Perkins House thriving with Chamber office

The Chamber purchased these red, white and blue flags to show the public that the Perkins House is open for tours.

It has been just less than two months since the Chamber of Commerce moved its office from Main Street to the Perkins House, and the move has kept the house busy.

“It has gone better than I thought it was going to,” said Valoree Gregory, Colfax's unified executive director, whose office now sits under the stairway in the historic house. “Everyone was worried that we were going to be off Main Street, but it's amazing how many people stop by. It has been a great deal for both of us.”

Gregory said the house keeps busy with tours now, and more people are also donating to the historical society while they are there. She said that last Friday she had 18 people come for tours while she was at the house.

“It's really good. People will usually call ahead of time and ask when we're open,” she said. “It works well.”

Gregory maintains regular office hours at the house, occasionally leaving for meetings. Frank White, who takes care of the gardens and maintenance at the house, is there Monday through Saturday from 10-2 and is also available for tours. Gregory said that when people come for tours while she is working, she will usually provide them some information and then allow them to do a self-guided tour. White, though, usually gives guided tours.

“Most of the time, I'll give them an overview of the house, and then it really is a self tour,” she said. “I don't spend a lot of time taking them around.”

Not only has the move given the house a boost, but Gregory said it has given the Chamber a boost.

“I have more people come to Chamber meetings now because we have had them at the house,” she said “There were 15 people at the last meeting. I've never had 15 people at a Chamber meeting before.”

Therese Dale, Perkins House coordinator, said the Chamber move-in has been great.

“It has been absolutely, unbelievably fabulous,” she said. “We'd never dreamed it'd be this great.”

Dale said she “couldn't be happier,” and the move has opened up opportunities for more things to be taken care of throughout the house.

“It frees up Frank and me to do what needs to be done, the maintenance and the upkeep,” she said. “They haven't really had anyone in there full time since the '70s.”

Dale said that work going on right now at the house is sorting through items that have sat in boxes for years to see what is going to be kept, sorting through clothing and prepping for history projects White is working on.

“Some of those things we've been able to pass on to other museums, and other times they go to the archive at Gladish,” she said. “You only have so much room in that house. We're going to be able to narrow down what we do keep and what we don't keep.”

Dale said that in addition to having a presence at the house throughout the day, the support from the community and the city has been great. She specifically mentioned downtown signs that point people to the Perkins House.

“We've got signs now. That's been a huge job in itself,” she said. “It shows that the city and the community care.”

Not only are there new signs up around town, but the Perkins House also has two new flags to let people know the house is open.

“That was the greatest thought in the world,” Dale said, noting the idea was Gregory's. “I would have never thought of that.”

Dale said that ideas are opening up for what can be done at the Perkins House now that more maintenance is able to be undertaken and that someone is at the house most of the time. She said she wants to get WSU agricultural students in there and garden clubs as well. She is also hoping to bring back the Victorian high tea and hoping for new events at the annual ice cream social. She also noted that the Perkins House was recently the site of a wedding.

“We did have our first wedding there in years on Jan. 6,” Dale said.

Gregory noted that while the move has been benefiting the Chamber and the historical society, it is also impacting other groups around Colfax.

“We've had quite a few Colfax freshmen come in and do their volunteer hours,” she said. “And they know I'm there, so they can just stop by.”

Gregory said she is happy to know that the Perkins House won't be going dormant, as the historical society has predicted in the past and has been working to avoid.

“We need this because it's really the history of our town. It's one of the main things, besides the Codger Pole, that people look at when they look us up,” she said.

Dale agreed.

“Without this family, Colfax wouldn't be here and it wouldn't have progressed to the point where it has,” she said.

Gregory said she has had fun having her office under the stairway at the house, where there was already a desk. She said it makes for a very unique office space.

“I sit on the couch and do my finances,” she said. “Everybody should get to work in a house.”

Gregory said she gets asked the same question almost every time someone new comes through the house.

“The number one thing everyone asks is if it's haunted,” she said. “I don't think so. I haven't heard anything, and I have ghost hunting experience. It's not scary in there.”

Dale said she is excited to see where the Perkins House goes from here.

“We went ahead with it, and I couldn't be happier,” she said. “It really is the ideal place to have the Chamber of Commerce. When people come to town and they need to know where something is, they go to the Chamber. To have that in the house has just been great.”