White Spring Ranch



White Spring Ranch

Museum

Newsletter #9

June 2005

Hank Lorang

Darrin Homchick

Phillip Parrish, and helper Derrick

(Days on the roof, in the rain and sun, a new tire for their trailer

when carrying the donated squares wore it out, and helping with donation of supplies)

John Lorang

son Adam

(bracing the porch and working on the roof)

Janet Lorang

(cooking, extra food and supplies and working on the roof)

Tom Jones

(working on the roof)

Roz Larson

(working on the roof and loading old tinder dry shakes)

son Jason

(helping pick up shakes)

Judy Litchfield

(loading and unloading shakes)

Clark Armstong

(driving truck filled with old tinder dry shakes)

Roch Lorang

(handling bonfire of shakes that went up too quickly and truck maintenance)

Helen and Lance

Mae Jones

Pat Armstrong

(helping with food)

Andrea Lorang

(watching the children, when they weren't helping)

Pat Holbrook,Pabco Premier Roofing Supplies

(donated the roofing squares)

Washington Cedar and Supply

(loaded the squares)

[pic]

This project is made possible by a grant from the Idaho Hertitage Trust, an endowment for the preservation of the historic buildings, sites and artifacts.

(matching $1450 grant)

This newsletter has been brought to you thanks to a generous loan of this laptop by

Erica (Mitchell) Davido

photos available thanks to Brian Conroy

Notes and Updates:

**The new solid, secure 40 yr. roof is on, the porch roof is braced

and Patrick Lorang has replaced broken glass in the kitchen windows of the historical home.

**We have received a grant from Idaho Humanities Council to help with preservation of photos, documents and artifacts. A high-speed, high quality scanner is now at the Ranch. As soon as we can get set up, photos will be preserved on discs to share, and for fundraising efforts. Historically significant photos will be used for books we hope to publish through Caxton Press of Idaho or WSU Press. It'll take a LOT of effort to keep up with the 100's (and 100's) of photos of John Lorang. We hope you understand as we slowly and carefully document these and then make them available for fundraising. So far.......descriptions of photos, and notations by John Lorang, have been recorded of 105 "Old Genesee and other local town" photos and 334 European Tour of 1910 photos. We're not done yet............description lists will be available on the website. Stay tuned!

**Many items found have been carefully documented with notes left by Henry Lorang, John and Mary Lorang's son. Some have been faded, but all are readable. Many were left with memorabilia from WWI, when Henry served in England, attaching fabric to the wings of reconnaissance bi-planes of what was then the Signal Corp. Thank you, Henry. Your memorabilia and notes have been found and mean so much to us now. We will be compiling all of these to preserve forever Henry's descriptions of WWI. The note below was left with samples of paint used on the planes.

"These are specimens of the hardened paint (dope) that I used to paint the wings & fuselages of English planes with during World War I while in training with the British at Beverley North Yorkshire & at Shawbury) (near??) Shrewsbury (where the War of the Roses took place) Whenever I took the brush out of the pail & wiped it across the edge, a little would run down each time until it made huge cakings. The long piece is "Titanine", just plain transparent "dope" (celluloid disolved in acetone & some compound that gave off poisonous fumes) This was applied to the fabric surfaces in a specially heated room of about 95 degree F & had to be done in one swift stroke to keep from rolling up under the brush. The wings got from 2 to 3 coats of this to give the fabric a drum-like "toutness" & also great strength. The white dope was usually applied underneath the wings to blend with the sky while the top was done in an olive drab to blend with landscape. The red & blue is what I use when making the insignia (drawing of three concentric circles) of England center-red then white and outside blue. The button-hook that I made has this construction of dope in the handle."

[pic]

This program is supported in part by a grant from the Idaho Humanities Council, a State-based Program of the National Endowment for the Humanities

** A matching grant from Idaho Heritage Trust will be applied for again in the Fall. This is the only grant that can provide funds for restoration of the historical home, curio and log cabin. Thanks to Idaho Heritage Trust we have a very secure roof. Next projects are for further restoration of the two-tier front porch, for the brick chimneys, windows, foundation repair, painting and wallpaper. Any help is greatly appreciated! We'll take these one at a time and our historical Idaho home will gradually return to life. IHT grants are matching funds, so your donation of $50 can become $100 with their help. All donations are tax-deductible. Contact Janet Lorang at address provided or donate at any Wells Fargo Bank to "Lorang Farm Restoration". Thank you!

**Artifact project: Patrick Lorang had a wonderful suggestion. Perhaps we could begin to record with photos only, all artifacts that have spread out within the family? Only to describe our pioneers lives and the lives of the children more fully. Descriptions and photos would be enough to bring the history of this home to life again. Of course, all donations would be hugely appreciated as we secure the home. Donations would labeled as "Donated from" and could also be labeled as "On loan from". Any donations would be tax deductible. But this artifact project is truly to just gather photos and notes to add to the missing parts of our story of these remarkable pioneers.

**A new idea was to include interesting history items in each newsletter (now being produced every 6 mths.) June and December...and each e-mail newsletter (now being sent every month).........send us your current e-mails to stay up to date!Today's: Mary Gesellchen Lorang was one of 14 children! of her mother Gertrude Mertes and father Peter Gesellchen who raised all these children in a German speaking settlement of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

You are invited!

Westside summer fundraiser,

potluck picnic

noon-9.pm Aug. 20th

for the Restoration of White Spring Ranch Museum

Thanks to MaryAnn Rohrbach

Who has a wonderful B&B and spacious grounds

4 min. from Snoqualmie Falls!

*******************************************************************************************************It'll be a potluck, bring your favorite

*$10 donation admission per person

($50 max. per family)

to go towards the

Restoration of the White Spring Ranch

There's a pool, tennis court and more

See their great website at

*Framed photos will be (silent) auctioned

Donate items for our (silent) Auction

a simple one

We'll just put them on a table

You can sign your name to bid

(all donations are tax-deductible)

*Try a short Swing or Salsa group lesson for a small donation

*We'll have a "Brain-storming session" to see what would be a good

direction to go next with the White Spring Ranch Museum

We need your ideas

There are enormous talents in this family!

We need you

*MaryAnn is offering her 3 B&B rooms for the night of Aug. 20th at $40 each

To be donated to the Restoration Fund--See directions at map/

*There is a campground 5 min. away, Snoqualmie River Campground

*************************************************************************************

Please come join the fun!

and celebrate our new roof and braced porch roof

Contact MaryAnn for rooms at

(Wait 'til you see the home designed and built by Bob Rohrbach himself,

and on the weekends at that)

Fold over here and return……..Thank you! ………………………………………………………………….

White Spring Ranch Museum

C/0 Janet Lorang

1004 Lorang Road

Genesee, Idaho

83832

Hello everyone,

 

We're putting together the June newsletter to send by mail ......but there's just too much happening at the Ranch.

So, here's a few notes by e-mail to help save space!

 (this was sent out by e-mail in June, so wanted to add this as well)

***********************************************************************

June 2005-- E-mail Updates

White Spring Ranch

 

**A Thank-You poster has been framed for the parlor of the historical home. As the home around it gradually returns to it's original condition, we'll have your names recorded forever as someone who helped make this happen. Check it out as we continue to update the names.

 

**Some sad news........even though we received a call last year from U of Idaho Life Sciences, describing their renovation work, and asking if we would like to have the egg collection (and some taxidermy items) returned...items that were donated from John Lorang's collection in 1953......this project has been put on hold. The U of I Life Sciences renovation was held up and they didn't need to move these items as quickly. Stay tuned for further developments on this story. We have found some eggs in the Curio cabin and beautiful butterflies. The butterflies were carefully wrapped in brown paper and dated by John Lorang. Most are 1918 and 1922. John saw such beauty in everything. And Henry Lorang saved them all for us.

 

**The bottle collection is being researched, documented, photographed, and preserved by U of I Anthropology graduate Emily Dyer-Keating, …and carefully packaged (Thanks to a grant written by Prof. Mark Warner Anthropology and Sociology, U of I). They’re still at it. There’s a LOT to do. Details soon: on the presentation of papers written on this collection, to various conferences by the students.

 

**Latest finds: WWI 1916-1918 Lewiston Tribune newspapers. Complete-- about 15, and though yellowed, in good condition. Shoe making tools, used by John Lorang in 1880's, labeled by Henry Lorang. About 20 WWII newspapers, complete and in good condition. The headlines are really interesting. And more WWI memorabilia with detailed notes written by Henry. Thank you, Henry.

 

**The award being held by Janet and Hank Lorang, on Page 2, of roofing photos () …was found in the Log cabin and has been preserved by an expert, in a frame with special ultraviolet ray deferring glass, thanks to Janet Lorang. It is John Lorang’s 1905 Lewis & Clark Centennial Exposition 1st place award for Barley. Martha Lorang wrote in her journal that all the children would sit at the kitchen table sorting the seeds for the entries.

 

**Have you noticed that attic photo on Page 1? Check that out. It shows how the wide 1904 log beams that are in amazingly good condition. It is said that the beams under the home are the same.

 

**Check out the photos of the chimneys, any help there would be wonderful.

 

 Remember Aug. 20! for Snoqualmie area Fundraising Picnic see

 

**Here's an idea that's come up a few times already. This sounded like a good idea, and one I should mention. If anyone would be interested in an e-mail group of those who might like to share notes about health issues, information and moral support; we could create an e-mail health support group. Maybe something that could really help if it works out. Send your e-mail addresses to diana_conroy@ We would put those people in connection with each other. What do you think? There are some in the family who have had some hard times with Cancer, but then others have not. (Also, guess this is as good a time as any to put in a plug for spreading the word about Grave's Disease, which is what I have myself, a severe thyroid disease. On the internet, you'll see it unfortunately causes a disfigurement of the eyes, making them bigger (and bigger) until they look like they're staring all the time. (Not helpful). Most people with Grave's Disease have eyelid surgery at some time to help cover the eyes again, which get very dry and red. Anyway....there's my quick awareness plug for Grave's Disease. Have to use the opportunity when I can. Maybe it'll help someone somewhere, though I think it's from my Conroy family, but not sure. If you would like to be a part of an e-mail health support group, send your e-mail and maybe that'll work out to help everyone who'd like to.

 

**A new idea was to include interesting history items in each newsletter (now being produced every 6 mths.) June and December...and each e-mail newsletter (now being sent every month).........send us your current e-mails to stay up to date! Today's: Mary Gesellchen Lorang was one of 14 children! of her mother Gertrude Mertes and father Peter Gesellchen, who raised all these children in a German speaking settlement of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

 

**We are sending e-mail newsletters now, every month. If you see any missing e-mails, or old e-mails that you know of, that should be updated……..let us know. 

 

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