Oberholtzer Foundation is among 59 organizations awarded grant

The Ernest C. Oberholtzer Foundation received a mid-sized grant of $48,822 to support the complete restoration of Oberholtzer’s drum room fireplace and chimney.

The foundation is dedicated Oberholtzer, better known as “Ober,” who was a wilderness preservationist, explorer, photographer, had authority on the Minnesota-Ontario boundary lakes region, was an original architect of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and Voyageurs National Park. Oberholtzer was a lifetime president of the Quetico Superior Council and was one of eight founders of the Wilderness Society. The foundation is dedicated to the preservation of Oberholtzer’s north woods legacy and his home on Mallard Island on Rainy Lake.

“After 70-plus years, (the fireplace and chimney) is in bad repair and the smoke shelf inside the chamber above the firebox is not built to today’s standards,” said Beth Waterhouse, executive director of the Ernest C. Oberholtzer Foundation. “This beautiful fireplace cannot be ignored. As a glacial stone fireplace, we feel it serves as a spiritual center for Mallard Island. Our research shows that Ober or his descendent caretakers probably recognized that the fireplace was not drawing correctly as evidenced by a work on the chimney structure. The height of the chimney was increased once with additional masonry and then again with long stovepipes.”

Waterhouse said the organization applied for the grant after the rock work on the fireplace was assessed last fall and the need was identified. “We realized that it would be extensive and that it would take us years to raise the capital for this, and meanwhile the fireplace would be out of use,” she added.

The grant, Waterhouse continued, is a perfect match for the organization. Without it, the fireplace would have been placed “off limits” and other funding sources would have had to be identified for its restoration.

The foundation makes Mallard Island — a National Historic Preservation Site — available for groups to hold workshops, retreats, and other projects. No work or formal planning work has begun on this restoration project as yet, because we still have to sign the grant agreements, Waterhouse noted.

 Minnesota Historical and Cultural Heritage Grants are made possible by the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund with passage of the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment. The amendment supports efforts to preserve Minnesota land, water and legacy, including state history and cultural heritage.

“This latest group of awards really begins to reach out across disciplines and funding lines to collaborate with arts, library and other groups as the legislature had encouraged. The Historic Resources Advisory Committee that reviews grant proposals keeps such encouragements in mind,” said David Grabitske, manager of outreach services for the Minnesota Historical Society in statement. “In this round of recipients, awards address a great many ways that history makes life in Minnesota so rich, deep and vibrant, from the preservation of historic spaces for arts and low-income housing, to preserving modern experiences that will become history, and fostering films with solid historical content.”

The grant announcements for the 59 recipients follow news of the Minnesota Historical Society’s latest report to the governor and legislature detailing all expenditures for 2012 Legacy history projects and programs. The report is now available at mnhs.org/legacy.

Waterhouse concluded that foundation officials are seeking anyone who knows more history of the fireplace, the origin of its stones, or the identity of its original mason.

Visit www.eober.org for contact information or more about Mallard Island and other programs of the Ernest C. Oberholtzer Foundation.