Things are going well in the new house. Here's a link to the now "off market" real estate listing for it...
http://www.trulia.com/homes/Wiscons...43474-1439-Lakeview-Dr-Fort-Atkinson-WI-53538
Unpacking slowly, cleaning A LOT.
History:
Built in 1979. The first owner lived there about 1 year before being transferred. 2nd owners were a retired couple in their mid 60's. The husband passed several (10?) years ago. The wife passed about 3 years ago at the age of 95. Their son inherited the house, but had no interest in it. He held onto it, kept the heat turned on, ran the water, etc to keep it "healthy".
I do not believe they ever cleaned or vacuumed during the last 15-20 years. Seriously.
As for the sign, it was found in the garage. The old man used the garage as a tinkering workshop - bird houses and small wood projects. It doesn't appear he was particularly talented, but he enjoyed it.
The sign was smooshed behind an old cabinet that looked as if it was made from an old outhouse. In order to park in the garage I had to tear out all the shelving and cabinets he had put up... the wood was rotting and not usable for anything really, other than burning.
Yes, the Creamery was/is a huge building and gave fort Atkinson an economic boost for the era. For the most part, it has remained mostly unoccupied for as along as I remember (30 years?). It's going through a restoration (
http://www.creamerybuilding.com/) and is also for sale (
http://www.mlgcommercial.com/properties/propDetails.cfm?psID=1817).
The sign is single sided, dirty, and rusted. Is there really anything I can do to preserve it in the state it's in (to prevent further deterioration) without ruining it or lowering any value it may have.
It's likely not really worth anything, but I grew up in Fort Atkinson, as did my dad, and grand parents, and great grand parents, and my great-great-grandfather built one of the first houses that is still standing (in rough condition) on downtown Robert st. , so find some sentimental value in it. There's a lot of family history in this little town for me.