More Old House


Up to the Minute News on "The Old House"

August 16th, 2004. --- I just received this little note on the house from Cousin Betty. "PS they are going to start on the house this week. They say the inside is really great, and only one place the sills at the base need repairing on the outside, other than that the house is sturdy."

rwbribbongif

To satisfy our curiousity I contacted Dr. Osmond Overby, Professor, University of Missouri-Columbia Field: History of Architecture, about some questions concerning the Old House, here is a copy of our correspondence between Betty, myself and Dr. Overby.


Dear Mr. La Brier, I was interested to see your email. I had heard some time ago that positive things were going to be happening with the house and property, but had not heard before your email today that the junk yard had now been cleared away. The state has control over a project like this only if the building is on the National Register or eligible for it--yes in this case--and the owners want to apply for federal or state tax incentives for historic restoration work. They should certainly be encouraged to do so. These requirements are administered through the State Historic Preservation Office, part of the Department of Natural Resources, in Jefferson City. Their address: P.O. Box 176, Jefferson City, MO, 65102; telephone 573 751 7860; email moshpo@mail.dnr.state.mo.us. They have had years of experience with this program which significantly improves the quality of any restoration work, and the tax incentives can be a substantial financial benefit. Osmund Overby

----- Original Message ----- From: John La Brier To: OverbyO@missouri.edu Cc: Betty LaBruyere O'Bryan Sent: Thursday, April 29, 2004 11:07 AM Subject: Louis Ratte Labruyere/Hoffman House Dear Dr. Overby, I wrote you some time ago with questions about the home in Ste. Genevieve built by our ancestor Louis Ratté LaBruyére and presently owned by the Hoffman family of that city. We are very excited over recent results to this historical building, and more than pleased to hear that all of the junk automobiles have now been hauled away and that further cleaning of the property is soon to be underway. What we were wondering, does the State have any conditions under which historical buildings of this sort must be restored? As an important figure in the preservation of historical buildings in Missouri will you have any input into what happens? Also if and when the restoration is complete, will the entire "history" of the house be shown on any plaque that is placed on the building? We are curious as at one time the Hoffman family thought they might make it into a bed and breakfast. Our family would appreciate your comments. Yours truly, John La Brier.

Sent: Wednesday, April 28, 2004 8:06 PM Subject: RE: Ste. Gen Herald http://www.stegenevieve.net/sg-histhomes2.htm#hoffmanhouse Final Car Hauled Off From City's 'Landmark' Junk Yard By Michael Boyd Jr. The Ste. Genevieve Herald April 28, 2004; page 5

The last of the deteriorated, vintage junk cars was hauled away last Friday from a downtown junkyard that has become a landmark in the City of Ste. Genevieve. Completion of the job paves the way for future restoration activities at the 19th century house that sits on the property at the corner of South Main and South Gabouri. It took a little over a month for Jeff Lewis, a Bloomsdale resident who owns Lewis Salvage, to get the job done, with the help from employees and members of his family. The old cars, once owned by the late Willie Hoffman, were place in a 48-feet high box trailer, then taken to St. Louis to be shredded and melted down. "We moved out about 300 cars from here," Lewis said. "We took out about 27 loads - 250 to 300 tons of junk material. It took a while to get it all out of here, even using a forklift and a hauler with a grapple-bucket." Lewis said that he had to break the news to a few of the passerbys who hated to see the pile of vintage autos go. (It has served as inspiration to several artists and photographers in recent years.) "I told them to think in terms of the next year, when they purchase a new car or a new washing machine," Lewis said. "They just might be buying a part of the Hoffman junk yard." Lewis Salvage lays claim to being the biggest recycler in the county. "We like to see it all recycled for later use - turned back into useful products instead of filling up our landfills," Lewis said. "That's the way we see it." The Hoffman family has undertaken the clean-up, fulfilling a promise made to city officials three years ago after years of complains about the old cars. The Hoffmans now will bring in another company to clear out the old tires and trees, before work begins on the house.


The pictures below were taken by our cousin Betty when she was recently in Ste. Genevieve. At last it appears as if the Hoffman family are cleaning up the property around the old LaBruyere house. We can only hope that this is the first step in it's restoration. Too bad we can't find a way to buy the property and restore it as a family project.




These pictures of the LaBruyere/LaBrier(e) ancestral home were taken recently by our cousin Betty. Betty now resides in Ste. Genevieve. She and her husband have moved back to their home town. A special thanks to Betty for keeping us all up to date on the progress of the restoration of the old house. It is particularly nice to see how the yard looks now that it has been cleaned up of old junk cars and brush.


Return to Top of Page