[Ger-Poland-Volhynia] 2 German from Russian homes donated to town

[Bob & Elaine McDowell]

Windsor Tribune
Windsor, Colorado
12-23-2005

Windsor developer donates two historic homes to town
By T.M. FASANO <mailto:tfasano at windsortribune.com> 
Posted on Friday, December 23 @ 08:30:25 PST
	
Nestled on a hill in what will be the new Pelican Falls Golf Course were two
old buildings with historical significance.

Windsor developer Martin Lind, who owns the land at Water Valley South, grew
up in the town and knew the importance of preserving those buildings. Lind
has donated the buildings to the town of Windsor, and Pioneer Village at
Board Walk will become the permanent home of the two near-century-old
structures - a German four-square house and a summer kitchen from one of the
Great Western Sugar Co. farms.



"Historically, they kind of littered anywhere the Great Western Sugar
Factory went. They were all identical and easy to build," Lind said. "They
had a small kitchen, living room and one or two bedrooms. It was very simple
construction, and it had a chimney coming right out the center of the roof
where the four roofs met. That was the distinction. You could always tell a
four-square house because everything was square."

The two buildings are on moving rails on the south side of Water Valley, but
will be relocated Jan. 3 to Boardwalk Park.

Lind said there are hardly any four-square houses left in the area because
they've been destroyed.

"When we were building the new Pelican Falls Golf Course, it actually was
sitting in the trees where the new No. 1 tee box went. I hated tearing it
down, and right outside of it was the little building called a summer
kitchen," Lind said. "My mom was real involved with the historical society
and preservation, so it's kind of the top of my deal."

Cindy Harris, cultural affairs/ museum supervisor, said once the buildings
are moved to Boardwalk Park, they'll have to be restored. Harris said she
has no estimate on what it'll cost to restore them.

"We're going to have to do some serious fundraising for the restoration of
both of those buildings," Harris said. 

She said once the restoration process in complete, the buildings will offer
a hands-on history lesson detailing how residents lived in 1915.

"Windsor's a perfect place to do this Germans-from-Russia interpretation
because we have such a high concentration of that population here," Harris
said. "I'm hoping that a lot of people will remember their roots and come
forward when we start on the fundraising for those buildings." 

Visitors to the buildings will be able to learn about farming and growing
sugar beets. 

"It's really typical of the housing that people who worked in the sugar beet
farms lived in, especially around 1915. Once we get the houses redone, it's
our focal point for interpreting not only the Germans-from-Russia heritage
but the agricultural heritage of this area."