We accomplish much at the Fisher House on a shoestring budget, with the help of grants and dedicated volunteers. We do, however, still have a few dream projects and and some basic needs, so we publish this list in the hope that Santa might see it.
- Capital gifts for our endowment fund, to secure a safe future and adequate funding for the Fisher House. Current endowment sits at $240,000, providing only $10,000 of our annual operating budget. The remainder must be raised by annual appeal, grants, and volunteer labor.
- Painting and Object conservation. The work of keeping the 2,000 + irreplaceable paintings, furniture, objects, books, and papers in our collection in good condition is ongoing and conservation to museum standards is expensive. Current priorities include one of the three Jonathan Fisher self-portraits, and the pair of 18th century satin slippers worn by Fisher's mother, Katherine Avery, at her wedding to Jonathan Fisher, Sr., and the stunning Fisher card table, recently donated in memory of Lucy and William Wardwell. Estimated costs per painting $3,000-$7,000
- A new handicap access ramp and entrance steps. The existing ramp is aging, crudely constructed, does not meet ADA standards, and is visually and physically intrusive. As the main visitor access to the house and museum, it should be replaced. Estimated cost: $4,500.
- Microscopic paint analysis: The board of the Fisher house is committed to making a long range work and furnishing plan that will return the house ever closer to its appearance during the Fisher family's occupancy before the house's bicentennial in 2014. A critical part of this process is to have all surfaces, interior and exterior, analyzed for the composition of original paints to determine colors. This is now the standard for historic preservation, and has produced stunning and sometimes surprising results in many sites. With this in hand, future restorations and repairs to return the house to the appearance of old can be made with the help of modern science. Estimated cost for entire house, interior and exterior, is approximately $8,000. Per room, or exterior, approximately $1, 600 ea.
- Parlor Rug. In the collection of the Fisher House is a fragment of so-called 'striped', or 'Venetian' carpeting woven for the house by Fisher's mother. As part of our ongoing interpretation of the house, we would like to reproduce this carpet for use in the parlor, where Fisher inventory records indicate it was likeliest originally placed. The rug would be reproduced by a local weaver. The estimated cost is $3,900.
- A new computer for the archives room. The dedicated computer in the archives room, used for cataloging records, image storage, and word processing, is ten years old, and wheezes away with 2 gigabytes of hard drive. A new computer would be more flexible, and would support updated cataloging software. Estimated Cost: $600-$700
- Updated cataloging software. The current software lacks a photo record component. For obvious reasons, it is desirable to add image capability to our catalog files. The software used by the Fisher House is PastPerfect, the standard for museums. The addition of an image component is $390
- Grounds clearance. The long neglected grounds were found to be overgrown with an invasive species, Chinese bittersweet. Uncontrolled, this vine completely takes over all other vegetation, and kills trees. Additionally, many trees have required removal. We have accomplished 3/4 of this project, returning the property to mowed open fields, and exposing the remains of Fisher built stone walls in the process. The back 1/4 of the property remains almost impenetrable, and must be cleared. Estimated cost: $4,500.
- Archival supplies. An ongoing need is safe, archival standard storage materials for our collections. A typical year's supply runs about $350.
- Adopt an Apple Tree. Thanks to a generous gift, the fields for the Fisher orchard have been cleared, enabling us to replant trees to a plan for his orchard drawn by Fisher in 1820. This is one of the most interesting projects of its kind currently undertaken in Maine. A tree may adopted for $275, covering the cost of tree and first two years of maintenance.
- Grounds maintenance. One year of bare bones mowing, routine trimming, and snowplowing is about $1, 850.
- Stone walls. The property and field are framed by stone walls, laid by Parson Fisher, that define the farmyard, vegetable garden site, and orchard boundary. Some are in fair condition, others completely tumbled. Cost to repair or rebuild 200 feet of wall, $5,000
- Front fence. Fisher built a picket fence, mentioning the work in his diary, along the street front of the house. Removing junk tree growth from this area has revealed his iron stakes, and gate stops for this fence, indicating the spacing of spans. This fence would do much to giving the house and orchard the appearance of Fisher's time. Estimated cost: $3,500
- Exhibits: We wish to produce a better permanent exhibit about Fisher & his immediate family, with a narrative storyboard and quality object display. Estimated cost: $1,200
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