News Updates for
The Captain Thomas Espy Post

On 21 February 2007 the Carnegie Masons presented a check to the Andrew Carnegie Free Library toward restoration of the Espy Post. Conserving the charter was a priority. (Interestingly, the GAR ritual is based on that of the Masons.) The treatment included cleaning surface with eraser crumbs before and after two bathings in a puddle of cold clear water, lining the charter with toned Japanese paper and wheat starch paste, in-painting with watercolor and pastel pencil, adding back frame to increase depth of frame and separating charter from glazing, cleaning and disinfecting the glass, and cleaning wood frame. Archival methods and practices were employed. The task was completed by conservator Wendy Bennett in time for the ACFL's Civil War Exposition on 28 April 2007.

Left image: Before treatment Right image: After treatment The image on the left is darker and the one on the right lighter than the charter actually is.

5-6 May was the Centennial Celebration of the charter between the Andrew Carnegie Free Library and the Capt. Thomas Espy Grand Army of the Republic Post (and the 105th birthday of the ACFL&MH). On the 5th a cocktail reception and fundraiser for the Civil War Room was hosted by Dick Thornburgh and Bob Wilburn. Two gifts were announced: a mid-19th-century drum used by the St. Clair Guards, presented by Elizabeth Edwards; a kepi worn by Pvt. George B. Forsythe, donated by his granddaughters Virginia F. Rye and Wanda F. Clay. See Newly Catalogued Items N56-N58. President and Mrs. Lincoln reenactors were present. The exhibition of Civil War photographs by Matthew Brady, Alexander Gardner and others was presented by Photo Antiquities. The Home Front provided authentic Civil War era music. Civil War Room exhibition panels were introduced. The Civil War Room was open to visitors. Troops were encamped on the lawn and there was singing around the campfire that evening. On the 6th the Room was again open and the Home Front returned. In the Reception Room were tables with soldiers' gear and weapons, medicine, commissary, children's period games and crafts, and civilian life. In the auditorium were speeches by President Lincoln; also a fashion show. This is expected to be an annual event.

The Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall campaign received a tremendous boost today (August 19, 2004) with the announcement of a $750,000 grant from the state's Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program.

An $8.6 million fund-raising campaign is under way for the restoration of the Andrew Carnegie Free Library, 300 Beechwood Avenue in Carnegie. The Design Alliance has prepared a master plan, making the facility ADA-accessible, and work is scheduled to begin this fall.

Designed by Struthers & Hannah in 1899, this is the only Carnegie library permitted to use the donor's first name. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the recipient of a Historic Landmark Plaque, the library, with its music hall and Civil War memorial room, is a national treasure. During a Valentine's Day visit, Governor Ed Rendell said "I've never seen a facility like this. We have to figure out a way to get state funds involved with this. We intend to be helpful." To contribute: call Maggie Forbes at 412-276-3456.

"Shame on us if we let this building decay beyond the point where it can be used," said the governor, who added he had "never seen a facility like this." See Rendell visits historic library in Carnegie in Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Sunday, February 15, 2004.





 

Carnegie, PA--Morgan K. O'Brien, honorary chair of the Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Cultural Center Campaign, and U.S. Congressman Tim Murphy announced today that $250,000 in federal money has been earmarked for the library's $8.6 million fundraising campaign.

Murphy and O'Brien announced the funding at the library Monday morning. They were accompanied by members of the Blue Ribbon Committee, which is supporting the campaign to renovate the historic library and music hall.

"I am pleased to have been able to secure funds necessary for renovations and updates to the Andrew Carnegie Free Library ," Murphy said.

"I know the importance that libraries play in shaping the minds and careers of future generations. This money will help ensure that this historical library will continue to serve citizens in the Chartiers Valley--young and old--for years to come."

The funds--which were set aside as a line item in the federal budget by the House Labor, Health and Human Services, Education Appropriations Subcomittee--will be used for technological and programmatic improvements. This includes major upgrades to the Library's computer and technology systems, as well as the Music Hall's lighting and audio systems.

"We are delighted and extremely grateful to receive this funding. We still have a long way to go to meet our goal, but this money is a huge boost to the campaign," O'Brien said.

Co-chaired by Charles R. Goetz and William E. Manby, the $8.6 million campaign is the library's first major capital fund-raising effort in its 102-year history. Funds raised through the campaign will be used to modernize, renovate and restore the historic landmark.

The Andrew Carnegie Free Library has stood as a beacon of education, culture and community activities for the town of Carnegie and the entire Chartiers Valley since 1901. In addition to serving as a community library serving 36,000 patrons a year, the library also serves a community cultural center. It houses a lecture hall, gymnasium, dance studio, a 780-seat music hall plus various meeting rooms and offices. It is also home to a national treasure-- a Civil War Museum used by local veterans from 1906 until the mid-1930s for meetings and storage of their collection of flags, books, prints and relics. The Music Hall, modeled after the Carnegie Hall in New York, is acoustically excellent and is currently home to three resident performing art companies.

For more information on the Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Cultural Center Campaign, contact Maggie Forbes at 412-276-3456.

The Andrew Carnegie Free Library has received a $500,000 challenge grant from an anonymous donor as part of its renovation project. The challenge now, campaign leaders agree, is to match that grant as the library kicked off its $8.6 million capital campaign goal last week. "We have to raise that half a million (dollars)," said campaign co-chair Charles Goetz at a special breakfast meeting with about 50 business and community leaders at Chartiers Country Club last Thursday. "But that can be done. Anything can be done if you have the vision." The $500,000 grant, paid by an anonymous donor who asked not to be identified, will only be paid if the campaign matches the amount by Sept. 30 of next year. Following the meeting, enough donations had been made to raise just more than $150,000; now, about $325,000 must be raised. "This gives us a tremendous opportunity to jumpstart the campaign," said William Manby, who co-chairs the campaign along with Goetz and honorary co-chair Morgan O'Brien, president and chief executive officer of Duquesne Light. Goetz and Manby visited several major corporations in the area, asking for donations to the campaign. O'Brien said the project "struck an important nerve" with Duquesne Light. "We wanted to take part," he said. Goetz, Manby and O'Brien head a 55-member Blue Ribbon Committee that includes former Pennsylvania Gov. Dick Thornburg, former Pittsburgh Steeler Rocky Bleier and former Pittsburgh Pirates Manager Jim Leyland. Bleier was supposed to attend last Thursday's event, but got held up in Arizona, Goetz said. On Thursday, Goetz, Manby and O'Brien urged business and community leaders to take a lead role in raising the matching dollars. A strong public-private partnership is viewed as key to reaching the goal, and the Chartiers Valley Partnership is working to raise about $4.3 million from private sources, including individuals, corporations and foundations. The balance will come from state and federal sources. The committee hopes to raise the first $4.3 million by January 2005. The 102-year-old library houses 30,000 volumes and serves 36,000 patrons annually. The building is also home to the Civil War Room, used by local veterans from 1906 until the mid-1930s for meetings and storage of their collection of flags, books, prints and relics. Modeled after the famed Carnegie Hall in New York, the 780-seat Music Hall is home to three resident performing arts companies: Carnegie Performing Arts Center, Pittsburgh Savoyards and Stage 62. But damage from water, age and lack of resources threatens the future of the building and seriously impacts its ability to serve the public. It is inaccessible to people with disabilities and children with strollers, has no air conditioning and insufficient heating, lacks parking and its mechanical, plumbing and electrical systems are not up to code. Talk of raising funds has been discussed for years; it is now finally happening. "I love this project," said Maggie Forbes of A.L. Brourman Associates Inc., a fund-raising/public relations firm working with the committee. "We have to show there is a mandate from the community."

In August 2003 Chris Rasmussen, co-author (with James Owston) of the history of the 9th Pennsylvania Reserves (in preparation), donated three receipts dated Sept. 14, 1908 from Headquarters Capt. Thos. Espy Post 153, G.A.R. to the Espy Post. Receipt numbers 87, 88 and 89 were from Quartermaster Thos. H. Williams and signed James C. Harper, Commander, and W. W. McLea, Adjt. They were paid to Thos. H. Williams ($6.10 for "spoons, wood plates and soda crackers"), H. L. Johnson ($10 for "services making bean soop [sic] & other services") and Thos. H. Williams ($3 for "postal cards & printing forms"). We are grateful to return these forms to the Post.

The Senator John Heinz Pittsburgh Regional History Center will exhibit "Eye of the Storm: Unknown Stories of the Civil War", 4 April through 30 September 2003, containing eight items from the Captain Thomas Espy GAR Post, Andrew Carnegie Free Library , Carnegie, PA. They were borrowed by the History Center from the Andrew Carnegie Free Library, in cooperation with 9th Pennsylvania Reserves. The numbers following each description below are the numbers in the Annotated Catalogue (see link above).

• Lithograph of Charles McKenna sketch of Camp Humphreys (111 and N32)
• Flag of the Saint Clair Guards (101)
• Hat and epaulettes of Captain Thomas Espy (103-104)
• Portrait of Thomas Espy (1)
• Espy Post GAR flag (N36)
• Ladies of the GAR banner (N36)
• Photograph of Espy Post GAR members in front of Andrew Carnegie Free Library (N41)

The 9th Pennsylvania Reserves and the History Center are sharing the cost of treatment of the Camp Humphreys lithograph and the veterans portrait.

9 December 2002 (updated 18 February 2004)--The 9th Pennsylvania Reserve and the Senator John Heinz Pittsburgh Regional History Center shared the costs of restoration of two items from the Captain Thomas Espy Post at the Andrew Carnegie Free Library in Carnegie, PA: (1) a 1905 photograph (photographer was Mellon) of the veterans in front of the library and (2) a 1907 lithograph of a sketch of Camp Humphreys made by Private Chas. F. McKenna, Co. E, 155th Regt., Pa. Vols., in 1863. In the winter of 1862 and 1863, the 155th, 133d, 123d and 131st Regiments, Pa. Vols., occupied the site known as Camp Humphreys, near Falmouth, Va. The print was presented to the Post on April 8, 1907 by Judge Chas. F. McKenna. Some years ago this print apparently was damaged when it fell in its frame. The rolled up print was found in the bottom of one of the exhibition cabinets in the Espy Post and matched with its numbered but empty frame found elsewhere in the room. Both items were so badly in need of conservation that they could not be displayed. Thanks to the fine collaboration of the board of trustees of the Andrew Carnegie Free Library, the 9th Pennsylvania Reserves, the Senator John Heinz Pittsburgh Regional History Center, and paper conservator Wendy Bennett, both items were displayed, along with others from the Post, in an exhibition (April 2003 to January 2004) at the History Center in 2003. The two images are of the unrestored works.

On Flag Day, 14 June 2002, a "conservation party" held in the Espy Post at the Andrew Carnegie Free Library included MariJean Ferguson, Dave Krueger, Jim White, Lugene Bruno, and paper conservator Wendy Bennett. (Lugene, who works with Jim at the Hunt Institute, was Wendy's assistant during the conservation survey last year.) The goal was to begin to organize and to house in mylar or buffered envelopes and within acid-free boxes the many loose papers (including general orders, receipts, membership and encampment records, rituals, and songbooks) from the two corner cabinets and desks. The several Civil War period newspapers were placed in proper boxes; the corps badges (watercolors taped onto glass plates, some long ago broken) and ribbons (described and wrapped by textile conservator Fonda Thomsen) also were properly housed. The bases of the vertical trays built into the corner cabinet (near the organ) were black with soot, which had accumulated over the years. Likely no one ever had removed these files to dust their bases. The day's work made a significant dent in this statement from our Conservation Assessment: "The biggest unknown in the collection is the archival and library material, which has never been fully examined, identified, catalogued, and organized. There will need to be a systematic investigation of this material to determine what it is, what its relevance is to the Post and the Post's mission, whether and how it might be used or displayed, and how it might be organized and preserved." Now, each box systematically can be inventoried with relative ease and without the frustration of facing an endless jumble. See above link to Jim's earlier and hasty survey of some of the paper items.

10 April 2001--Wendy Bennett, Fine Art Paper Conservation, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Fonda G. Thomsen, Director, Textile Preservation Associates, Inc., Sharpsburg, Maryland, and Conservator William A. Real, The Carnegie, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, completed a conservation analysis of the Espy Post. The analysis was financed by a grant to the 9th Pennsylvania Reserves from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Community and Economic Development. We are indebted to State Senator Tim Murphy and to State Representative John Pippy for their support. Photographs gradually are being added to the Annotated Catalogue (see link above).

Plans are underway to renovate the Andrew Carnegie Free Library in Carnegie, built in 1899 to the designs of Struthers & Hannah. One of the omnibus libraries that Carnegie built, this has not only the 33,000-volume library, but a music hall (said to be acoustically perfect), a lecture hall, a gymnasium, and a G.A.R. Post. The military museum has drawn considerable attention in itself. Renovations will include water-proofing, air conditoning, and facilitating movement within the building. The cost of solving these problems is estimated at $5,000,000. Chartiers Valley Partnership is coordinating the effort and funding sources are still being sought.

Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall, May 2005. Behind the two upper left windows is the Espy Post. Photos courtesy Tim Reiser, May 2005

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