Hausbarn-Heritage
Park preparing for
busy summer
It’s the start of a new year at the Hausbarn-Heritage Park, and new plans for the site should result in much more activity during the 2009 tour season.

While the financial problems have not gone away, neither have the Hausbarn, farm site and historic church which set Manning apart from any other community in the state. The April 08 issue of the Manning News Journal informed readers of the extent of problems facing the Hausbarn-Heritage Park. Since then residents who want to see the park preserved have been discussing ways to resolve the problems.
Most recently, letters were again sent to area residents and alumni, this time issued by a new Hausbarn-Heritage Park Board.

The new board formed in late September 08 to reorganize the Hausbarn-Heritage Park and oversee its operation. Board members are Dan Peters, Orland Fara, Warren Puck, Kim Fara, Joelle Puck, Marilyn Hansen and Jean Voege.

“It’s a community resource that needs to be saved and that’s why some of us are working on it,” stated Warren Puck. “There continues to be lots of interest in the park. We received good response to the letter that went out for support. People in other communities are constantly asking if we are going to get things going again, and that is motivation for working on this and getting it set up so it is, in fact, sustainable for the future.”

Puck said the board is working to accomplish three things: to make sure they have a board that will operate not only this year, but into the future; to organize for the 2009 tour season at the park; and to address the financial concerns. Puck was unable to comment on the finances because of their complexity and because arrangements are still under discussion. He said many people are inquiring and, at this point, he doesn’t want to mislead people.

He added, “We are making good strides in terms of organizing and planning for 2009.”

The board has hired Freda Dammann to serve the position of part-time director through the winter. From May through October she will be employed full-time.

“It’s been very obvious to me the need for having a person, like Freda, who can daily answer phone calls, return e-mails, and other contacts that may have been missed in the winter time,” stated Puck. “I think increasing the traffic out there only increases awareness.”

Dammann has been involved in the tourism industry for 20 years which enables her to look at the Hausbarn-Heritage Park from a state-wide tourism perspective. She is well acquainted with people involved in the tourism industry and currently serves at president of the Western Iowa Tourism Region.

Dammann began her new position as park director Nov. 1 of last year.

She said, “One of the first things I did was to familiarize myself with the office and how it works. I also looked over the membership and updated it.”

She prepared a 14-month plan for operating the park and prepared a letter to let people know a group was working to bring change to the park. While working in the office and being accessible this winter, she has shown 10 different groups of visitors through the park and was able to set up two weddings for Trinity Church.

Her plan for the park includes 10 events, eight of which will take place at the park May through October.

“I’m excited about those. We’re going to have fun out there,” said Dammann. “Having the site contributes to Manning’s economy. When you bring people into a community, they don’t just stop at the site. You point out other services and places of interest. This is an opportunity we have to bring people here to see this site because of its history, its appearance and because of the activities that we can do out there to entertain people. People are looking for experiences and so we are trying to entertain them. That brings them in and then people in town have to be ready for them. It’s a win, win.”

She added, “Practically and economically, I know what it can do for the community. There are places where this type of thing is saving a community.”

Because of her years of work in tourism, Dammann is able to utilize a lot of information she gleans from her peers – people in tourism that she works with all the time. She said they all help each other.

Hausbarn-Heritage Park volunteers are also willing to help. A group of 14 braved the winter weather Jan. 13 to attend a meeting. Dammann shared information about the park plans and gathered input from the volunteers. She said the group was excited about some of the events and offered good ideas.

The need for the continued support of dedicated volunteers will be even greater in 2009 with the active schedule.