August 22, 2022
Stone Bank’s back is up!
YES! It has taken a while… but we have finished the work to rebuild the back of the Stone Bank! It’s a BIG deal. As you may recall, we took down the back 20 feet of the building to put it on a firm foundation.
In 2021, we matched a $28,491 grant from the State Historical Society of North Dakota, and our contractors worked in difficult weather in late 2021 and early 2022 to rebuild the back of the building. The Bottineau County Economic Development Commission helped match the grant with a low-interest loan and many donors gave to make this work possible.
The arched entry at the back of the building will make the building handicap-accessible entrance. We added about 9 feet to the structure to make that possible.
Next steps? Our stone mason is cutting original stones to reattach the stone facade. Every gift to the project goes to moving the project forward.
February 24, 2020
Project Awarded $28.5 K Grant
News Release (Feb. 24, 2020)
The Historical Society of North Dakota (HSND) has awarded the Stone Bank Project its largest-ever grant to Restore the Stone Bank on Bottineau’s Main Street. The Historical Society made the $28,491 grant to enclose the back 20 feet of the building.
The grant represents half of the funds needed to enclose the back of the building. Touchstones, Inc., the nonprofit that owns the building, needs to raise an equal amount to match the grant to complete the work by May 2021.
“We are delighted the Historical Society has again decided to make an investment in the Stone Bank Project,” says Sharon Kessler, the president of Touchstones, Inc. “The work we started in 2011 to restore the building and give it a new lease on life aligns perfectly with Gov. Burgum’s Main Street Initiative.”
The Main Street Initiative is an effort to provide tools and support to help communities capitalize on their strengths and to make them more vibrant and attractive to a 21st-century workforce.
“Our goal has always been to preserve this beautiful piece of Bottineau’s history and make it useful for another 100 years or more,” Kessler said. “The restored Stone Bank will nod to history and be a cornerstone for Bottineau’s future. We are going to work hard to match the grant and get the back of the building done.”
Donations can be sent to: Touchstones, Inc., P.O. Box 272, Bottineau, ND 58318.
Here are some pictures of the Stone Bank. It was build in 1900 by pioneer craftsmen from stones brought by glaciers to ND.
This is the original Bottineau County Bank, completed in Dec. 1900. The rear of the building was extended about 20 feet in the 1930s, but it was built on shallow footings and that caused structural issues in the back of the building. We dismantled the back 20 feet in 2011-2012 to put a proper foundation under it.
We completed putting down deep footings and a new basement a couple a years ago, but a lack of funding stalled our progress. With the grant from HSND, our plan is to match the grant and get this building enclosed in 2020. This photo shows where the original building joins the rebuilt basement wall. We have the stone and will reattach the facade when the back of the building is enclosed.
The floor joists are in. Our stone mason, contractor and roofer will make quick work on getting the back of the building enclosed in 2020. But we need to match the $28,491 grant to get it done. It’s time, and we hope you will help us make this happen.
This architect’s drawing shows what the completed building will look like when it is done. It’s going to look almost exactly like the old building, but we have extended it about 8 feet to make room for a handicap-accessible entrance. It’s going to be a building that is ready for Bottineau’s future.
We think the Stone Bank is a real touchstone with Bottineau’s history, and it will be around for generations to come. Your gift will really make a difference in 2020.
Leave a comment on the blog or send us an email at touchstones.inc@gmail. com. We’d love to hear from you and we love to hear stories about the Stone Bank.
July 5, 2018
Still looking for the Class of ’72
This is much more fun than the prom was!
A little over a year ago, we challenged the BHS Class of ’72 to lead the way with donations to the Stone Bank restoration project. And we challenged other BHS classes to match our effort. What fun it has been to reconnect with classmates and take a few of them on a tour of the building! Most important, we have received some donations to continue work on the building.
But we haven’t heard from many of our classmates. In some cases, we haven’t been able to find their current addresses, email or phone numbers. If you have a sibling or friend from our class, please tell them we would love to hear from them — or send us a tip or contact info to touchstones.inc@gmail.com.
In 2022, our class will celebrate its 50th reunion, and we would love to celebrate our class’s leadership in putting this historic building back together again. Let’s do this.
And we challenge other classes to meet or exceed our class’s gifts to the project, which so far stands at $1,300.
Envision the destination
This is the architect’s rendering of what the building will look like when we put it back together again. We took down 20 feet of the building to put a foundation under it, and added an extra 9 feet to make room for a rear entry with a handicap lift (left third of drawing). We only need to raise $60,000 to enclose the back section and get the roof on. With your help, we can get this done. Send a check today to: Touchstones, Inc., PO Box 272, Bottineau, ND 58318. Online giving options available at StoneBank.org.
Come on Class of ’72. Let’s inspire other classes to join us in this effort.
June 22, 2018
We’re still here!
It’s been a long time since our last blog post, but we are always working behind the scenes to raise funds to get this project completed. We welcome input about foundations, nonprofits, businesses or individuals who would help us with a donation.
The Historical Society of North Dakota has been a great friend of the Stone Bank Project, but it has not received funding to distribute as grants from the Legislature. Without that funding, we have to raise money from other resources.
We created the Class of ’72 Challenge to ask our classmates and other classes to contribute to restoring and repurposing this charming, historic building. Come on, Class of ’72! If you haven’t contributed, please do so. If you have contributed, you can do so again or egg on a friend or relative to contribute as well.
In total, we need to raise about $60,000 to raise the back of the building and put the roof on. Together, we can get this done!
June 25, 2017
The Will to Do — The Soul to Dare
Zoink! It has been 45 years since the Class of ’72 graduated — and today it turns out that our class motto has stood the test of time. In fact, it seems that our motto is also the perfect slogan for the Stone Bank project.
It still works! Our class motto is also a good slogan for the Stone Bank project.
Jacalyn Larson and Leland Larshus graduated in 1972 from Bottineau High.
Brian Zahn, Class of ’72, still styling in 2017.
In the final days of June, we have the “soul to dare” that we can raise some matching funds to continue work on the Stone Bank this summer.
We are challenging all the members of the Class of ’72 to make a donation to the Stone Bank project — to help get the back of the building enclosed this year.
And we are asking all BHS grads to step up and also make a contribution in 2017, too.
The budget to enclose the back of the building is roughly $54,000. We have a $20,000 grant from the Historical Society of ND that we need to match by June 30.
Can you help?
If we don’t match the grant, we leave that money on the table. That’s why we are asking for your donations by Friday.
You can give online with a credit card by using Go Fund Me.
Did You Know?
Saving historic buildings makes economic sense?
Indeed, in late 2016 a team from Smart Growth American toured Bottineau and met with community leaders to discuss a vision for Bottineau’s future development.
Smart Growth works with communities across the U.S. to improve everyday life with better development.
After its visit to Bottineau, it offered six recommendations to help Bottineau remain a vibrant and growing community.
Its #1 recommendation is to preserve Bottineau’s historic buildings.
The gist is this.
We are not crazy optimists – we are ahead of the curve! The Smart Growth report mentioned the Stone Bank project as something to invest in. Check out the details on our blog.
A gift to this project will leave a lasting mark in Bottineau.
The Stone Bank was built in 1900 by pioneers. We want to repair and restore it to last another century.
When a lot of people give a little each, it adds up quickly. We are asking all BHS grads to have the will to do and the soul to dare to help turn the Stone Bank into a useful, restored building on Main Street.
YES. USEFUL!
We are adding a handicap entrance at the back of the building — so it will accommodate everyone when it is complete.
Please join us and make a gift today.
Another Way You Can Help
Share this post with your friends and family.
We haven’t been able to reach all of our Class of ’72 classmates. Bev Waters is someone we would like to reconnect with. If you’re in touch with her, please share this blog post with her.
As you know, people move on. They leave ND, and we lose touch. So, help us reconnect, if you can.
These photos are from the 1972 yearbook — which in its day broke some new ground.
Let’s break some ground together in 2017 and successfully restore one of Bottineau’s coolest buildings. Please join the Class of ’72 in putting the Stone Bank back together again!
You can mail a check to: Touchstones, Inc., P.O. Box 272, Bottineau, ND 58318
Joe Whetter, center, served in the Marines after high school and he is doing the heavy lifting on the Stone Bank as our stone mason.
We know that everyone from the Girl Scouts to your church asks for donations. We get it.
But imagine the pride you will have in the Stone Bank when it reopens as an office, a store or a coffee shop in the next couple of years. Your gift will create a lasting legacy to future generations of Bottineau residents. Give today. Our fundraising deadline for this grant is Friday, June 30.
PRESERVATION ROCKS!
LET’S ROCK THIS CHALLENGE!
June 7, 2017
We aren’t crazy optimists; We’re ahead of the curve!
Sharon Kessler and Joe Whetter are spearheading the effort to return the Stone Bank to use. It was built in 1900 with stones carried to North Dakota by glaciers.
Joe Whetter and I were classmates at Bottineau High, but we didn’t know each other well. I am not sure we ever spoke in high school. But for the past six years, we have talked a lot about and worked to restore and repurpose a beautiful stone building on Bottineau’s Main Street that we now call the Stone Bank.
Joe, a stone mason, has done the heavy lifting – lending his know-how and strength to the project. Me? I write grant proposals, do fundraising and lead the board of a nonprofit dedicated to repairing the Stone Bank.
Our goal is to retain the building’s historic character while making it useful for another 100 years.
Since 2011, we have encountered asbestos, a very leaky roof and a crumbling back wall. Joe dismantled the back 20 feet of the building so we could put in a new foundation and rebuild the back.
We have worked with architects, historians and community members to meet this challenge – and it has taken time to raise the money to help us move the project along.
Fast forward to 2017. Smart Growth America, a D.C. nonprofit, says we are not crazy optimists – we are ahead of the curve!
Smart Growth works across the U.S. with elected officials, real estate developers, chambers of commerce, urban and rural planners and community groups and leaders in D.C. to improve everyday life for people across the country through better development.
In 2016, a Smart Growth team visited Bottineau, toured the community and surrounding area and met community leaders to help craft a vision for Bottineau’s future development. The resulting report offered six recommendations to help Bottineau remain a vibrant and growing community.
Guess what?
The No. 1 recommendation was “restore and repurpose historic structures for community revitalization.” Read the Smart Growth report.
The Smart Growth report specifically cites the Stone Bank Project and its slow progress because of “a lack of funds.” So, there you have it.
A great idea. A work in progress.
A lack of funds.
The Class of ’72 yearbook cover broke new ground with an abstract image of the Bottineau High entrance by our classmate Morris McKnight.
Forty-five years ago, the Class of ’72 graduated with eyes trained on the future. Now, honoring the past can be our legacy.
We are asking our high school classmates to lend a hand in the Stone Bank restoration. No heavy lifting involved. We are challenging each of our classmates to contribute $100 (or whatever you can give) to help pay for enclosing the new basement.
By June 30, we need to make a dollar-for-dollar match of a $20,000 grant from the Historical Society of North Dakota. If we can’t raise the match, we leave some part of the money for reconstruction on the table.
And we want other BHS grads to join the effort. Let’s see which class can move the most stone. Rock on!
All donations go straight to the project, and your donation will make a difference in 2017. In total, we only need to raise $53,000 (including $20k from the state) to enclose the building. Can you help?
Time is of the essence if we hope to claim the full $20,000 grant from the Historical Society of ND.
We have started a Go Fund Me campaign for online giving. Or you can mail a check to Touchstones.Inc. (The Stone Bank Project), PO Box 272, Bottineau, ND 58318.
We also accept gifts by PayPal.
Does your employer match your charitable gifts?
Touchstones is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit – so your gift is tax deductible AND eligible for an employer match.
Please, make a donation today. If you love Bottineau and its historic buildings, today is the day to show your support. Your gift WILL make a difference.
Thank you.
Sharon Kessler, a cockeyed optimist from the BHS Class of ’72
November 17, 2016
Project Status: Give to the Max today
Today is Give to the Max Day, which is an initiative started by GiveMN, an offshoot of Minnesota Community Foundation. And here we are, a couple residing in Wisconsin most of the year, asking people from Minnesota and beyond to make donations to a nonprofit restoration project in remote Bottineau, North Dakota.
Why, considering all of the other nonprofits with great causes closer to home, should you make a contribution to the Stone Bank Project today?
Maybe because we need it more than most. Maybe because you’re a supportive friend. Or maybe because you realize that they’re not hand-building Main Street anchors out of millennial-old stone boulders anymore. If this project fails and they tear down this landmark, we all lose a part of our pioneer history that is unrecoverable, unique and yet universal.
The State Historical Society of North Dakota has recognized this with a $20,000 grant to the Stone Bank Project that must be matched, dollar for dollar, by April 15. That’s where you come in. Every dollar you contribute to the Stone Bank on Give to the Max Day or any day goes directly toward matching that grant and, ultimately, paying for the $58,000 worth of work our contractors will do to enclose the back quarter of the Stone Bank building.
As you can see in the slide show on our fresh new home page, StoneBank.org, we have raised the funds to excavate a basement foundation, install a heated concrete floor and raise concrete-block support walls. The materials for the first floor decking are here. Now we need to fund their installation, the raising of the support walls to the roof and the extension of the insulated membrane roof already on the front three-quarters of the building.(Much of this work can proceed now — if we can pay the contractors. So give today.)
We are so close to getting this done. The only thing we need is a financial boost to pay for the labor and materials. And we really need to enclose the building, which as been partially open to the elements for a couple of years. That exposure takes a toll — so in 2016 your support is critical.(We pay no salaries, all donations go directly to project costs.)
Please include the Stone Bank in your Give to the Max contributions today and beyond. (And if the Give to the Max site is down or too slow, please use our gofundme page — or send us a good old-fashioned check, made out to our nonprofit, Touchstones, Inc., P.O. Box 272, Bottineau, ND 58318.) Thank you!
Sharon and Mike
November 12, 2015
We give our max to the Stone Bank Project; will you?
Let’s make this short and sweeet! 
Today is “Give to the Max Day,” which means it’s the day when people all over the Midwest are digging deep into their heart — and budget — to donate as much as they can to the charitable causes that mean the most to them.
We hope the Stone Bank Project will be one of those causes for each of you reading this. Please make a donation today on the Stone Bank Give to the Max page by clicking on the logo or this link.
Not only is your deduction 100% tax deductible (because we are a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization), but 100% of it will be matched by our new $20,000 grant from the State Historical Society of North Dakota — and 100% of it will help pay for enclosure of our new Stone Bank basement before winter sets in. PLUS, we will enter your name in our Nov. 28 raffle for the beautiful homemade quilt you see here.
So please donate now, before “Give to the Max Day” ends — and we all turn into frozen pumpkins 😉
September 7, 2015
Labor Day XXX’s and OOO’s
Let’s hear it for the working man… and woman. We hope you are taking a break and enjoying the day.
This Labor Day, we are especially grateful for our Stone Bank team. They are doing the heavy lifting to help bring this historic building back to life.
They are ready to get back to work, but we need the money to pay for their time and effort.
Every donation to our 501(c)(3) goes directly to materials and labor. Your donation will make a difference. Please make one today.
Honor a loved one by dedicating a stone. Add to your T-shirt collection by making a $15 donation.
Or just help us move the project forward with a contribution to the project. Links for online giving are in the right column, or you can mail a check to: Touchstones, P.O. Box 272, Bottineau, ND 58318.
If you need a “Dedicate a Stone” form, we will send you one.
We are very thankful for the resourcefulness and tenacity of our contractors. They give us a lot and we want them to enjoy the fruits of their labor. Please make a donation today to honor their work to finish enclosing the building.
Thanks for reading the Stone Bank blog!
stonebankblog 
April 3, 2017
It’s time to finish this…
Posted in Friends of Stone Bank, Fundraising, Life, Main Street, Photos, Pictures, Promotions/Contests, Recommended Reading, Renovation, Uncategorized tagged comments, history, news, photos, pictures, places at 12:29 pm by stonebankblog
Let’s face it. WE are living in historic times! It was a winter of historic snowfall in Bottineau, but our friend Spring is finally pushing the snow into memory. It’s time to seize the moment and get back to the important work of enclosing the Stone Bank.
Of course, it’s always about the bottom line. That’s the challenge. And we are asking our classmates in the BHS Class of ’72 to lead the way. How? It’s easy.
We are challenging each member of the Class of ’72 to donate $100 to restoring the Stone Bank. We have lost five classmates far too young, and it would be marvelous if each of us donated in memory of those friends as well.
Those $100 donations would bring $7,000 to a project that really needs a financial shot in the arm. Together, we can give the project a boost and inspire giving from others with ties to Bottineau.
Why the class of ’72? Good question. Well, two of your classmates have been doing the heavy lifting on this restoration project. Joe Whetter, is a stone mason and an amazing advocate and partner on this project. I (Sharon Kessler) founded a nonprofit, have coordinated fundraising and planning to advance the project since 2011.
Now, we really need your help. It’s easy to give online. You can give by credit card through PayPal, Razoo or GiveMN.
Or you can send a check: Touchstones, Inc., PO Box 272, Bottineau, ND 58318
The time is now. We can’t do this alone. We need to make progress on the building in 2017 to keep the structure from deteriorating. It has been open to the elements for a couple of years. We need to show community participation and interest to generate grants — so your contribution really does make a difference. In total, we need to raise $58,000 to enclose the structure. Can you help?
Frankly, we are at a point in life, where many of us are thinking about legacy — the difference we made in the world. The good we will leave behind. This is a great chance for you to help preserve a piece of Bottineau history and make it useful for future generations of those who will call Bottineau home. Your $100 gift added to those of other classmates really will make a difference.
Please make a gift today, so we can move forward with restoring this community treasure. Let’s get this done, together.
Joe Whetter and Sharon Kessler, BHS Class of ’72
We would love to hear from you. Please send a note, your ideas and memories of Bottineau for the blog to touchstones.inc@gmail.com. Guest blog entries are also welcome.
Permalink Leave a Comment