Monica LaSalle,  Nederland.    In 1905, Dr. Gillespie and his wife, Grace, built a house. Not just any house, but a home and office on a hill where their vantage point was large and anyone in need of medical care could easily find them.

They started a family in this house, with Grace giving birth to their first child, James. However, after 3 years of serving the community, the Gillespie’s found themselves relocating to Boulder and relegating their home on the hill to summer use only for decades to come. It wasn’t until the 1970s that the family eventually donated it to the Town of Nederland and it has been cared for by volunteers ever since.

Today, volunteers in cooperation with Nederland Elementary School and its historical curriculum give tours and presentations to 1st and 2nd grade students with the goal of teaching children about the history of their town and how people performed daily life tasks 100 years ago or more.

The Gillespie House has many artifacts that are still functional today. The kids are able to use a sewing machine, a washing tub with wrangle and washboard, a typewriter and even an old stove. The students were able to actually use these items and more, touring the inside of the house to see where the Gillespie Family once slept, cooked and lived.

Mary Prince is one of the volunteers at the Gillespie House. She and Anabelle Marie Dobson Beck work the washing tub, board and wrangle to clean some rags. Anabelle says she likes this old-time method of cleaning clothes because it seems to do a better job and is much less noisy than modern washing machines.

Inside, Janette Smith shows a group of students how to work the kitchen stove. The kids are fascinated to learn of the above stove warmer where folks would put cooked food to keep warm while other food was finishing. In the bedroom, several children are pondering where folks would go to the bathroom, learning that the chamber pot was the safest bet in the middle of the night. Shocked faces abound.

At a nearby display, Archer Meyers and 1st grade teacher Jill Morimitsu-Mahon work the old-fashioned typewriter and gradually grasp the mechanics of inserting the paper. Going solo, Alder Bradley braves the scale, weighing in that he likes the simple mechanics of it all. Jessica Ansari actively runs between them all, ensuring each child gets a full experience of the old-time ways and means from the moment they get off the bus.

Jessica is the primary caretaker of the Gillespie House, from taking down shutters in the spring to maintaining the yard throughout summer and closing it down for winter weather in the fall. It has been said that a ghost still haunts the house, displacing everyday items like salt shakers and cookware while the house is closed during off season. Volunteers have gotten a firsthand look at this evidence while opening the house in the spring. To get a glimpse of days gone by in the Gillespie House, visit this weekend for the final opening and tour of the home on Saturday or Sunday from Noon to 4 p.m. The house will remain closed until spring.