Update - Gable to be set March 28, 10 a.m.

Scheduling problems with another high profile project has prompted officials of Kepco to move the day to install the new gable on the Oneida Stake Academy to March 28, at 10 a.m., said Nathan Hale of the Oneida Stake Academy Foundation.

Kepco has been working on the City Creek project in the center of Salt Lake City. It is modern community of 700 residences, offices and retail stores built on 23 acres just south of Temple. That project will be dedicated next week, and the schedule change will allow Kepco’s crew to be present at City Creek for that event.

The beautiful new gable constructed by Kepco and State Stone will be trucked to Preston the day before it is to be installed. It is expected to take approximately four hours to lift the 16-ton rock filled galvanized steel frame into place. Crews have been preparing the 122-year-old Oneida Stake Academy building to receive the new gable.

The Oneida Stake Academy (OSA) was built by Mormon pioneers between 1890 and 1894 in order to inspire their children with a first class education. It is one is one of 35 academies built by Mormon pioneers during the late 1800s and early 1900s, between Canada and Mexico. Only five remain standing, and the OSA is the only academy building left in Idaho.

Except for the academy in Colonia Juarez, Mexico, which is still a school, the OSA remained in use as an educational facility the longest of the academies. It is also the alma mater of former US Secretary of Agriculture Ezra Taft Benson, and fellow OSA alum, Harold B. Lee, both of who have been presidents of the world-wide Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-days Saints. Another famous alum is Samuel Cowley – first inductee into the FBI Hall of Fame for his role in taking out infamous mobster Baby Face Nelson.

For more information on, or to give to the restoration of the Oneida Stake Academy building as a community cultural center/museum of local history, please see www.oneidastakeacademy.org.

Update - Weather damaged rock cut away for new gable

 A close-up of the first steps to replacing the long- lost stone gable, shows where severely weather-damaged rock was cut away by craftsmen at State Stone of Salt Lake City. They will fill this space with new blocks of stone anchored to the existing building by stainless steel rods.

Over the last six months, craftsmen of State Stone have carved individual rocks for the gable by following historic photos of the academy and using a few of the original stones salvaged from the earthquake by the late Newell and Ruth Hart as guides. Kepco engineers have designed a three-paneled steel frame into which each numbered stone is being placed. This rock-filled frame will be lifted into place and a final application of historic mortar will be applied between the rock, said Mackay.

Update - Gable to be restored

          Thanks to generous individuals, the Oneida Stake Academy Foundation is able to replace the academy's front gable, which has been covered by a wooden facade for the last 49 years. The building's original stone gable fell from the building during an earthquake.

           To see an example of the process being utilized to restore the gable, see the following link: KEPCO

            According to Keith Mackay, owner of State Stone, the process being used to restore the gable is the same process used in the construction of the current Nauvoo Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and to repair the Utah State Capitol building.

            Over the last six months, craftsmen of State Stone have carved individual rocks for the gable by following historic photos of the academy and using a few of the original stones salvaged from the earthquake by the late Newell and Ruth Hart as guides. Kepco engineers have designed a steel frame into which each numbered stone is being placed. This rock-filled frame will be lifted into place and a final application of historic mortar will be applied between the rock, said Mackay.

Once the gable is in place, roofing, which began last fall, will be completed, said OSAF board member, Ed Moser. The restored gable will feature an ornament that hasn’t been seen on the academy for generations. Carved stars once crowned each of the gables, and the installation of this newly restored gable includes a star for the front of the building.

            “We are so very excited to see this part of the building put into place,” said Moser.

            The improvements made to the academy’s restoration this year have been funded by gifts from the family of an anonymous alumni, the Murdock Charitable Trust, the Idaho Transportation Department’s Scenic Byways Program, Jim Gilmur, Nathan S. Hale and dozens of individual donors this year, said Elliott Larsen, executive director of the OSAF.

            With this step completed, restoration efforts will turn back to the inside of the building, where walls and floors will be reinforced to stand another century of service.

            Fund-raising efforts are in full swing in order to help the OSAF complete the restoration project by the summer of 2013 in honor of the 100^th birthday of Franklin County, said fundraising chair, Saundra Hubbard.

            All donations to the restoration of the Oneida Stake Academy building are tax-deductible, as the foundation is registered with the IRS as a non-profit entity. To help with the academy’s restoration as a community center and museum of local history, contribution can be sent to the OSAF at P.O. Box 555, Preston, Idaho, 83263, or by making a contribution online on this blog or at www.oneidastakeacademy.org.