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Wilson Opera House fund set
Alan Rusch
Last Updated: November 20, 2009
WILSON — Directors of the Wilson Czech Opera House Corporation will investigate ways to stabilize and clean up the historic building after it was gutted Nov. 6 by an early morning fire.
Director Larry Ptacek said an account has been established at the Wilson State Bank for donations.
The directors' decision came Nov. 13 in the wake of a town hall meeting the day before to “brainstorm" options for the Opera House and the House of Memories Museum in the building's basement.
Roger Hubert, who is restoring the old Webber house in Wilson, was the meeting organizer and moderator. He said the ultimate decision on the Opera House's future rests with its owner, the non-profit foundation. However, he was optimistic that the town's situation is not as dire as first thought.
“All is not lost," Hubert said. “I think the news is the fire department saved a whole lot more than what we thought Friday morning. We learned today from the state there is a technical difference between a ruin and a building. If it is a ruin, it can still be a part of the historic district. We also found out there are monies available to us that we would have never dreamed of.
“There may not be any need to bulldoze it," he said. “There will be clean-up. There will be insurance for clean-up. There is asbestos and a lot of issues. But it looks like at this stage, there is more good news than bad."
Hubert said the idea of a “virtual" museum is gaining real momentum.
“People won't have to donate artifacts or photographs anymore," he said. “Those will be scanned or photographed and put on a computer disk — that's a virtual museum."
“If you were to only come in and put ribs across the top, then you could still have an opportunity to have an Opera House to the stars," Hubert said. “Whatever you do, you can still go forward. The idea of removing it all is going to hurt everybody — even those who would like to build."
Hubert said a band stage could be built inside the shell of the Opera House for bands to play during the annual After Harvest Czech Festival in July.
“If you put a band stage there during the Czech Fest, you are going to hear it all the way to Interstate 70, because of the acoustics," he said. “If we do nothing but stabilize the walls of the Opera House, the Czech Fest is going to rock and roll. That's for sure."
Hubert said another idea put forward is to have what he described as a “town dig." He thinks the tools and other iron items can be salvaged.
“This is no different than any fire, tornado or flood," Hubert said. “It's far better to salvage than to just choke the landfill with these community treasures. Sept. 11 in New York was far worse, and they saved many, many things to fill a new museum to that event."
After Hubert opened the floor to questions, a man asked if there were any plans to use the Opera House more than once a year.
“Let's use it for something the kids today can grow up and use it for," he said.
“If that building and what goes on around it is lit back up by the kind of energy that is aimed at it right now, this town is going to grow," Hubert said.
A man from Dorrance advised Wilson citizens to clean up the Opera House site and move on.
“I was in Dorrance, Kan. when my high school burned down," he said. “I had tears in my eyes, but nobody rebuilt that son of a gun. You guys need to move on. You've got a motel sitting over here with a pile of money in it, and it's sitting there doing nothing. What are you doing about it? Nothing at all. Why isn't that motel up and going? It's sitting there in ruins — just like your Opera House. You need to get it going."
Director Ptacek, who over the years has worked with others to restore the Opera House, delivered a dose of reality.
Ptacek said no one can go into the building until the walls are stabilized.
“We had a structural engineer out here that does rock, and he said it is not safe above the front windows, and the back is definitely not safe," he said.
Ptacek said the insurance on the Opera House will not come close to paying for clean up.
“The Environmental Protection Agency has regulations on this whole thing," he said. “What we're doing dreaming about the future is nothing. You can dream all you want to. But until you get this thing stabilized and cleaned-up, you don't have anything."
He also dismissed the suggestion of a “town dig."
“There never will be one," he said. “We could never allow it for liability purposes. With all the asbestos and lead, it's a hazardous area."
Because of those materials, Ptacek said the Kansas Department of Health and Environment will have to approve any clean up effort.
Read the complete article in the Nov. 19 edition of the Ellsworth County I-R.
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