FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 18, 2005 Contact: Laura Dierberg Ayers

314-541-2994

Tappmeyer Homestead Foundation Receives $7,500

from Boeing Employees Community Fund

CREVE COEUR – The Tappmeyer Homestead Foundation received a substantial contribution last month of $7,500 from the Boeing Employees Community Fund.

Built in the 1880s, the Tappmeyer Homestead was once a 33-acre farm occupied for over 100 years by four consecutive generations of descendants of Frederick and Adelia Tappmeyer. Formerly located on Olive Street Road and Ross Avenue, the house was moved a short distance to Millennium Park, at Olive and Mason Road, as part of an overall preservation plan.

A community landmark, the house has been recognized as a tangible example of the history of west St. Louis County and a link to the community’s past. The house represents the heritage of European immigrant farmers that settled in the area and their life struggles and accomplishments in the period after the Civil War and at the time of great westward expansion following the connection of the east and west railroad lines.

Once restored the home will be available as a cultural and educational center to the community. Although not specifically designated, a combination of uses are possible including that as an educational meeting place and lab for people of all ages and as a community gathering space for cultural opportunities.

The contribution from the Boeing Employees Community Fund will be applied to the continuing renovation and restoration of the Tappmeyer Homestead. Since 2004, the house has been undergoing a dramatic exterior revival including exterior lead containment, repair and replacement of damaged wood siding and wooden shutters, and returning the house to its original 1880 paint colors as discovered through paint analysis – white siding with black cherry trim and dark green shutters. A handicap accessible lift and access porch have also been completed. Now work on the infrastructure of the house needs to be accomplished, including structural reinforcement for first floor public use, and building code-mandated new electrical, plumbing, safety, and climate control systems installed.

The Boeing Employees Community Fund (BECF) is an employee-owned and managed charitable giving fund that supports community service agencies in the regions where Boeing employees live and work. The BECF contribution will assist in preserving a part of the past for future generations by turning this historic treasure into a significant active community asset.

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