Saturday, October 18h, 4pm – 6pm:

Mark your calendar! This fall our Rural Socrates Speaker Series brings you historic preservation professional John Leeke.

At 4:00 the house will be open and light refreshments served. The talk will begin at 5 p.m. Pre-Registration is required. $10/person, students free. Includes refreshments.

Maintenance IS Preservation

In this slideshow and talk John Leeke illustrates how to care for your  older or historic building. Save a piece of history and save money at  the same time. Leeke promises to bring along some interesting Show & Tell.

Learn how to save money and time caring for your older or historic  building with a maintenance program. The main principle behind a maintenance program is to control what happens to your building rather than just reacting to its deterioration. Effective maintenance saves money and time by eliminating the need for expensive future repairs. The immediate benefits of effective maintenance are apparent. A building that functions well helps the people who use the building lead happy and productive lives. A building that looks good stimulates a sense of pride and is a positive contribution to the surrounding community. More important are the long-term effects. Making the most efficient use  of resources means you have even more available to reach toward your goals. Effective maintenance saves historic material and makes a real contribution to the preservation of our cultural heritage. Effective planning also saves money. Draw on your own feelings of stewardship, of caring for and passing this important part of our cultural heritage along to those who follow.

As an historic building specialist, John has been helping owners, tradespeople, contractors and architects understand and maintain their historic buildings for over 50 years. He has been restoring historic buildings here in New England for over 40 years and still spends a good part of his time “with hammer in hand”. John is a nationally recognized preservation trades specialist and educator. John was recently honored by Traditional Building Magazine as one of the preservation industry’s “25 leaders who have dedicated their careers to the classical and traditional styles in myriad and 
outstanding ways that are serving as models around the country.”

John’s motto:

By Hammer and Hand, Great Works Do Stand
By Mind and Heart, We Share the Art