we are offering free tours to Hancock County residents the last weekend of August (26-28; 10:00 am - 4:00 pm). Be sure to come and see the grand old house and mark the progress on the barn construction project happening out back.

Most summer days, the museum is a warm 80 +/- degrees. What is an improvement this season is that we have been running multiple dehumidifiers and keeping the windows closed so the heat is mostly dry. The Building & Grounds committee have been grappling with this issue and I proposed a test: that we keep the house closed (no screens in the windows), we put a fan in every room to keep the air moving, and dehumidifiers on the ground and first floors as well as two in the basement. Now into the fourth week of this experiment, we have stayed close to 50% humidity (recommended is "relative humidity between 35% and 60%, with changes being minimized as much as possible"). That is so important in a brick building that is full of paper, cloth, and wood materials. We have removed over 500 gallons of water through the dehumidifiers. I believe we are on the right path. Damp is the enemy of preservation. Direct sun and UV are also best avoided (for antiques and skin!) so we have been keeping the shades drawn as the sun moves around the museum. On low humidity/dry and breezy days, we open the front door and let air move through to the sunporch for a few hours but otherwise, we are staying closed & warm but hopefully, we are wringing out the damp.

The construction crew will begin framing up the walls next week and then the barn will truly begin to take shape. There is something for everyone up here so don't be a stranger. Play tourist on a hot summer day - bring up a friend or visiting relative and learn about early Ellsworth. Then take a cool walk through the woods and enjoy the story trail. Thank you for caring about Woodlawn.

~ Kathy Young