Editor,
As mentioned in Whidbey News-Times reporter Ron Newberry’s Sept. 3 article on the Haller House, Historic Whidbey’s efforts to save the historic house are now over.
Many people donated money to the cause and Lynn Hyde’s efforts and enthusiasm were nothing short of monumental.
Yet they were not enough to convince the owners to give the house its best shot for preservation — to extend the purchase agreement in order for the nonprofit to obtain the state grant to help purchase the unique building.
“We’ve had it for 10 years now. We want to see the right thing done with it” stated the owners. Apparently that didn’t extend to the actual maintenance and care of the house. The glaring omission in Ron’s article is the fact that the owners refused a $10,000 Ebey’s Forever grant obtained for them by Historic Whidbey for the repair of the Haller House roof which has been failing for years and thus compromising the entire structure.
This community grant was augmented by several other local and state grants, which would have covered the cost of the roof replacement. How this action reflects their having the best interest of the building in mind seems disingenuous.
How will this house “be here for another 150 years” when the owners turn their backs on such a community-supported effort and refuse to care for it starting with the roof?
Buildings, as we all know, do not care for themselves. They require human intervention. It remains to be seen what will happen to this historic site with these owners.
The town of Jacksonville, Ore., a national historic landmark district, had to intervene with these same owners to protect a historic building that was suffering from benign neglect, just as the Haller House is.
Jacksonville’s preservation ordinances are much stronger than what Ebey’s Reserve has, though.
As these pre-1873 territorial houses continue to deteriorate, a demolition permit becomes more plausible. Our Reserve now has two territorial houses listed in the Washington Trust’s List of Most Endangered properties: the Libbey and Haller houses.
Should these buildings go past the stage where preservation and/or adaptive re-use is impossible or impractical, we all lose.
We have inherited these buildings as a community and the Reserve was established to ensure such unique structures remain for future generat ions. The loss of the old County Courthouse was the catalyst that created the Island County Historical Society.
I urge the Ebey’s Landing Trust Board and museum to fully engage as the Haller House goes on the market, and I hope the community works together with its leaders to ensure these rare historic places are not lost under our watch.
Gretchen Luxenberg
Coupevill
