News : AmeriCorps team begins Ray House renovation; starts spring cleaning

Jordan Backstrom of Minneapolis cleans light fixtures at the Ray House Friday morning.

Future Ray House renovators may see this reminder of an AmeriCorps project in 2011.

Sophie Reeve of Oregon helps clean the woodwork at the Ray House.

This butler's area will soon be restored to more closely resemble its original state.

A renovation of the Ray House upstairs area began with the demolition of several walls that were added in the homes later years. Bob Moen of the Historical Society said the plan is to restore some of the upstairs areas to their earliest form.

The historical records of the Ray House mention a butler's area that was lighted by the large upstairst window, said Moen. That area had been covered several decades ago. Moen envisions a lighted hallway showcasing several historic photographs leading to this area. A historic, but non-working bathroom, with pull-chain toilet and other historical fixtures is also part of the plan.

A group of AmeriCorps members spent three days this week working on the Ray House. Moen expected them to take all three days to finish the demolition. But they completed that so quickly that they were able to spend the last day doing spring cleaning. They gave the woodwork a thorough cleaning with Murphy's Oil. They washed the chandeliers and did other work.

"This is one of the best AmeriCorps groups I've ever worked with," said Moen.

In the near future, discussion of the fund-raising efforts will begin.