Mid December – Final cleanup.  For the Committee members, the restoration of the Emily McLaury House was a labor of love.  This was most evident when the jobs that needed doing were downright dirty.  Committee members were always rolling up their sleeves and pitching-in to keep the house in presentable shape throughout the restoration process.  Here, Committee member Maggie Feczko is shown doing a final cleanup of the extra refrigerator located in the basement.

Mid December – Name found in crawl space.  Among the final jobs being performed was the cleaning of the 2nd floor crawl space. Committee member Wendy Crowther took on this job.  Since there were no lights in this portion of the house, Wendy wore a headlamp and other protective gear as she crawled far into the space to vacuum it.  In the deepest portion of the crawl space (the area that appears black in the photo on the left), Wendy’s headlamp illuminated a surprise finding, one that may not have been seen in well over 60 years.  There, on a plank of wood that at one time had formed the back of a small cupboard (once accessible from the bathroom but later abandoned and walled over), was a name and address written with black paint.  The photo on the right shows her discovery as she first saw it, lit by the light of her headlamp.  See next slide for the continuing story.

Mystery name continued.  Research revealed that the name belonged to Everett St. John.  Based on listings in old Westport Directories, Everett lived across the street from Emily between 1929 and 1941 but may have lived there even earlier and/or later.  At one time, members of the St. John family owned all of the property between Myrtle Ave. and St. John’s Place (named after them).  As early as 1917 there was a St. John living on Myrtle Ave.  Everett worked as a civil engineer and a telephone engineer but many other members of the St. John family were carpenters and builders.  Perhaps Everett also had carpentry skills, or a member of the St. John family built the cupboard for Emily using a board from a shipping crate addressed to Everett.

Dec. 14 – Official Ribbon Cutting Ceremony.  The Restoration Committee officially presented the fully restored Emily McLaury House to the Town of Westport via a small ceremony and Open House on December 12th.  Though the Restoration Committee was in charge of the entire restoration project, many Town of Westport employees, Commission members and Committee members were invited to attend the ceremony in order to acknowledge their important role in the many administrative and approval processes required during the two-year project.  Cutting the ribbon is First Selectman Gordon Joseloff.  He is assisted by Restoration Committee Member Barlow Cutler-Wotton who was not only Emily McLaury’s 2nd cousin once removed but was also the daughter of the original architect, Charles Cutler.  Restoration Committee Chairman, Morley Boyd, looks on.

Ribbon Cutting Celebration – Bronze Plaque.  The two-year restoration project, which involved one year of planning and approvals followed by one year of construction and restoration, was completed by the end of December 2007. The Restoration Committee proudly delivered the Emily McLaury House on budget and ready for occupancy as promised on January 1, 2008.  A bronze plaque, set in stone near the front entrance to the property, commemorates the project and all those who helped make it a success.

Jan. 20, 2008 – Emily McLaury House featured in Westport Historical Society Exhibition.  Though the Westport Historical Society played no direct part in the restoration of the Emily McLaury House, the house was featured at several WHS events. As the McLaury House restoration came to an end, the first WHS Exhibit of 2008 opened.  Entitled “Westport Preserved, Westport Lost,” the exhibit prominently featured the McLaury House as its center attraction.  Shown here are portions of the event’s brochure.  The McLaury House’s distinctive front door is a recognizable feature in the publicity.

WHS Exhibition continued.  Shown is the elaborate set built to highlight the restoration of the Emily McLaury House.  On display was a life-size mannequin dressed in an authentic, period costume (representing Emily McLaury).  Other display items included “before and after photos,” a variety of lost objects found during the restoration, photos and biographies of Emily McLaury and Charles Cutler, and a large, printed historic timeline of the entire project.  Many thanks go to WHS Exhibit Co-Chairmen Mollie Donovan, Ellen Naftalin and Wally Woods for including the McLaury House in this important WHS exhibit.  The exhibit ran through May 4, 2008.

March 2008 – Former Occupant Visits McLaury House.  Esta Kraft Sands learned, via a chance hit on the Town of Westport’s McLaury House website, that her former house had been restored fifty years after she’d first lived in it.  Esta’s parents, Jack and Rose Kraft, bought the house in 1957 to use as a weekend and summer escape from their NYC apartment.  Esta was a young college co-ed in those earlier years but several years later (from 1962 to 1969), she moved into the house full time with her two young daughters.  Esta’s parents sold the house to the Town of Westport in 1972.  The Restoration Committee invited Esta to make a special visit to Westport to tour the house and to share old stories, facts, and photos with them.  Shown above (left) is a photo taken in 1957 of Esta, age 20, walking in front of the house.  The photo on the right shows Esta, fifty years later, standing in nearly the same spot holding the old photo. According to Esta, Rose and Jack Kraft loved their Westport home and the 15 years of summers, weekends and holidays they spent within its walls.  It continues to hold a fond place in the memories of all of the Kraft children and grandchildren.

April 2008 – McLaury House restoration garners preservation award.  The Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation presented the Town of Westport with a 2008 Preservation Award of Merit for the restoration of the Emily McLaury House.  The project was cited as a “stellar example of the way in which Historic District Commissions and municipalities can work together both to develop innovative preservation solutions that address community needs and also to educate the public about the benefits of historic preservation and the opportunities it can create.  The care taken to make each step of the restoration process historically accurate, environmentally friendly and accessible to the public, was truly remarkable.”  Several members of the Restoration Committee and the First Selectman attended the award ceremony that took place in Farmington, CT.  Pictured (L to R) are Wendy Crowther, Debby Angotti, First Selectman Gordon Joseloff, Bill Dohme and Morley Boyd.

2008 - Final words about Emily McLaury.  Throughout the restoration effort, the only existing photo of Emily was the one showing Emily standing on her front porch (right).  Shortly before the conclusion of the restoration project, an amazing discovery was made in a newly published historic database.  Restoration Committee member Wendy Crowther was ecstatic when she came upon a passport application filed by Emily in 1923 – one that also included the photo on the left.  Finally, there was a close-up view of Emily’s face.  Emily was 60 years old when this passport photo was taken and she had only just begun to live in the new Westport house that her cousin’s husband had designed for her.  Story continued in next slide.

More final words about Emily McLaury.  Emily sold her house in 1944 to the Appletons who lived across the street.  Less than one year later, Emily died of heart problems at the age of 81.  The 2006-7 restoration of Emily’s house, which had remained in nearly original condition since it was built for her in 1921, is particularly poignant.  As a life-long spinster with no children or close heirs, Emily’s history had essentially died with her.  If not for the house restoration effort, Emily’s life would have disappeared into time.  Now, Emily Rose McLaury is forever memorialized by the Westport home she owned and occupied for nearly 25 years.  A history of Emily’s life is available as part of the genealogical and historic research conducted during the restoration project – that research has been donated in its entirety to the Westport Historical Society.  When historic houses are preserved and restored, so too are the many wonderful stories created by the lives of those who lived in them.

The Emily McLaury House Committee.  Kudos go out to the nine-member committee of volunteers who worked for over two years planning and managing this unique, award winning restoration project.  Westport will forever benefit from their efforts. 

Standing in the rear from left to right are Allen Bomes, Bill Dohme and Debby Angotti.  Seated from left to right are Maggie Feczko, Committee Chairman Morley Boyd, Wendy Crowther, Barlow Cutler-Wotton, and Gavin Anderson (missing is Mike Frawley).