Plainfield Comes Together to Protect Mural

By Virginia Drye

EAGLE TIMES STAFF
The upkeep of a masterpiece is never an easy task. In Plainfield, for example, an entire community has come together to preserve what many in the area consider a masterpiece in the town hall.

The Plainfield Town Hall is home to the Maxwell Parrish Stage Set, the only set known to be completed by the famous illustrator and muralist. Still featuring the original rigging and lighting, the 105-year-old stage set is a rarity.

In October 2021, the town’s Selectboard asked Bev Widger, co-chair of the Parrish Stage Set Committee of the Plainfield Historical Society, to chair the Town Hall Committee and recruit residents to help with the preservation of the hall. According to the Plainfield website, the committee is working on the preservation, restoration, repairs, and maintenance of the stage set and building.

The committee’s members are Bruce Elder, Ralph Patalano, David Grobe, John Hendrick, Shawn and Kim Dixon, Diane MacDonald, Nancy Norwalk, Erika Smith, Hillary Sundell, Rob Gattieand and Clint Swift.

“We all saw a need of preserving the Town Hall for several reasons… to protect the set and preserve it for future generations,” Widger told the Eagle Times about the project and committee.

With no use during the pandemic, the building was closed for almost two years, with no doors open to keep air flowing. Humidity started to buildup and mold started to grow on the stage set. Water damage was also found in the stone basement.

The committee consulted several historical preservationists on what work was needed to be done to the building and the stage set, including some who have worked on buildings at national parks and museums such as the Shelburne Museum in Vt.

Humidity sensors were placed in strategic areas to monitor the moisture in the building. Tarps were laid around the building to deter water from continuing to enter.

Some of the funding for the work came from several sources, including the New Hampshire State Council for the Arts, the New Hampshire Land and Community Heritage Investment Program (LCHIP), and Moose License Plate Grants.

A few weeks ago, while working with the Williamstown + Atlanta Art Conservation Center on removing the mold from the stage set, a discovery was made. Several signatures were found on the back of the linen wings from the 1920s.

Those signatures came from students at Windsor High School it was learned. It was a custom for many years for the high school to put on plays at the Town Hall. Hundreds of signatures line the walls of the backstage as many cast members wrote there as a memento of their time on the stage.

Over time, the signatures were hidden behind a corrugated plastic that was placed there in the 1990s to protect the back of the wings from damage. Another finding included the imprint of a logo of the Indian Head Mills of Nashua, the provider of the linen used for the stage set.

There are many other projects ahead for the Town Hall. These include purchasing fireproof curtains, a possible water sprinkler system, and new electrical work. Those longer-term projects still need to be funded.

Local videographers are documenting the progress of the work at Town Hall. You may view that work on YouTube at Junction Arts and Media.

If you are interested in visiting the one-of-a-kind stage set, the facility is open once a month; with Aug. 6 the next date.

If you wish to contribute to the ongoing restoration, tax deductible donations may be made to the Stage Set Fund of the Plainfield Historical Society. Make checks payable to the Stage Set Fund and mail them to: Plainfield Historical Society, P.O. Box 107, Plainfield, NH, 03781. Online contributions may be made by visiting https://tinyurl.com/StageSet1916.

For more information or questions, please email the committee at [email protected].