Dave Perryman, left, restoration coordinator for the Mountain View Colored Officers Club project, talks Friday with contractors and engineers inside the club on Fort Huachuca. (Beatrice Richardson-Herald/Review)
Posted on 03/01/2009 7:28:00 AM PST by SandRat
FORT HUACHUCA — There’s some graffiti on the wall, the ceiling has been torn down and the only inhabitants seem to be rodents since the fate of a historic black officers club was to be torn down.
“At one time, it must have been marvelous,” Jan Sheller said after walking through the building and its many rooms on Friday afternoon.
Contractors and engineers were at the site of the Mountain View Colored Officers Club on Friday to look at what would be needed to make it marvelous again.
The Southwest Association of Buffalo Soldiers has leased the building since 2006 with the goal of restoring the only club ever built specifically for black officers in the Army.
But the association members are feeling the pressure as they prepare for a meeting with officials in April to report on their progress.
Association President Joan Way asked contractors and other professionals to help the group find out what is needed to restore the 17,300-square-foot building.
Ricky Robinson, project manager for Castro Electric, was one of the people checking the former club out.
“I’m looking at what it’s gonna take to make this thing live again,” he said.
He plans to talk to suppliers and see what he can get donated to the project, from wire to lights.
“It’s gonna need a lot of stuff to bring it to code. … I think it’s very doable,” Robinson said.
Albert Gomez and David Bane of Sulphur Springs Valley Electric Cooperative were there to lend expertise on energy efficiency measures by looking at the buildings insulation needs and windows.
The cost to provide electricity to the building is unknown at this point.
“It all depends on what’s done,” Gomez said.
The floors are almost completely without insulation, which would be a drain on electricity.
“They’re in the position to go back and insulate that,” Bane said.
Polyurethane would be effective. “It’s just not cheap,” he added.
Outside, the building’s condition is better but deteriorating, as state Rep. Pat Fleming, D-District 25 and an association member, saw on Friday.
“Look how flimsy that is,” she said after seeing the weathered boards that have warped and cracked.
In 2004, the estimated costs to stabilize the building and preserve exterior were about $430,000.
Today, the Southwest Association of Buffalo Soldiers is aiming to raise $1.5 million to $2 million for the project, said Dave Perryman, preservation coordinator and vice president of the association.
Under the terms of the lease, the group had been tasked to make substantial progress in rehabilitating the building by October 2011.
The deadline approaches, but the group can meet it, Perryman said.
The focus now is on getting a feasibility study completed so the association can begin putting contractors to work, hopefully pro bono. The group also hopes to get as many materials donated as possible.
Unfortunately, it’s a tough time for many of the people whose help they need, said Gary Gervais of Blue Oak Builders, the general contractor for the project.
“A lot of contractors I know are out of business,” he said.
In addition to the restoration, the association members envision it as a historical center and research hub.
“I think the opportunities are obviously there,” Fleming said.
People across the nation have recognized the national significance, historical importance and value of the project, Perryman added.
“We support the efforts of the Southwest Association of Buffalo Soldiers to restore this historic building. We will continue to work cooperatively with them,” said Tanja Linton, a Fort Huachuca spokeswoman.
Officially known by the Army as Building 66050 when built in 1942. It was called the Mountain View Officers Club and the Colored Officers Club and is now known as the Mountain View Colored Officers Club, to preserve the historical context of the segregation that existed when it was originally built.
Perryman said the building is one of just a few World War II era buildings left on Fort Huachuca, and the only one not currently scheduled to be demolished.
Sheller, the association’s correspondence secretary, hopes the group can restore the building and keep it from the same fate as many other World War II era facilities.
“By tearing things down, we are losing some of our history,” she said.
Herald/Review reporter Laura Ory can be reached at 515-4683 or by e-mail at laura.ory@svherald.com.
ON THE NET
• Web site for the Southwest Association of Buffalo Soldiers in Sierra Vista:
http://swabuffalosoldiers.com/
Better yet, somebody call Tye Pennington. He Knows how to get things done.
bump
+ eleventy billion.
These men served on the front lines of something very, very big, and very few could understand.
Guys like Jackie Robinson (yes, THAT Jackie Robinson), who served his country and, as an officer, was court-martialed for challenging the racism of a white NCO.
Not made-up heroes like Sharpton and his ilk.
TRUE HEROES.
They deserve the honor.
They deserve this monument.
I’m very proud that it was The Army (My Army) that took the lead in integrating the services.
“Those who forget the past ...”
It’s important because it was a BLACK officer’s club.
Now, such a thing is inconceivable.
People need to know, and they need to remember.
American History
History ping!
They’ tried and they want nothing of it. It’s not controversial enough I guess.
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