LE ROY PENNYSAVER & NEWS - NOVEMBER 19, 2023 by Lynne Belluscio Last spring a group of people from the Landmark Society of Western New York visited LeRoy to take a look at the Victorian pump house behind LeRoy House. A few weeks ago, it was announced that the Historical Society was receiving a special citation for the preservation of the pumphouse. The Landmark Society does not usually make awards to buildings that have been moved, but this year, the award was shared between the Historical Society and the Breezeway Barn project in Perry. In the case of the pumphouse, it literally is an example of “It takes a Village.” The award included all the people who helped on the pumphouse and they were all mentioned at the ceremony in Rochester at the Rochester Academy of Medicine auditorium on East Avenue. Here are a few of the remarks: Kris Klinbeil, I remember the day when you said tome, “I’d like to give our pumphouse to the Historical Society.” Mind you, people donate spinning wheels and old photographs to the Historical Society. But a pumphouse... I wished I had paid more attention to how Stuart Bolger moved buildings when I worked at the Genesee Country Museum. My mind was racing. How do I find someone to move a pumphouse and how do I find someone to restore a building that needed major attention. First came Mike Lauterborn, who soon moved the pumphouse, never batting an eyelash. And then came Gary Fink of Bergen, who was hired to do the restoration. And then came the Crocker family, who donated the funds from the Marilyn and Judd Crocker Foundation which made it possible to continue with the work. Mike Lauterborn, who restored the Baglio Bottling Works on Mill Street, took his crane up to West Main Street, reinforced the little pumphouse, and plucked it off the foundation of the well. It came down Main Street escorted by the LeRoy Police Department. They made sure it was safe to go through a couple of red lights - - on a state highway. The pumphouse was stored in Mike’s parking lot on Mill Street for the winter. In the meantime, Gary Fink started milling new molding for the pumphouse. In the spring - actually on Mother’s Day, Mike put the pumphouse back on his trailer and brought it to the new foundation behind LeRoy House. Ron Coniber had checked the old foundation stones that covered the well. They were cracked and actually too small to support the pumphouse. He did save the unique carved drain stones, and then filled the old well up. The new foundation at LeRoy House was made of poured concrete and sculpted by David Lubcheck to look like stone. A special thank you to Joe and Addie Penapent of Western New York Concrete. At this time, all the concrete in the area was being taken up to a new building on Elmgrove Road, but Joe made sure that there was a load of cement with the Historical Society’s name on it. Gary Fink started working on the pumphouse. He knew a lot was missing from each leg of the pumphouse. So, he had to prop it up and insert new legs. “So, Gary what was the most difficult part of the job?” “When I had it propped up on two legs and knew one wrong move and the pumphouse would be a pile of sticks.” This was about the same time, that Lindsey Yoder, an architect who lives nearby in Stafford, said that she would start making drawings and taking measurements of the pumphouse, just in case it fell over. Then, luckily she discovered that Carl Schmidt had already taken measurements and published drawings. Anne Verhague, an architect who lives in LeRoy who had served on the Historical Society Board many years earlier, also became involved and helped write a wonderful article for the Historical Society’s newsletter. While Gary was working on the pumphouse, some of the work was impossible froma ladder, and thankfully, Bob Lathan was able to provide a cherry picker so Gary could make repairs on the roof. Bob also moved large pieces of old sidewalk stone that were used around the pumphouse. Bruno DeFazio was involved from the very beginning and was on site when the pumphouse was moved, when the cement arrived, when Gary needed help pushing the new kingpost up through the ceiling. Bruno also painted the pumphouse and became involved with the decision to paint the ceiling blue. Ted Bartlett and Steve Jordan who had worked with the Landmark Society several years ago, indicated that it was appropriate to paint the ceiling blue, and so, the pumphouse has a blue ceiling. The Klinkbeil family wanted to keep the old Gould pump and Martha Tabone donated the #2022 Gould Pump that was in her garden. After the drain stones were put in place, Alan Guilford built a special wooden box that the pump could be attached to. At the end of the summer, inAugust 2021, the pumphouse was dedicated, but as Gary mentioned, it would be necessary to replace the terne roof if the pumphouse was to survive. Early this year he found Frank Munier of North Carolina who had learned the trade in France. After additional funds were secured, Frank drove up from North Carolina and brought the copper sheets with him. He stayed at Gary Fink’s house and used Gary’s equipment to fashion the special panels for the new roof. The Batavia Daily News will soon be running an article about Frank Munier and this lost craft of metal working. In October, the new roof was completed and now the Lent/Klinbeil pumphouse should be good for another 100 years thanks to a lot of people and the dedication of the Historical Society. Lent/Klinkbeil Pumphouse Receives Prestigious Landmark Award
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