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I want to talk again about the photography here at the White Spring Ranch, in Genesee. Not only did John Lorang, of the pioneer generation, take artistic photographs, but so did his son Henry and Henry’s sons Jim and Dan. Some of these photographs will be on exhibit at the Moscow Chamber lobby in September, but many more are available on Facebook, on our regular site at www.WhiteSpringRanch.org and here at the Ranch. They not only recorded their history in Genesee, but recorded it well and often. The preservation here was for a specific reason. I seem to keep mentioning that the 1873 section of the Farmhouse was covered with foam when I got here. It was an audacious and amazing attempt to preserve this older section of the farmhouse and it truly spoke to me in a way that I will never forget. When we tried to remove this foam during the restoration, it was more difficult than we thought. Part of the kitchen wall had been punched in when an old car ran away from Dan one year and hit the wall. When it came time to foam this area Dan simply added more foam. Underneath it all were well preserved boards of the 1873 farmhouse. The punched in wall was pulled out again. I very soon began to realize why this preservation was so important. This part of the Farmhouse is about 1873, but had been added on in 1890. It was an older home moved from the farmland just purchased and brought up by horses to add a kitchen and washroom to the original homestead. These kitchen and washroom additions were at least 10 years older than the 1884 Homestead, because this newly purchased farmland was patent in 1875.
Home&Harvest
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July/Aug 2022
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