New Plaque #2 (coming soon)

This plaque was designed and purchased with the money generated from the successful tour we held earlier this summer during our town's (and house's) 125 Anniversary. We would once again like to thank the 500+ people that attended the tour - we think most would agree it was a lot of fun!

New Plaque #1 (coming soon)

Special points to the first person that can translate this.

A Successful Tour! Recap from 7/12/08

The tour day has come and gone...and what a tour it was! We opened the doors up a bit early (around 1:30) when a line started to form at the front door, and were soon engulfed in inquisitive attendees touring the house. We ran out of the 150+ information handouts around 2:30pm or so, and Barbara & Brenda from the PR Chamber of Commerce were alerted to our need. While a few people proceeded to print off some handouts on the home computer, Brenda was able to print more off and get them back to us. All in all, that was the only problem that arose.

After counting up everyone that signed the guestbook, we had 529 people, not counting children or those who didn't sign. We figured there would be many 'PR' signed behind people's names, but never thought to see the other towns and states: Minneapolis, Fergus Falls, Fargo, Colorado, Missouri, Montana, Arizona, Utah, Iowa, California, Florida, The Netherlands!? Copies of the guestbook will be deposited as a future historical document at Pelican Rapids Library and Otter Tail County Historical Society.

To be honest, Tiffany and I had some hesitations about allowing so many people inside the house. Those feelings quickly went away after hearing all the stories people had and the genuine thanks the guests spoke; it was a very fun time and we met many people. We sincerely hope that people will now feel more welcome to come visit us.

We'll keep posting info and pictures on this blog as we work through ordering and installing the National Historic Register Plaque.

We invite further comments or stories any of our readers have about growing up in Pelican with the house. Please feel free to contact us thru the email provided on this blog.

Also, if you were one of the attendees that missed out on the handout provided during the tour, and would like a copy, feel free to email me and I would be happy to send the info out.

Lastly, Tiffany and I would like to extend our most sincere gratitude to all who joined us on Saturday. We were overwhelmed with the support the town showed by the attendance. We hope this is the start of a long relationship within the community.

Quick notes for tour day

Tour day is just about here! Here is some more detailed info for the tour:

1. Tickets will be available for purchase at the front door, from 2-6 pm. There will be no need for pre-ticket purchasing. Pick up a handout at the front door at the time of your ticket purchase.

2. Please no parking on driveways on the property. We want to keep these access points open for emergency vehicles, mobility-impaired drop off for guests, etc. Please utilize the south High School parking lot, or street parking surrounding the property.

3. There is no sign up sheet, or appointment needed for the tour. We will be open from 2-6 pm on Saturday. Once purchasing a ticket, feel free to come and go as you please.

4. The entire house is open for tour, except the attic and garage. The attic space is unfinished and dangerous for numerous people to be up there at one time. The garage will also be not open for public viewing. It's nothing more than a garage - not very interesting.

5. Drop-off of mobility-impaired guests: we will have driveways blocked, but if you have guests that need to be dropped off closer to the door, please let us know and we will escort you to a suitable drop off location. Either call (218) 863-1583 or (503) 504-4804 - or stop in and let the person at the front entry know.

6. We will encourage everyone to sign a guestbook to mark down this historical occasion - this guestbook will be turned over to the Pelican Rapids Library and Otter Tail County Historical Society for perpetuity.

7. This house is not wheelchair accessible. As a private residence, and 125 years old, we are unable to accommodate wheelchairs. Both entrances have 2-3 stairs up. We apologize for any inconvenience.

8. Since this is a private residence (still in use), please consider our privacy and refrain from looking in bedroom dresser drawers, bathroom cabinets, etc. All historical items have been placed out in the open for public view - closets will be open for viewing, but please consider our privacy, as they are still in use.

9. Please no food or drinks inside the home during the tour. The house contains historical rugs, books, prints, etc. and these could be easily damaged.

10.There will be no antiques available for sale during the tour. All items in the house are private property, and are not for sale.

11. Cameras allowed! Questions encouraged and gladly answered! Donations welcome!

Random Picture #19

Blyberg Home Tour July 12, 2008 - 6 Days and Counting!!!

Date: Saturday, July 12, 2008
Time: 2-6pm
Cost: $5

Come and celebrate the 125th anniversary of the O.A.E. Blyberg house with an indoor/outdoor tour! Homeowners Eric & Tiffany Brown will open the house to the public and guide guests thru the many rooms inside and talk about the history of the home, its previous owners, and its storied relationship with the city of Pelican Rapids. Tickets will be $5, with proceeds going toward the purchase of a National Historic Register plaque, which will be mounted on the house to celebrate the town's only private residence listed on the National Historic Register. See a picture of this plaque on the right side of this post.

Hope to see you all here! Celebrate the City of Pelican Rapids' history!

PR's PR - Random Pictures #17 &18

Kelley Gorman with the Pelican Rapids Press was nice enough to come over last week and give me an interview about the tour happening next weekend. Hopefully this gets the word out to anyone curious or interested enough to give us a few hours of their time next Saturday (JULY 12 FROM 2-6 PM).

If you are reading this, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE let everyone know who you think may be interested in attending - let them know of the tour, date and time (or give them the website and let them find out for themselves.)

Random picture #16

Refinishing the front door this weekend, we found a lacquer layer, white layer, dark red layer, turquoise layer, lacquer layer, white layer and another lacquer layer. The cut glass oval window has rough "chiseled" edges - some quite sharp (as Eric's hand found out the hard way).

Blyberg Home Tour July 12, 2008

Date: Saturday, July 12, 2008
Time: 2-6pm
Cost: $5

Come and celebrate the 125th anniversary of the O.A.E. Blyberg house with an indoor/outdoor tour! Homeowners Eric & Tiffany Brown will open the house to the public and guide guests thru the many rooms inside and talk about the history of the home, its previous owners, and its storied relationship with the city of Pelican Rapids. Tickets will be $5, with proceeds going toward the purchase of a National Historic Register plaque, which will be mounted on the house to celebrate the town's only private residence listed on the National Historic Register. See a picture of this plaque on the right side of this post.

Hope to see you all here! Celebrate the City of Pelican Rapids' history!

Random pictures #14 & 15

Same senario - polishing things up and stumble upon another original piece of the house - see this design, and see design on Random Picture #1. This one reads "Design Pat. January 1884".

Do you think Ed carried these at Blyberg & Haugen? Anybody else have these in their house?

Random Pictures #12 & 13

Getting ready for the tour! Polishing everything up. If you can't read the date on the inside, it reads "Pat. Oct. 16, 83", as in patented October 16, 1883.

Blyberg Home Tour July 12, 2008

Date: Saturday, July 12, 2008
Time: 2-6pm
Cost: $5

Come and celebrate the 125th anniversary of the O.A.E. Blyberg house with an indoor/outdoor tour! Homeowners Eric & Tiffany Brown will open the house to the public and guide guests thru the many rooms inside and talk about the history of the home, its previous owners, and its storied relationship with the city of Pelican Rapids. Tickets will be $5, with proceeds going toward the purchase of a National Historic Register plaque, which will be mounted on the house to celebrate the town's only private residence listed on the National Historic Register. See a picture of this plaque on the right side of this post.

Hope to see you all here! Celebrate the City of Pelican Rapids' history!

Random Picture #11

Blyberg Home Tour July 12, 2008

Date: Saturday, July 12, 2008
Time: 2-6pm
Cost: $5

Come and celebrate the 125th anniversary of the O.A.E. Blyberg house with an indoor/outdoor tour! Homeowners Eric & Tiffany Brown will open the house to the public and guide guests thru the many rooms inside and talk about the history of the home, its previous owners, and its storied relationship with the city of Pelican Rapids. Local area antique dealers will also "furnish" the home with period antiques, all available for purchase. Tickets will be $5, with proceeds going toward the purchase of a National Historic Register plaque, which will be mounted on the house to celebrate the town's only private residence listed on the National Historic Register. See a picture of this plaque on the right side of this post.

If you are a local antique dealer, and have not been contacted by Eric or Tiffany yet, feel free to contact us via email available on this page. Hope to see you all here! Celebrate the City of Pelican Rapids' history!

Random picture #10

Getting ready for the tour...what color will the wall be painted?

Random Picture #9

Could be the coolest "water closet" in Pelican Rapids!

Random Picture #8

Blyberg Home Tour July 12, 2008

Date: Saturday, July 12, 2008
Time: 2-6pm
Cost: $5

Come and celebrate the 125th anniversary of the O.A.E. Blyberg house with an indoor/outdoor tour! Homeowners Eric & Tiffany Brown will open the house to the public and guide guests thru the many rooms inside and talk about the history of the home, its previous owners, and its storied relationship with the city of Pelican Rapids. Local area antique dealers will also "furnish" the home with period antiques, all available for purchase. Tickets will be $5, with proceeds going toward the purchase of a National Historic Register plaque, which will be mounted on the house to celebrate the town's only private residence listed on the National Historic Register. See a picture of this plaque on the right side of this post.

If you are a local antique dealer, and have not been contacted by Eric or Tiffany yet, feel free to contact us via email available on this page. Hope to see you all here! Celebrate the City of Pelican Rapids' history!

Random Picture #7

Somebody had way too much time on their hands...

Blyberg Home Tour July 12, 2008

Date: Saturday, July 12, 2008
Time: 2-6pm
Cost: $5

Come and celebrate the 125th anniversary of the O.A.E. Blyberg house with an indoor/outdoor tour! Homeowners Eric & Tiffany Brown will open the house to the public and guide guests thru the many rooms inside and talk about the history of the home, its previous owners, and its storied relationship with the city of Pelican Rapids. Local area antique dealers will also "furnish" the home with period antiques, all available for purchase. Tickets will be $5, with proceeds going toward the purchase of a National Historic Register plaque, which will be mounted on the house to celebrate the town's only private residence listed on the National Historic Register. See a picture of this plaque on the right side of this post.

If you are a local antique dealer, and have not been contacted by Eric or Tiffany yet, feel free to contact us via email available on this page. Hope to see you all here! Celebrate the City of Pelican Rapids' history!

Random picture #6

Blyberg Home Tour July 12, 2008

Date: Saturday, July 12, 2008
Time: 2-6pm
Cost: $5

Come and celebrate the 125th anniversary of the O.A.E. Blyberg house with an indoor/outdoor tour! Homeowners Eric & Tiffany Brown will open the house to the public and guide guests thru the many rooms inside and talk about the history of the home, its previous owners, and its storied relationship with the city of Pelican Rapids. Local area antique dealers will also "furnish" the home with period antiques, all available for purchase. Tickets will be $5, with proceeds going toward the purchase of a National Historic Register plaque, which will be mounted on the house to celebrate the town's only private residence listed on the National Historic Register. See a picture of this plaque on the right side of this post.

If you are a local antique dealer, and have not been contacted by Eric or Tiffany yet, feel free to contact us via email available on this page. Hope to see you all here! Celebrate the City of Pelican Rapids' history!

Random Picture #5

Blyberg Home Tour July 12, 2008

Date: Saturday, July 12, 2008
Time: 2-6pm
Cost: $5

Come and celebrate the 125th anniversary of the O.A.E. Blyberg house with an indoor/outdoor tour! Homeowners Eric & Tiffany Brown will open the house to the public and guide guests thru the many rooms inside and talk about the history of the home, its previous owners, and its storied relationship with the city of Pelican Rapids. Local area antique dealers will also "furnish" the home with period antiques, all available for purchase. Tickets will be $5, with proceeds going toward the purchase of a National Historic Register plaque, which will be mounted on the house to celebrate the town's only private residence listed on the National Historic Register.

If you are a local antique dealer, and have not been contacted by Eric or Tiffany yet, feel free to contact us via email available on this page. Hope to see you all here! Celebrate the City of Pelican Rapids' history!

Random Picture #4

Blyberg Home Tour July 12, 2008

Date: Saturday, July 12, 2008
Time: 2-6pm
Cost: $5

Come and celebrate the 125th anniversary of the O.A.E. Blyberg house with an indoor/outdoor tour! Homeowners Eric & Tiffany Brown will open the house to the public and guide guests thru the many rooms inside and talk about the history of the home, its previous owners, and its storied relationship with the city of Pelican Rapids. Local area antique dealers will also "furnish" the home with period antiques, all available for purchase. Tickets will be $5, with proceeds going toward the purchase of a National Historic Register plaque, which will be mounted on the house to celebrate the town's only private residence listed on the National Historic Register.

If you are a local antique dealer, and have not been contacted by Eric or Tiffany yet, feel free to contact us via email available on this page.Hope to see you all here! Celebrate the City of Pelican Rapids' history!

Random Picture #3

Blyberg Home Tour July 12, 2008

Date: Saturday, July 12, 2008
Time: 2-6pm
Cost: $5

Come and celebrate the 125th anniversary of the O.A.E. Blyberg house with an indoor/outdoor tour! Homeowners Eric & Tiffany Brown will open the house to the public and guide guests thru the many rooms inside and talk about the history of the home, its previous owners, and its storied relationship with the city of Pelican Rapids. Local area antique dealers will also "furnish" the home with period antiques, all available for purchase. Tickets will be $5, with proceeds going toward the purchase of a National Historic Register plaque, which will be mounted on the house to celebrate the town's only private residence listed on the National Historic Register.

If you are a local antique dealer, and have not been contacted by Eric or Tiffany yet, feel free to contact us via email available on this page.Hope to see you all here! Celebrate the City of Pelican Rapids' history!

Random Picture #2

Blyberg Home Tour July 12, 2008

Date: Saturday, July 12, 2008
Time: 2-6pm
Cost: $5

Come and celebrate the 125th anniversary of the O.A.E. Blyberg house with an indoor/outdoor tour! Homeowners Eric & Tiffany Brown will open the house to the public and guide guests thru the many rooms inside and talk about the history of the home, its previous owners, and its storied relationship with the city of Pelican Rapids. Local area antique dealers will also "furnish" the home with period antiques, all available for purchase. Tickets will be $5, with proceeds going toward the purchase of a National Historic Register plaque, which will be mounted on the house to celebrate the town's only private residence listed on the National Historic Register.

If you are a local antique dealer, and have not been contacted by Eric or Tiffany yet, feel free to contact us via email available on this page.

Hope to see you all here! Celebrate the City of Pelican Rapids' history!

Random Picture #1

Blyberg Home Tour July 12, 2008

Date: Saturday, July 12, 2008
Time: 2-6pm
Cost: $5

Come and celebrate the 125th anniversary of the O.A.E. Blyberg house with an indoor/outdoor tour! Homeowners Eric & Tiffany Brown will open the house to the public and guide guests thru the many rooms inside and talk about the history of the home, its previous owners, and its storied relationship with the city of Pelican Rapids. Local area antique dealers will also "furnish" the home with period antiques, all available for purchase. Tickets will be $5, with proceeds going toward the purchase of a National Historic Register plaque, which will be mounted on the house to celebrate the town's only private residence listed on the National Historic Register.

If you are a local antique dealer, and have not been contacted by Eric or Tiffany yet, feel free to contact us via email available on this page.

Hope to see you all here! Celebrate the City of Pelican Rapids' history!