Published: November 28, 2008 02:39 am      

Folklife Center work moves along well

‘Barn raising’ planned to finish FSU project

FAIRMONT — Work on the Fairmont State University Frank and Jane Gabor West Virginia Folklife Center is moving along well.

Construction began this fall to renovate the historic property on the west side of campus formerly known as The Colonial Apartments (circa 1941) and The Kennedy Barn (circa 1903) on the original site of the Michael Kennedy Dairy Farm. After its renovation, the building will become the home of the Frank and Jane Gabor West Virginia Folklife Center.

Jim Decker, FSU associate vice president for facilities and capital projects, said the first part of the renovation is nearing completion.

“We’ve refinished the envelope of the building to keep moisture from further deteriorating the building,” Decker said.

That means the structure is now sporting a new roof, windows, doors, columns and beams on the first floor to help support the second floor. Also, utility lines have been “roughed in” so they will be ready to connect.

Getting the building’s structure in order means it will be easier to continue working on the structure through the winter.

Another part of the barn’s renovation is the fundraising.

The gift of $250,000 from alumni Frank and Jane Gabor of Baltimore got the project rolling. They are acting as honorary chairs of the $2 million campaign. To date, over $970,000 has been pledged toward the project.

“We are having a ‘barn raising’ to finish the center. Traditionally, barn raisings are a call to action, a call for help from the community. Barn raisings follow seasons, so now is the time to act,” said Dr. Judy P. Byers, director of the Folklife Center and Abelina Suarez Professor of English and Folklore.

“We Appalachians are proud, independent people who know how to survive and value helping others. The community always comes forth to bring help.”

“This center is a gift to the university, to the community, to West Virginia and to our entire Appalachian culture,” Byers said. “This center will stand the test of time and will be housed in an adaptive reuse historical facility that is on the National Register of Historic Places.”

Besides its historical significance as part of the Michael Kennedy Dairy Farm, the building has a special historical tie to the study of folklore and folklife.

Dr. Ruth Ann Musick, the primary female folklore scholar to preserve and perpetuate the cultural heritage of West Virginia mainly through the recording of supernatural legends, lived at Colonial Apartments from 1946 to her death in 1974.

Musick, who taught at Fairmont State College from 1946 to 1967, helped to revive the West Virginia Folklore Society in 1950 along with Dr. Walter Barnes of Fairmont State and Dr. Patrick Gainer of West Virginia University.

Since Musick’s death in 1974, Byers has served as executrix of Musick’s folklore estate, comprised of Musick’s own unpublished collections and the archives of the West Virginia Folklore Society.

“It was Dr. Musick’s wish that the collection be housed at Fairmont State and be used for programming and that someday a center or folklore study emphasis would be created,” Byers said.

To become a Barn Raising Campaign contributor, contact the Fairmont State Foundation, Inc. at (304) 367-4009 or toll-free at (866) 372-2586.

For more information on the Folklife Center, call Byers at (304) 367-4286 or Noel W. Tenney, Cultural Specialist, at (304) 367-4403.

E-mail Katie Wilson at kwilson@timeswv.com.