Our Volunteer of the Week

Today I want to give a "pat on the back" to our Volunteer of the Week, Dee Wiens.  Dee has been a volunteer at the Home for several years and has shared her many talents generously with us.  She is a great cook, an excellent hostess and handles large crowds with ease.  As a tour guide, she is very knowledgable about Phillips history and makes guests feel special.  From time to time, she works on a contract basis for us when we need extra help and fills in nicely when a staff person is ill or on vacation. 

One of my favorite things that she does each year is the decorating of the huge Christmas tree in the Library.  It takes her about two full days to completely cover the tree with vintage and time-appropriate ornaments.  When completed, the tree looks very similar to how the Phillips' Christmas tree looked in the late
1930s-1940s.  Bobby Phillips, Frank's and Jane's grandson, was delighted with her work on the Christmas tree, noting that it looked "just like Granny's". 

Like Jane Phillips, Dee loves jigsaw puzzles, and we try to keep her happy by finding very challenging ones.  She was one of the volunteers who helped put together Jane's collection of jigsaw puzzles so we could show them to the public.  On occasion, Dee will reenact Jane Phillips, and dressed in her early 1940's clothing, looks remarkably like her! 

Dee enjoys doing mission work in Mexico and goes once or twice a year.  Thanks Dee for all you do for the Home!

In a tight spot

Posted by Kim

Those of you who have an old home (75 yrs or older) will know what I mean when I say that after awhile, you know all the creaks, groans, knocks and squeaks of your home and what they are.  This is especially true if you have a boiler!  You also learn that if you hear a new groan, knock or squeak, you'd better investigate!

So I knew that something strange was going on the other day when I heard a major whistling sound coming from the two radiators in the servant's dining room.   It also seemed to be getting very humid in the kitchen area.  Our director, Jim Goss, went into "detective mode" to see if he could discover the problem. 

He uncovered part of the wall in the basement upon which hung a tool pegboard.  Behind the pegboard was a small access door approximately 16 x 24 inches.  Upon opening this door, a rush of steam escaped and he could see that there was a hole in the steam pipe.

Before repairs to the steam pipe could take place, it was necessary to remove all asbestos from the area, which was done by a certified environmental company, contracted through the Oklahoma Historical Society.  Then Brown Plumbing was called in to do the repairs.  I have to say that I felt sorry for whoever had to crawl through that small opening and make the repair.  For Randy Brown, it was "just all in a day's work".

You can see in the photo the very small amount of space in which he had to work!  Repairs completed, and we are back to the "normal" boiler sounds again.

Cleaning the chandelier

Posted by Kim:

One of the tasks that I wanted to get done while the Home was closed in January was the cleaning of the 1908 Waterford crystal chandelier in the dining room.  It takes two full workdays to disassemble, clean, and reassemble all of the prisms.  This makes the third time I have done this job and so, at least, I understand the process.

This is not like cleaning your chandelier at home --- #1 it is an artifact, and #2 it belonged to Frank and Jane and was an original fixture in the home.  When working with an artifact, a whole set of museum guidelines apply which includes assessing the risk of taking the fixture apart to begin with, minimizing the risk of any breakage, and proper cleaning techniques. 

It is somewhat of an overwhelming feeling to know that if I damage an artifact, it cannot be replaced, so I proceed with the cleaning of the fixture with all the meticulousness of a bomb crew disarming a bomb!  The payoff is seeing it rehung sparkling and undamaged, (not to mention that I get to keep my job)!