This is the third story in a series on the Arnold Area Historical Museum project from The Arnold Sentinel. It appeared in the January 4th edition.
Brick by brick and rafter by rafter, the Arnold Area Historical Committee has set out to bring the old Archie’s Cafe building back to usefulness as a museum. In this third part of the series, the focus will be on the actual c. 1914 structure that has sadly decayed in the 40-plus years that it has sat empty.
The first step in the process was determining if the building could or should be saved.
“We felt it was important to take the extra step to have a structural engineer evaluate the building for both safety issues and to give direction as to the order of the work that needs to be completed,” said Cornerstone Campaign Project Leader Renee Bubak.
Overall, the evaluation completed on August 16, 2023, by Kevin Petross of Miller & Associates Consulting Engineers, PC, out of Kearney was positive. The report indicated that the building is sound enough and can safely be renovated to last for another 100 years. The biggest areas of concern that had already been identified were reinforcing of the west and north exterior brick walls in the basement to give stability and support and addressing the replacement of rotten rafters on the west end of the building.
The evaluation also concluded that a great deal of masonry work will be needed, including filling in holes and tuck-pointing.
“The masonry work was the hardest, most challenging area for us to find someone to even come and give us an estimate. It is critical in several aspects and a skilled area that is harder to come by these days; however, we were referred to a seasoned, highly knowledgeable mason from North Platte who has experience in restoring building and is willing to start by the first of the year,” said Bubak.
Thanks to committee member Justin Strasburg, who lined up a clean-up crew with committee member Rick Peterson helping as well, the basement is prepared for the next phase of work to get started. This difficult and dirty job happened on October 10, 2023, when the crew borrowed Rich Hornung’s telehandler and cleaned out at least four old water heaters, the larger furnace, and a slew of rubble and metal. Three truck loads ended up being hauled to the dump. They also borrowed Ron Cool’s truck, filled it with iron, and donated it to Arnold’s American Legion Post for their fund.
“Justin’s architectural engineering background and construction experience is vital to the success of this project in both his understanding of what contractors are proposing, as well as his ability to handle the unique tasks that his building requires,” said Bubak. “Shoring up the west end of the roof and raising an I-beam to better carry the load was work he completed independently. This was a necessary step for worker safety and improved water runoff.”
Building committee members met on-site with Arnie Albrecht of Albrecht Masonry Construction, LLC, out of North Platte, and Dalton Greeley of Greeley Construction, out of Sutherland, in the latter part of November. Definitive steps were laid out for the restoration of the walls of the cornerstone building.
One more full day’s work was scheduled in mid-December, as the clean-up crew set about the task of removing the interior brick walls at the basement level in the west half of the building. Bricks were stacked to be repurposed in the restoration. Since the chimney had stability issues, it was also taken down. In addition, some dirt work was completed to prepare for footers to be poured.
Efforts to ensure the structural integrity will first involve the pouring of the footers on the interior of the west and north brick walls. Block walls will be built up to the level of the existing floor. Within the block walls and drilled into the footings, there will be rebar every four feet and poured cement to provide stability. In addition, footers will be poured and interior block walls built that the main floor joists will rest on.
“Arnie Albrecht has stressed that the work must begin immediately, as the building is structurally compromised until we can get the basement bricks stabilized with the cement block wall,” said Peterson.
Once these immediate structural concerns are addressed, the long process of interior and exterior tuck-pointing will proceed. Meanwhile, local contractor Brent Urbanovsky will be ordering prefabricated trusses to replace the rafters on the far west end of the building from where the chimney stood. Plans for the rafter work will hopefully take place as early as late spring, followed by the installation of a completely new roof and gutters.
Strasburg has suggested that a fully enclosed building by the fall of 2024 would be a realistic goal.
Funds are available for the initial stages of the renovation process and the committee will be able to use several businesses in our surrounding area to complete most of the necessary work, along with volunteers where appropriate. However, the museum funding campaign is still seeking contributions to meet its overall renovation goal.
The fourth part of the series will focus on how the committee is recording stories and recollections about Arnold from people who have lived here for years and gathering artifacts for the museum.
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The Arnold Area Historical Museum is organized under the Arnold Area Historical Society as a 501(c)3 entity. For additional information contact AAHS President, Renee Bubak or email arnoldareahistoricalmuseum@
Charitable contributions can be made online at www.nebcommfound.org/give/
