New windows will be installed in the front walls of the Oneida Stake Academy building this week. Much appreciated funds from an anonymous donor have made their purchase and installation possible. The windows are being made by Sierra Pacific Industries of Salt Lake City. Seasoned window installer Ralph Cook from Hillcrest Construction will set them.

            Since the building’s construction 125 years ago, the windows have been changed more than once, as panes were broken. The earliest pictures of the building show that the large rectangular windows were each made up of two single panes of glass in double-hung frames. In later pictures, the large single panes were replaced with four smaller panes. Windows of both styles remain in the building today, their aged and severely warped wooden frames irreparable. They will be replaced with large paned windows to match the original design of the building.

            “Because we are restoring the Oneida Stake Academy Building to be used for contemporary use, the board felt it was wise to match the original design of the windows with contemporary materials in order to minimize maintenance costs for the future,” said Nathan Hale, chairman of the Oneida Stake Academy Foundation.

            The building’s original architects understood how to work with Mother Nature in order to light and cool the building using the windows. Without the modern conveniences of electric lights and air-conditioning and heating, that knowledge was critical to make the building capable of providing an atmosphere in which students could learn.

            A double-hung window means that both the upper and lower panes of a window can be raised and lowered, using a system of weights built into the window frames. Taking advantage of the properties of hot and cold air, those early builders could create a cooling draft in a room simply by raising the lower panel and dropping the upper panel on a window. This principle was applied to cool the entire edifice by strategically opening and closing windows in different parts of the building.

            Even the shape of the windows was more than a fashion statement. The tall rectangular shape of the windows allowed sunlight from the earliest rays of morning to the latest evening light to enter the rooms, extending their use as long as possible. Lantern light would be used after the sun set if the building was still in use.

            Although the new windows will appear as they did a century ago, they will not open as they did due to the benefit of modern heating, cooling and the litigious nature of today’s society.

            Also in progress is the building’s front door. Working in his shop on West Oneida, Wes Dryden is deciphering the process used by the pioneers to duplicate the original door. More on that story will appear in a future edition of The Preston Citizen.

           Anyone interested in being a part of the restoration of the elegant Oneida Stake Academy building as a cultural center/museum of local history is invited to contact one of the OSAF’s board members for i deas. For example, a donation of $2500 will install another window. Gifts of higher amounts will help restore additional features of the building. Additional information on this idea can be found on an earlier post on this blog and at www.oneidastakeacademy.org. Board members are: Nathan Hale, Sydney Hale, Lyle Fuller, Elliott Larsen, Paul Judd, Saundra Hubbard, Necia Seamons, Larry Bradford, Kim Wilson and Jim Brown.