Hometime: Betsy's House, Episode 1: Demolition

During the week of October 10, 2005, the Betsy-Tacy Society was honored to host Dean Johnson and his team from the PBS television program "Hometime" as they filmed two episodes featuring restoration work on Betsy's House. The Hometime show, which aims to assist people in projects from landscaping to major additions, worked and filmed at Betsy’s House for three days. Our carpenter, Dennis Weis, and other volunteers worked closely with Johnson and his crew to make arrangements weeks before the work began
The crew worked on the porch and the south side of the house. Three windows were specially made and donated by Lindsay Window to match the rest of the original windows of the house, as were the storm windows to match. We found a door at a local antique shop that matched Tacy’s porch door. This door was purchased with funds donated by Thrivenet Financial for Lutherans and was hung at Betsy’s front porch entry. A door to the front parlor was hung where it had originally been when Maud lived in the house. This door had been removed during remodeling sometime in the past. The old concrete steps were removed, and new wooden steps were built. Wood siding to match the rest of the original siding was installed and painted. Gutters were installed by Schmidt Siding.
Many local businesses were instrumental in supporting the "Hometime" crew's visit, donating supplies and materials that made the restorations possible, including Lindsay Windows, Menards, Mutch Hardware, Ron Goodrich Construction, Quality Tree Service, and Schmidt Siding & Window Company. Local restaurants that provided delicious food for the crew were Cole's Embers, Pagliai's Pizza, and Subway. We are grateful to Professor Scott Fee and the Minnesota State University-Mankato Construction Management Class, Dennis Weis, David Lamson, and the Betsy-Tacy Society members and volunteers who helped with this project. The BTS also appreciates the coverage given to this story by The Free Press, KTOE Radio and KEYC-TV.