Dear Friends, June 2022

Organizations that thrive require vision. The Howland Stone Store Museum comes to you today with a remarkable vision and an opportunity to join the “We can do this” spirit of Opendore.

As a visitor and appreciative audience of our programs, you may be awed by the accomplishments of the past seven years at Opendore. Restoration was moving slowly when volunteers decided that they themselves could build out the West Wing of Opendore. Many, many volunteer hours later, the magnificently finished interior of Opendore has proved the value of that “We can do this” spirit.

And now that same spirit can bring the next phase of the Opendore vision to life. Imagine, if you will, a proper parking area on the north side of the building. Envision the rebuilt Porte Cochere, complete with beautifully worked Doric columns. Picture the East Porch, with its steps leading down into gardens, the restored Spring House, and the Nature Trail.

A grant-funded site development plan for visitor parking and garden plantings was completed in 2021 by Jeanie Gleisner, landscape designer. Accessible parking will be a tremendous improvement for the Museum. Part of that plan is a concrete sidewalk extending across the west front to the handicapped ramp for full accessibility.

Moving forward, rebuilding the Porte Cochere and the East Porch will complete the structural integrity of the museum building. The Porte Cochere will enable people to enter the building without being drenched in the case of rain, protecting both visitors and the interior itself. The East Porch will provide a terrific venue for outdoor programs. Already we have had short readings and dramatizations staged from the steps, even though they are rather oddly stranded twelve feet from the main building. Because the projected work needs to be contracted, completing the Opendore vision requires significant new funds. Through careful stewardship, existing funds assigned to the Opendore Project amount to approximately twenty percent of our goal of $400,000.

Anonymous donors have generously committed to a gift of $25,000 contingent upon the Museum receiving $50,000 in personal pledges and donations by August 31, 2022. With such a large potential gift dedicated to the Museum’s roster of projects, we should soon see the longed-for improvements taking shape.

This special appeal to you, our most dedicated and faithful donors, offers the opportunity to take pride in completing the Opendore vision. We urge you to dedicate a generous portion of your charitable giving to this special effort. Gifts of $1,000 and above will greatly speed the realization of the Museum’s goals and will make you proud to have been part of a truly remarkable and award-winning effort.

With sincere thanks for your continued support,

Guy Garnsey, Board President Larry Bell, Fundraising Chair

2022 Special Fundraising Appeal