Margaret Keyes may
be the leading lady in Old Capitol's restoration, but she's
flanked by a strong supporting cast of local craftsmen, like
Charlie Ruppert, Steve Burns, and foreman Harold Brender,
who hand fashion period ambience out of drawing-board plans
and raw materials.
Although the building is posted with a sign reading "Do
not open until July 4, 1976," the only ones to get a sneak
preview of the interior facelift, are the three fellows who
are reproducing what craftsmen once skillfully created.
Laboring under the golden dome, Ruppert, Burns, and
Brender and other artisans employed by the Viggo M. Jensen
Co. of Iowa City are proud to be a part of the project,
the plans of which were drawn up by Ferry and Henderson of
Springfield, IL.
With a shovel resting loosely in his hands and a yellow
ruler peeking over the pocket of his OshKosh overalls,
Brender noted, "this is quite a building. We've done some
awfully good work here and it's going to look real nice when
we get done with it."
"It's a great feeling to know that many people will be
looking at and admiring our work for years to come," said
the carpenter, who is 57.
Echoing Brender's thoughts, Ruppert said, "there's a
good group of carpenters working here at Old Capitol. In
this job, it takes a lot of experience. You just can't bang
things together and hope to come out with something. You
have to spend more time and put in a little something
extra."
Ruppert knows all the tricks of his trade--he's been at
it for more than 40 years.
Relaxing on the steps of the speaker's platform in the
second floor House of Representatives Chamber -- where the
State of Iowa was born in 1846 -- Ruppert explained, "this
is one of the most interesting jobs I've ever been on. I
never imagined that I'd be working on the restoration of Old
Capitol. I've lived here my entire life, studied the
history of the county and, well, this is the most important
part of the campus."
Born on the outskirts of Iowa City in 1912, Ruppert
became a carpenter upon finishing high school, and is the
ranking senior of the restoration project, being directed
by Keyes, UI associate professor of economics.
Ruppert began the Old Cap job early this year and is not
new to the college construction scene at the UI. "Looking
up and down the river, I can see many of the buildings that
I worked on -- Hilcrest, the Communications Center, the
Library, the IMU, and more," he said.
Leaving a little bit of himself throughout the 135 year
old building, Ruppert has worked on the ceilings, finished
the gallery and it stairs, fastened the neat white railing
in the upstairs assemble room and done some millwork around
the windows.
"Sure I take quite a lot of pride in my work," he said.
"I like to see things happen and grow. When I start out
with a job, I know that there's gonna be some finished
products which I helped create."
In his 40 years of putting up buildings and finishing
interiors, the gray-haired Ruppert has seen a great change
in the approach and attitude toward construction. "It used
to be that on a job there would be 25-30 men working on a
building." he said. "But now, although the jobs have gotten
bigger, fewer men are needed, probably on account of better
equipment and power tools.
"Also, we used to take our time
and do a job real good so we would only have to do it once.
Old Capitol here was put up real solidly and it's still
standing. Today a lot of work is done in a very hurried
manner and doesn't last so long."
Ever since Old Cap's cornerstone was laid back in 1840,
Iowa's first capitol has enjoyed a long, productive
existence. When Iowa moved its seat of government to Des
Moines in 1857, Old Cap was turned over to the UI. The
university's central administrative offices remained in Old
Capitol whose fireplaces and chandeliers were replaced with
desks and makeshift offices, until 1970, when they were
moved to Jessup Hall. The building's restoration is being
financed by private contributions and by state and federal
grants.
Keys said the interior construction is expected to be
finished by the end of September. The exterior facelift and
inner furnishings, will be completed in time for the
Bicentennial celebration this summer.
"I'm glad to see that somebody finally got around to
restoring something around here. It's nice to see new
buildings go up, but it's good to see some old ones, too."
said Ruppert. "Everytime you see a building torn down, you
think about the time, money, and effort that went into its
original construction. It sort of makes you wonder."
Another Iowa City native who is putting a lot of elbow
grease into the restoration is Steve Burns, 28. Sporting a
yeomanly red beard under his hard hat, Burns is a refuge
from academia. Although he broke into the construction
business when he was 14, he obtained a bachelor's degree in
psychology from the UI. Later, he shelved the degree,
donned overalls and began pounding nails again.
"Any job is a challenge, but this one is a little
special because of the historic value," Burns said. "It's a
great opportunity to do some fine carpentry work, and that's
why I'm here. It's just another job in that respect."
Burns was the second man to arrive on the Old Cap scene
-- following Brender in August 1974 -- and he said the crew
is taking special measures to restore the building to its
19th Century state as accurately as possible. " A lot of
people will be seeing this, so we've got to make it right
and be as near perfect as possible."
The men feel that if anyone on the project has
approached perfection, it would be Jim Shalla, a cabinet
shop owner from Kalona who has been in the construction
business for "quite a spell." It was Shalla who took on the
job of recreating the spiraling, multi-spindled walnut
staircase. "The stairway was a real challenge, and the
hardest part was the little curl at the bottom," he said.
"I'm pretty proud of the stairs; it's a nice piece of work.
The whole project has been very good and this is fun
carpentry work."
Don Herrick of Delta has thrown is his door-hanging
expertise on the project. This 35 year veteran follows in
carpentering footsteps of his grandfather, father, and
uncle. "The toughest door was the big door, because it's
three inches thick and hard to hold on to," he shouted over
the drone of a floor sander. "I think it's an honor to work
on Old Capitol. You don't find too many buildings like
this. I'll probably never work on something like this
again."
Despite the kaleidoscopic talents and backgrounds, the
one thing the carpenters have in common is an apparent
modesty about their own skills and high praise for their
peers. Ruppert has been called an outstanding carpenter,
but he feels he's "just and ordinary all-round carpenter
with a lot of experience and skills in every respect.
Nothing unusual about that."
He said that Burns is one the best young craftsmen
around. Reports Burns, "Oh yeah, well Charlie's pretty good
himself, but Harold is the one who gets things done."
Burns feels that Herrick is a "real specialist, one of
the best around." "Nah, I'm no specialist. What I do is
just part of everyday construction work. It's my job."
At any rate, everyone concurred that Shalla is a master
craftsman and the Kalona carpenter beamed. "I am probably
the best," and reflects on his successful staircase
endeavors. "But, he confessed, "everything was ready for me
and as luck would have it, the stairs came out pretty good."
These men let their results speak for themselves. As
Ruppert put it: "if anything is to be made out of wood, we
can do it."
Baseball great Dizzy Dean was fond of saying, "it ain't
bragging if you can back it up." Old Capitol offers
positive proof that Shalla, Ruppert, Herrick, Brender, and
Burns can back up the brag. |
