MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – On the Middletown map, the Chauncey W. Gibson building sits at the intersection of Calistoga and Calloyomi streets. But townsfolk will tell you that it sits where the past intersects with the present.
The official dedication of the smallish structure on the property to the Gibson Museum and Cultural Center that for more than 80 years served as the Middletown Public Library will not occur until early May. But the past and present have already come into contact there.
It was a serendipitous occasion this past summer when community leader Voris Brumfield, about to have lunch at a restaurant across the street from the Gibson building, looked out the window and saw a man who seemed vitally interested in the structure.
“I was sitting there watching him and thought he was a building inspector or something,” said Brumfield. “So I went out and introduced myself and asked him his name. He said, 'My name is Gibson.'”
The stranger, in fact, was Chauncey Gibson's great-nephew.
“He just happened to be driving through – from where I don't know – on his way to his home in south Lake Tahoe,” said Bob Kauffman, facilities manager for the Gibson Museum project, picking up the story from there. “About two weeks later we had a check from him with stipulations and a Gibson family genealogy for the museum.”
Gibson was a successful turn-of-the-20th-century Oakland, Calif., businessman who had a vacation home in Middletown.
In 1929 he offered to fund the construction of a permanent library for the town if the community would provide the land. The townspeople responded to his offer and the new library was dedicated in May 1930, a month before Gibson died.
Good fortune also has attended the latest Gibson building project, for which on Saturday the first fundraiser – a concert by Karen Melander-Magoon and keyboard accompanist AJ Franks – was held at the new Middletown Senior Center, which shares space with the new home of the Middletown Library on Washington Street.
From Calpine, two ore cars from the Socrates Mine era eventually will sit out front of the museum.
The cars were secured by Calvin Higgins, a Calpine employee and Gibson Museum Committee member.
“There were, like, four of them sitting up on a hillside and I was always interested in them,” said Higgins. “Calpine owned them because it covers a lot of acres. About seven square miles, I think.
“Then when the museum project was started I went to the landowner and asked if he would consider donating two of them to the museum. He got right back to me and said, 'They're yours,'” Higgins recalled.
With proceeds of more than $4,000 from Saturday's sold-out fundraiser – including $2,000 from the District Attorney's Office's Alternative to Community Service program – treasurer Judy Kauffman said nearly $25,000 has been raised for the project, with another $4,500 promised.
The project has tapped into a gold mine of volunteer labor and donated materials, including $1,100 in building supplies from Hardester's Market, $350 worth of paint from Kelly-Moore in Ukiah and free use of the Middletown Senior Center for Saturday's fundraiser.
“The interior is looking wonderful. Clean and bright. It's much too wonderful to describe,” said project committee member Nina Bouska.
Bouska said Judy Kauffman and Linda Moran dragged old furnishings out of the storerooms and, with elbow grease and a little wax, made them look like new.
“Bob Kauffman and Tom Moran took up the time-worn linoleum in the tiny bathroom and found newspapers from the 1950s, still intact enough to yield a few clippings,” said Bouska. “A security system has been installed and new deadbolts installed on the doors.”
More than anyone else, Bob Kauffman championed the conversion. He, alone, painted the interior walls and took charge of preserving the building's Spanish tile floors.
But, Bouska said, “A handful of volunteers have donated several thousand hours of labor and a good deal of pocket cash and supplies.
“The main problem is getting the handicap access and repairing the floor, which is badly cracked in places,” she said.
A contractor has been hired to construct the handicap ramp to ensure it meets federal Americans with Disabilities Act specifications. That is the only part of the overall project not being done by volunteer labor.
Although it is small for a museum, the Gibson building is a critical piece of the Middletown community tapestry. Without it, Middletown's own history might someday be forgotten.
How to contribute: To donate, go to www.cgibsonmuseum.com and scroll down to the bottom left of the page for a “donate” button. Checks also may be mailed to the Gibson Museum, P.O. Box 31, Middletown, CA 95461.
Email John Lindblom at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .