December 8, 2014
Rockin’ the Beach in a Stone Bank T
It’s snowing up North (and on our blog), but look! The Stone Bank T-shirt makes excellent beach apparel!
Our friend, Laura, recently took her new PRESERVATION ROCKS shirt to a Florida beach! And she totally ROCKED it!
She has the right idea! The Stone Bank T is charming, lovely and easy to pack. AND it’s a great conversation starter for those chance meeting with a handsome stranger or an old friend.
Still time to get yours for the holidays. Best of all. Your donation of $15 will help us match our grant from the Historical Society of ND and help rebuild the back section of the building in 2015.
We love to post photos of our friends wearing the Stone Bank T. Send yours to touchstones.inc@gmail.com with a few details about the location and we will share it.
You can make a contribution right on this page. Then send us a note about size and color of shirt and we will send it along to you. There are more details and photos on our website. We now have a limited number of long-sleeve shirts, for those who are not getting to the beach this winter.
Thanks for reading the Stone Bank blog!
November 18, 2014
Putting the Pieces Together
What’s this? The original Stone Bank puzzle back in action?
Indeed. And “in action” a long, long way from Bottineau. This old Stone Bank puzzle is now entertaining folks (and perhaps puzzling them) at a community center near Phoenix!
Thanks to our friend Jane for sending the photos. We love it when folks near and far offer a hand in fixing the Stone Bank, even if it is only putting the puzzle together.
Want to help? Your contribution will help us rebuild the back 20 feet of the building!
Be like Jane! She recently sent a contribution using the PayPal link on this page. Our mailing address is also in the right column. We would love to hear from you.
Thanks for reading the Stone Bank Blog!
The Stone Bank puzzle is quite different from the competitors for “fixing” in the puzzle closet.
The Stone Bank puzzle is perplexing folks in a community center in Arizona.
July 31, 2014
Volunteers! We love ’em
There she sits! The Stone Bank is looking a bit more chic after a long overdue touchup of the paint on her window frames. And we owe it all to volunteers. A group of Fulbright scholars spent a couple days in June, rolled up their sleeves and made it happen.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Volunteers scraped, sanded and painted the Stone Bank’s windows. She is looking good and ready for more restorative work!
Want more? Of course, you do. Who doesn’t want to see the Stone Bank looking chipper?
So let’s keep it going. Our project has been awarded a $20,000 grant from the Historical Society of ND to continue work to restore the bank building. But we need to match the grant with local contributions of cash or labor.
If we can raise the money — we can raise the back section of the bank and get the building back into use.
So, we need your support. Your donation will go directly into rebuilding costs. Other than insurance and our P.O. Box rental, our overhead is almost ZERO. Oh, speaking of the P.O. Box — It is P.O. Box 272, Bottineau, ND 58318. Send a check or make a donation with PayPal.
This summer, the plan is to get the plumbing roughed in and the floor joists installed. From there we will rebuild the walls and add the roof. It is all possible, if we have the money to pay the contractors. Can you help? Great.
We appreciate it.
The Stone Bank’s front window with a fresh coat of paint on the wooden window frame.
June 15, 2014
Deb! Show us your Stone Bank-T
Talk about a happy accident! Your Stone Bank blogger sat down to breakfast on the Amtrak recently with two strangers. But we weren’t strangers for long. Deb and Kath were great breakfast companions — and they loved the story of the Stone Bank.
When Deb returned home to Wisconsin, she ordered a Stone Bank T-shirt from StoneBank.org.
Meet Deb Martin! She made a $15 donation and got a Stone Bank T-shirt. We would love to see you in one, too.
Thanks, Deb!
Deb reports that she loves her shirt and she sent this photo!
This is the year that we plan to raise the back section of the bank and put the roof on. Join us on the journey! Every T-shirt sale helps. Don’t want a T-shirt? Dedicate a stone or just make a contribution.
Let’s get this done! Your donation will make a difference.
Thanks for your support.
June 8, 2014
Sun. Stone. Scrape. Paint
You are looking at a group of ROCKSTARS!
Geared up and ready to work. Our Fulbright volunteers got down to business on Sunday.
Our Fulbright volunteers showed up, gloved up and got to work on the windows at the Stone Bank today! (They hail from a number of countries including Germany, Cuba, India and Senegal.
Twelve pairs of hands — and four local volunteers have given a big boost to this project, which is being operated on a shoestring.
You may not be near enough to grab a paint scraper or a can a paint, but you can show the Stone Bank some love with a donation.
We have a lot of work to do in 2014 that must be done by “paid” contractors. So, please: Dedicate a Stone. Make a $15 donation, and we will thank you with one of our Stone Bank T-shirts. Or just send a donation.
Every dollar goes into restoring this delightful and irreplaceable stone building.
As always. Thanks for reading the Stone Bank blog.
June 7, 2014
A Beauty Treatment
Hey, everyone! It’s been too long! Lots going on at the Stone Bank. Here’s the latest:
We are working to put this wonderful building back to use on Bottineau’s Main Street.
Volunteers are descending on the Stone Bank on Sunday, June 8, to tackle a really tough project — they are going to scrape, sand, prime and paint the Stone Bank’s windows.
These are very special volunteers — a group of Fulbright scholars from the Minnesota/ND chapter — who are taking a tour of North Dakota and making time to lend a hand in the community. We couldn’t be happier!
We know that the windows will have to be replaced — but that is later. We need to rebuild the back section of the building and then move on to projects like the windows. In the meantime, they will look better, thanks to this crew of volunteers. Some local volunteers are going to help, too. We will post more as the project takes shape.
Free labor is a great thing. But the Stone Bank needs cash to buy paint and other supplies. We need to match a new grant from the Historical Society of ND, too. Can you help? Every donation helps. Hey, look! There is a PayPal link on this page. (For your convenience.)
Thanks for reading the Stone Bank blog!
February 17, 2014
A T-shirt for all occasions!
Have you ever noticed that some people have a knack for wearing just the right thing no matter what the occasion?
Our Stone Bank friend, Jeff, has that knack! He wears his Stone Bank T-shirt a lot.
Look! It’s Jeff, Up North and wearing his Stone Bank T! Great look, Jeff!
Be like Jeff! Order your Stone Bank T-shirt today. Your donation of $15 or more will bring the T to your closet, and your donation will help us continue the restoration of the beautiful Stone Bank.
We have got PayPal and Razoo for online payment — or you can send us a check. Then send us a photo wearing your shirt. We would love to publish it here.
It really is a T-shirt for all occasions. And the Stone Bank is here to stay. Help us finish the project with your donation. Check out the colors and sizes on our website.
Thanks for reading the Stone Bank blog!
January 19, 2014
Old and Still Very Useful
Oh, how it makes the Stone Bank blogger happy to see a great old building with a new lease on life.
Right there on Main Street in Red Wing, Minn., is a Caribou Coffee in a red brick railway station from 1906. Not too crazy about the interior, but it’s just great to see this building standing, sturdy and useful. Hurrah.
Don’t you love a timeline? Here are the details:
Love it!
We want the same for our Stone Bank. Sturdy and useful and IN USE for the next 100 years or more.
For comparison’s sake: Bottineau County Bank (what we now call the Stone Bank) was founded in 1887. The Stone Bank was built in the last six months in 1900 — and replaced an earlier wood-frame building. It was Bottineau’s first bank, which failed in 1923. The building had many uses over the years and most recently was a lawyer’s office. We know that our restoration project will give it a new life in the next couple of years.
Do you have a favorite restored building in your home town or someplace you have visited? What was it built for and how is it now used? Send a photo and we will post it.
Thanks for reading the Stone Bank blog. Comments and contributions always welcome.
December 31, 2013
You Rocked the Support!
Happy. Happy. New Year!
It has been a really busy year at the Stone Bank — and it has been a year where we have made important progress — and have done a LOT of heavy lifting.
- Our stone mason finished dismantling the back section of the bank in the spring of 2013.
- We did some problem-solving around the issue of putting in a new foundation during the summer months, which included shoring up the foundation of the neighboring building and dealing with a wet spot.
- Wonderful Monte Mikkelsen and his crew from Mikkelsen Aggregates donated time and equipment to excavate the pit for the new foundation.
- Footings were poured and the new foundation began to rise in the fall, where none had existed before.
- By late in the fall, the foundation was up to grade and we are in a great position to finish raising the back section in 2014.
We couldn’t have done it without support from the Historical Society of ND and donations from Otter Tail Power, the Bottineau County Board, Preservation ND, Turtle Mountain Communications, St. Michel Furniture, the State Bank of Bottineau and dozens of individuals who made donations, dedicated a stone, bought T-shirts and volunteered their time to help move the project forward. Thank you!
But — we need to ask again. Can you write another check? We plan to make big progress in 2014. For starters, we will complete rebuilding the back 20 feet of the building and put the roof on. Then we need to get the old bank ready for its new life with plumbing and heating and renovating the interior!
Early in 2014, we are going to begin the process of finding a tenant or tenants for this swell building. Any ideas? We would love to hear them.
We are so excited for the Stone Bank’s potential to be a historic anchor for Bottineau’s Main Street. But we can’t get it done without community support. Remember, Touchstones, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, so your donation is tax deductible.
So end 2013 with a glad tidings of support for the Stone Bank. This project is preserving a piece of Bottineau history — and helping the building play a role in Bottineau’s future.
Our fundraising goal for 2014 is $50,000. Every dollar helps.
Let’s keep it going! The hardest part is behind us and the fun part is here.
Our mailing address is: Touchstones, Inc., 524 Main Street, P.O. Box 272, Bottineau, ND 58318
Or you can make a donation online using PayPal or Razoo. Links are on the right column of this page.
Happy New Year and thanks for reading the Stone Bank blog.
November 30, 2013
NaBloPoMo Finale (whew)
The moment you’ve all been waiting for … our last post for National Blog Posting Month 2013.
Admiring a gorgeous sunset near Bottineau, N.D., is a nice way to close NaBloPoMo.
Before we close out the month, we’d like to thank everyone who shared this journey, commented and sent photos. Your input made it a lot more fun to come up with 30 daily posts. Don’t be shy — we are always open to ideas, photos and commentary for months without a theme.
We also need to thank a few more wonderful Stone Bank friends — who are there when we need them. They have championed our project, worked for little or no pay and have been total rock stars!
Of course, there are countless others who have stepped up, donated and said a kind word. It’s good to pause and remember that this really is a community project — and we are grateful for every kindness and courtesy. We truly wouldn’t have made this happen without you.
But we are not done. So, stay tuned. Dedicate a stone. Buy a T-shirt. Wish us well.
We wanted to end #NaBloPoMo with a bang. So, here it is.
What can you say? Our Stone Bank friends and volunteers are dynamite.
Thanks for your support.
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