Historic Preservation Specialist and Architectural Historian Allison Geary, a member of Hennebery Eddy’s Historic Resources Group, recently returned from directing the nearly month-long University of Oregon Pacific Northwest Preservation Field School Program. This year’s program was hosted at Deception Pass State Park on Washington’s Salish Sea coastline, in partnership with the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission and six other state and federal agencies.
Q: What is the Field School?
Allison: The Field School is an educational program designed for a diverse group of participants in the preservation field. The program provides introductory and focused preservation topics through hands-on work, nightly lectures, and weekly fieldtrips. Field School staff, instructors, lectures, and participants lodge, dine, and work together for the duration of each of the one-week programs (three total). The program provides an immersive and reciprocal experience for knowledge building, skill sharing, and professional networking through hands-on activities.
Q: Who attends the Field School?
Allison: Primarily, the school is an extension of the University of Oregon and is a critical part of an education in preservation. It’s not just the newcomers that benefit from attending, though — participants include undergraduate and graduate students; emerging and experienced preservation professionals; and tradespeople and facility personnel working with historic properties. Long-standing professionals and industry leaders return year after year to reinvest their time into the craft. The mix of beginners and veterans working side-by-side creates an even playing field to exchange skills, develop best-practices, apply new knowledge, and grow the preservation community. Students, teachers, guides, mentors, amateurs, and guest speakers alike all walk away from these week-long sessions with life-long skills.
Q: What did the participants work on this year?
Allison: The 85-year-old state park comfort station (restroom) is undergoing multiple renovations designed to bring its functionality into the modern era. While the broader scope of the project may include rehabilitation of the building into seasonal housing for park employees, the three week-long sessions focused on the repair of log purlin ends (tips of horizontal structural support beams), restoration and reconstruction of original wood windows, and refurbishment of hand-forged metal fixtures throughout the building. The diverse needs of the building required participants to learn about a wide array of tools, techniques, procedures, and strategies. Participants worked alongside woodworkers, architects, blacksmiths, and other knowledgeable professionals on a variety of challenging tasks, including axe-chamfering log ends (removing edges with a 45° cut), using two-man crosscut saws, milling stock to match existing window components and profiles, hand-coping trim to reconstruct lost windows, and tool sharpening.
Q: What is your favorite part about working at the Field School?
Allison: The whole experience, from planning to attending, is rewarding. It provides an opportunity to create a memorable educational experience, work with individuals from a variety of backgrounds, and promote craft appreciation and preservation. The program accomplishes real work that directly benefits our subject building, and the training the program provides then carries over to benefit additional historic resources. People don’t just learn and work on a historic building — they’re contributing to each other’s success, shaping future programming, and building the community.
Read more about Hennebery Eddy’s Historic Resources Group and portfolio.