Refugio museum still feeling effects of Harvey
"A lot of rain means more leaks, means more damage and more mildew," Wales, 60, said, looking up at the stained wooden beams of the
Heavy rains have become a threat to the
The museum, which was built in the 1980s, had not really seen any damage until Harvey barreled through the area, said Wales, the executive director of the
The building was still standing after the storm, Wales said, but 2 to 3 inches of water had crept into the museum.
"Most of the water came in through the roof," he said.
Several artifacts were heavily damaged because of Harvey, including the hat used by actors
The museum was able to receive a grant from Humanities Texas, an educational nonprofit that supports classrooms, libraries and museums, to restore the hat.
A collection of clothing from the 19th century was also damaged by the water. The clothes belonged to
The clothes have been placed in a freezer so they do not continue to deteriorate, Wales said, but the rest of the damage to that area is still visible.
The clothes were in the back left area of the museum, where most of the rain leaked through. Water damage can still be seen on the saltillo tile, which has now faded in some spots from water. A poster-sized photo of the town in the 1930s is discolored and smeared at the bottom.
The museum is kept at a cool temperature, not just for relief from the summer heat but to keep the mildew at bay.
"Harvey was a mess for everyone in
The museum, which is owned by the county, is one of several public- and county- owned buildings that sustained structure damage from Harvey, said
The county is working with insurance companies to get the buildings back in shape and has also applied for assistance from the
"All our public buildings are in varying degrees of damage, so we're still working through the whole process -- and it's a slow process," he said.
The county had been dealing with damages, such as leaky roofs after Harvey, but more issues emerged when a dozen inches of rain fell in June, Blaschke said.
"That was the area's first significant rain since the storm (Harvey), and we didn't know what we didn't know as far as the integrity of the buildings," he said. "You find new leaks and that's what we're responding to now."
The county is working with an engineering firm to find temporary measures to respond to the leaks to prevent further damage, Blaschke said. The county reached out again to
"Everyone should understand that after Harvey, the follow-up and recovery is going to take years," he said. "A goal is to be get back better, if you can, so we don't have to go through this again."
There are plans to have a temporary fix on the damaged museum roof, which is a move in the recovery direction, Wales said. To prevent long-term or worse damage, though, the museum will need to have the entire roof repaired.
The uniforms in the military section of the museum need to be cleaned by a specialist, Wales said. There needs to be mold remediation. In order to do all these repairs, though, the artifacts will have to be taken out of the building, and some of the items need to be placed in a climate-controlled container, Wales said.
While smaller rainstorms haven't caused more damage, the water that does get into the building creates more humidity in the museum, which can cause damage to historical photographs, books and papers. Some of the ancestry archives in the museum go back to the 1830s, Wales said.
Though time and money are the next obstacles to overcome on the road to recovery, Wales said the museum is worth preserving. The museum has had donations, which Wales appreciates.
Those little blessings, he said, have helped the museum so far.
"This museum tells the story of
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