(rshsdepot) Grand Island, NE

["Jim Dent" <james.dent_@_itochu.com>]

-From the Grand Island Independent...

Published Sunday, July 29, 2001
Company will create replicas of city's historical sites
Historical Society will use sales to fund BN depot restoration
By Mike Bockoven

The wooden replica of the Hall County Courthouse from 1904 is accurate from
top to bottom, Pat Mader said. The only difference between the replica and a
picture of the courthouse is a cat, curled up on the front steps.

"They always leave a trademark," Mader said. "But other than that it's a
very fine re-creation."

The "they" in question is the Cat's Meow out of Ohio. Cat's Meow, which has
made a large business out of re-creating local buildings in wood, has been
commissioned by the Hall County Historical Society to make a number of
pieces depicting historical buildings in Grand Island.

Mader, Hall County Historical Society president, said a re-creation of the
Hall County Courthouse is already available, and plans to make re-creations
of the Liederkranz, St. Mary's Cathedral and the Platte-Deutsche are well
underway.

Sales from the re-creations will go toward the Historical Society's
Burlington Northern Depot restoration project, Mader said.

"We've been scratching our heads trying to figure out how to raise money for
our project and just to overall increase cash flow," Mader said. "This is
what we came up with, and we're excited about it. This is something that
will be ongoing for many years, and we hope it will be very very
profitable."

The society is hoping to raise around $650,000 to restore the old Burlington
Northern Depot located at Sixth and Plum streets in Grand Island.

Although some of the buildings being considered for the project by the
Historical Society are not officially on the National Register of Historic
Places, Mader said the number of places that deserve to be honored in this
way is long.

The National Register of Historic Places lists 10 sites in Grand Island.

"We're planning on four to six pieces a year," Mader said. "There are a lot
of places that would do nicely and a lot of places that aren't around
anymore that would be neat. We're thinking about calling that our 'Once Upon
a Time' series."

So far, the re-creation of the Hall County Courthouse has sold out on its
"first edition" of the courthouse, which consists of 82 units. While the
society is planning on expanding both the line of buildings and the places
where they will be sold, so far they are only available for purchase at
Maudie's Stained Glass in Grand Island.

"The people who have come in and seen them really seem to like it," Maudy
Walters, owner of Maudie's Stained Glass, said. "It is really neat. I think
the Historical Society really has good idea here."

Ron Maxwell, a retail support representative for FJ Designs, the company
that makes Cat's Meow products, said a large part of their business comes
-From similar fund-raisers for various groups around the country.

"It's done a lot," he said. "Custom items are one of our biggest divisions.
We've been doing it since about 1984 and have done around 20,000 designs."

One of the bonuses of selling re-creations from Cat's Meow is the
organization has a base of collectors who are "very excited," about
collecting, Mader said.

"There are groups of very avid Cat's Meow collectors who we're targeting in
this project," she said. "And, then there are a lot of people who will buy
them because it's local and they like them."

The pieces will also include a brief history of the building on the back of
the re-creation. While the price for each different piece will vary, the
Hall County Courthouse runs for $20.

The best part about the project, Mader said, is it's something that will
help the Historical Society financially and will also teach about the
community, both past and present.

"By the time we're done, people will be able to make their own mini-Grand
Island," Mader said. "And, it's something that we think will help educate
both now and in the long run. This is something the community can really get
involved in."

------------------------------