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Western Monroe Historical Society celebrates renovation completion at Morgan-Manning House

Gordy Fox stands at the repaired stairway in the Morgan-Manning House.  He was project manager for all the work done with the “Step Up!” capital campaign funds.  With more than a decade of volunteer work before that, the WMHS board presented him with the Lifetime Volunteer Achievement Award which states: “The board of trustees in the name of its membership honors Gordy Fox for his extraordinary leadership and labor in the renovation and the maintenance of the Morgan Manning House.  With sensitivity to historic design, knowledge of building structure, and skill in wood working, painting and wallpapering, he has preserved countless features of our historic home.  In addition to extensive hours invested in the building for more than ten years, as chair of the finance committee and as board treasurer, he has also kept our organization’s investments and finances in good order.  We extend our deepest gratitude to Gordy for the exceptionally generous contribution of his time and talents.” Photo by Dianne Hickerson
Gordy Fox stands at the repaired stairway in the Morgan-Manning House. He was project manager for all the work done with the “Step Up!” capital campaign funds. With more than a decade of volunteer work before that, the WMHS board presented him with the Lifetime Volunteer Achievement Award which states: “The board of trustees in the name of its membership honors Gordy Fox for his extraordinary leadership and labor in the renovation and the maintenance of the Morgan Manning House. With sensitivity to historic design, knowledge of building structure, and skill in wood working, painting and wallpapering, he has preserved countless features of our historic home. In addition to extensive hours invested in the building for more than ten years, as chair of the finance committee and as board treasurer, he has also kept our organization’s investments and finances in good order. We extend our deepest gratitude to Gordy for the exceptionally generous contribution of his time and talents.” Photo by Dianne Hickerson

“Step Up!” capital campaign exceeds goal with generous donations from the community

On Sunday, June 5, the Morgan-Manning House in Brockport was filled with over 100 people and a festive mood of accomplishment.  It was a celebration of the successful “Step Up” capital campaign that was launched in April, 2015 to repair the cantilevered staircase in the historic home built in 1854. A campaign goal of $25,000 was set to stabilize the staircase from the second floor to the third floor attic. (See “’Step Up!’ capital campaign launched at historic Morgan-Manning House,” Suburban News, Hamlin-Clarkson Herald, April 5, 2014 at www.westsidenewsny.com).

The campaign exceeded its goal by $12,000, capping out at $37,000. The success, well beyond expectation, represents the generosity of over 200 individual donors plus several organizations and businesses.  They responded to a challenge from the Western Monroe Historical Society (WMHS) board of trustees to its members and citizens in the Brockport area.

That challenge was made in 2015, the 50th anniversary year of the founding of the WMHS board by volunteers who restored the home a year after a fire nearly destroyed it in 1964.  The challenge was “to take the same initiative and pay forward the benefits received in the treasured home for fifty years.”

The extra funds enabled the repair of the neglected belvedere (commonly called the “cupola”) and preserved the historic family signatures on its walls.  Repair and restoration has also been extended to the WMHS office area of the home, which suffered years of water damage.  The work on the stairway and extended areas was done in part by contractors and also by many volunteers including Valery Ciciotti, Gordy Fox, Brian Fox, Larry Humm, Kevin McCarthy, Harry Shifton and Gary Skoog.

The capital campaign was chaired by Alicia Fink, president of the board at the time and currently the volunteer historian for WMHS.  Gordy Fox supervised the entire project and invested many hours of work.  At the celebration event he was presented with the first-ever “Lifetime Volunteer Achievement Award.”

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