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Community saves Toggery (again): Mortgage paid off; Wall repaired through generous donations
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| Howard Bethel, a member of the Board of Directors for the Sulphur Springs Valley Historical Society, burns the Toggery's mortgage recently at Coronado Vineyards, as President Kathy Klump looks on and applauds. (Carol Broeder/ARN) |
By Carol Broeder/Arizona Range News
"An important piece of our history has now been saved," Kathy Klump, president of the Sulphur Springs Valley Historical Society (SSVHS), says about the Toggery in downtown Willcox.
With the overwhelming support of the community, the group has saved the Toggery once again.
In October of 2003, the group saved the historic Huffman-Toggery building along with its original furnishings from 1925.
"As a historical society, it is our duty to preserve as much history as we can. This is the last piece of Willcox history that is intact - its history is still there to be preserved," Klump said at the time.
"The only time we can save the building is now," she told the Range News. "People were so upset that the old high school and Harley's (Valley Hardware) were sold and not preserved. We got the building in 1999, but all of Harley Windsor's old stuff from way back was sold in an auction in the mid 1990s. We lost all that history."
The society bought the Toggery building from then-owner Hazel Huffman at the reduced price of $80,000.
It has now paid off the mortgage balance of nearly $26,000, thanks to donations from a "whole bunch of people," including Howard and Gwen Bethel, Matt and Janine Martin, Ed and Pauline Stephenson, and Marylyn Pense, said Klump, adding that it was "three years ahead of time."
Another problem that faced the historical society this past year is that the Toggery's exterior brick wall was badly in need of repair.
The society had received a written notice in September of a building code violation, which stated that the city would close down the building if the repair were not made soon, Klump said at the time.
City Manager Mike Leighton later said the city would "back off and give us a while longer to raise the money," she said.
The bricks that had fallen were above the roofline, so they hadn't done any damage, Klump had said.
As for the rest of the wall, the bricks were bowed down to where the windows are, said Klump, adding that would be about "$4,000 to completely take it down and have it re-done."
Klump said that people had offered to donate bricks for the project, but compounding the problem was the fact that the mortar between the bricks isn't very good, so the whole wall has to be re-mortared," she said. "We have been told that would cost at least $10,000."
Various options were explored, such as using prisoner labor, but, in the end, private donations came to the rescue for the $6,500 repair.
Klump is grateful that the Willcox community has stepped forward to help the historical society both now and many times in the past.
Since the wall was repaired and the building is paid for, any future donations will be used to make repairs to the building's interior and upgrade the displays, she said.
The society also plans to put in a gift shop, selling books and items "related to the area or to the Chiricahua Apache," Klump told the Range News.
"We're excited," she added.
"We could not have done it without the support of the local community," said Klump, adding her thanks to the Range News "for the donation and for helping to get the story out. It greatly helped getting the donations necessary to repair the wall."
"It's really good to know that people care enough about what we do to give of their time and money," she said. "Now we can continue with our mission to collect and preserve the history of the area."
In addition to its displays, the Toggery also houses the society's research center, which is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesdays and by appointment.
For further information, call the Chiricahua Regional Museum and Research Center at (520) 384-3971 or (520) 384-2291.
With the overwhelming support of the community, the group has saved the Toggery once again.
In October of 2003, the group saved the historic Huffman-Toggery building along with its original furnishings from 1925.
"As a historical society, it is our duty to preserve as much history as we can. This is the last piece of Willcox history that is intact - its history is still there to be preserved," Klump said at the time.
"The only time we can save the building is now," she told the Range News. "People were so upset that the old high school and Harley's (Valley Hardware) were sold and not preserved. We got the building in 1999, but all of Harley Windsor's old stuff from way back was sold in an auction in the mid 1990s. We lost all that history."
The society bought the Toggery building from then-owner Hazel Huffman at the reduced price of $80,000.
It has now paid off the mortgage balance of nearly $26,000, thanks to donations from a "whole bunch of people," including Howard and Gwen Bethel, Matt and Janine Martin, Ed and Pauline Stephenson, and Marylyn Pense, said Klump, adding that it was "three years ahead of time."
Another problem that faced the historical society this past year is that the Toggery's exterior brick wall was badly in need of repair.
The society had received a written notice in September of a building code violation, which stated that the city would close down the building if the repair were not made soon, Klump said at the time.
City Manager Mike Leighton later said the city would "back off and give us a while longer to raise the money," she said.
The bricks that had fallen were above the roofline, so they hadn't done any damage, Klump had said.
As for the rest of the wall, the bricks were bowed down to where the windows are, said Klump, adding that would be about "$4,000 to completely take it down and have it re-done."
Klump said that people had offered to donate bricks for the project, but compounding the problem was the fact that the mortar between the bricks isn't very good, so the whole wall has to be re-mortared," she said. "We have been told that would cost at least $10,000."
Various options were explored, such as using prisoner labor, but, in the end, private donations came to the rescue for the $6,500 repair.
Klump is grateful that the Willcox community has stepped forward to help the historical society both now and many times in the past.
Since the wall was repaired and the building is paid for, any future donations will be used to make repairs to the building's interior and upgrade the displays, she said.
The society also plans to put in a gift shop, selling books and items "related to the area or to the Chiricahua Apache," Klump told the Range News.
"We're excited," she added.
"We could not have done it without the support of the local community," said Klump, adding her thanks to the Range News "for the donation and for helping to get the story out. It greatly helped getting the donations necessary to repair the wall."
"It's really good to know that people care enough about what we do to give of their time and money," she said. "Now we can continue with our mission to collect and preserve the history of the area."
In addition to its displays, the Toggery also houses the society's research center, which is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesdays and by appointment.
For further information, call the Chiricahua Regional Museum and Research Center at (520) 384-3971 or (520) 384-2291.
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