On February 1st, 2021, we received a message from a concerned member who read in the paper that MPHS had declined grant funds. Below is the message and MPHS’s response to the concern.

Message: “Hi, I’m a member and saw MPHS mentioned in the Canby paper. It was in regards to the Clackamas County Cultural Coalition awards. It stated that MPHS “Let’s Warm Up Mark Prairie Schoolhouse!” had been awarded $2500, which was then declined. I was interested in the background behind this decision to decline/return the funds. Thank you.”

MPHS’s Response: Regarding the January 27th article, “Canby, Molalla projects receive county grants”, we would like to reassure members and supporters of the Mark Prairie Historical Society that the organization’s declination of a recent grant award from the Clackamas County Cultural Coalition, albeit not explained in the posting, was actually for a good reason!

In efforts to repair the defunct heating system in the circa-1900 schoolhouse, we received five quotes that ranged from $5000 – $30,000, none of which were optimal solutions for the historic building. We had $2500 in donated funds to provide a match so opted to apply for the $2500 CCCC grant funds. In the time between our application and their awarding of the grants, a sixth local HVAC company repaired the existing furnace for $250 for parts and $1000 in donated labor. The company offered to keep it operational through the years at no additional cost. We are most appreciative for this generosity! The existing furnace is, in fact, the best, least intrusive, least expensive heating option so it was a win-win for Mark Prairie Historical Society. 

But with a less costly solution found, the Cultural Coalition would not permit us to redirect the grant funds to another much-needed project, such as trimming some dangerous trees or closing in under the building.  We will, however, be following up with an application for a smaller CCCC grant to put towards the tree trimming.

As a small organization working to preserve this 120-year-old schoolhouse, we survive and can only move forward with donated resources – time, money and expertise – so we gratefully appreciate you, our supporters, and all you give to Mark Prairie. Thanks so much for your interest and support!

Mark Prairie Historical Society