Cleaning up history: BluSky Restoration volunteers clean museum
Even museums need a good spring cleaning. The Eagle County Historical Museum, located in a historic barn in Chambers Park in Eagle, is no exception.
A crew of volunteers from BluSky Restoration Contractors recently came in with vacuums, dusters, mops and buckets and readied the museum for the summer season. The cleaning has become something of an annual tradition for BluSky, a company that encourages its employees to give back to the community. This spring’s cleaning marked the fourth year that BluSky has taken on this task.
The barn-museum, built by Eagle pioneer R.P. Wood in 1898, was originally located at what is now the Eagle, Interstate 70 interchange (where Burger King now stands). In 1984, the Eagle County Historical Society moved the building across the highway to its current park location, and spent four years on structural restoration that turned the barn into a museum. Open seasonally from mid-May to mid-September, the museum draws from 6,000-10,000 visitors per season. Artifacts inside tell the history of Eagle County from the time the country was Ute territory to the development of today’s resort communities.
‘it takes some elbow grease’
“Cleaning a barn is challenging. It isn’t airtight. Dust sifts in. It takes some elbow grease to get it prepared for the season,” said Eagle County Historical Society President Kathy Heicher. “With BluSky’s help, we have a facility that makes us proud.”
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The Eagle County Historical Society is a nonprofit organization with a tight budget, and BluSky’s generosity is deeply appreciated, she said.
Typically, BluSky deals with emergencies, helping clients whose buildings have suffered fire, water or environmental damage. The clean crew was getting a kick out of using their skills to knock the dust off of a 100-year-old horse-drawn buggy, and wielding their vacuums in the re-created Avon General Store, and swabbing the floor of the Historical Society’s 1951 yellow caboose.
“BluSky did a great job,” said Historical Society board member Willy Powell.
BluSky restoration is located at 770 Lindbergh Drive in Gypsum and can be reached via the company website at http://www.goblusky.com or by telephone at 970-328-2223.
The history museum, located at 100 Fairgrounds Road in Eagle, is open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
