Volunteers needed to help with grounds cleanup at Burtner House in Harrison

The covid-19 pandemic canceled all tours and events at Harrison’s Burtner House this year, but people are being asked to turn out Saturday to help clean up the grounds of the historic property.

High winds a couple of months ago blew the cap off a chimney and damaged trees on the grounds, said Jeff Jones, president of the Burtner House Restoration Society.

While a crew is coming to work on the chimney, which Jones said must be fixed to stop water from getting into the house, volunteers are needed to help with other work.

“There’s a lot of outdoor maintenance,” Jones said. “We’re looking for people that got some weed eaters to do some weed eating, cut down brush, cut down trees, burn the limbs that we cut off the trees, and we need people to attend to the fire.”

Covid-19 caused all tours and events at the Burtner House, a stone farmhouse, to be canceled this year, including the annual Strawberry Festival in June and the Harvest Festival in October. A new beer, wine and food festival planned for August was called off.

Jones said it’s been “pretty much a dead year.”

“The Harvest Festival and the Strawberry Festival are our two main fundraisers,” Jones said. “That kind of hurt us financially. We’ll make do. It really hurt us as far as money-wise.”

Last year, Harrison stepped up to help the society with grass cutting, which Jones said is its biggest expense. The work being done Saturday goes beyond that.

Next year is the 200th anniversary of the Burtner House, which was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972, the same year it was saved from demolition for Route 28 work. The society’s officers will be meeting soon to talk about plans to celebrate the bicentennial.

Jones said they’ll be looking for some specialty demonstrators, such as candle making, quilting and log cutting.

“We would like to go back to operations as normal with some special events in there,” Jones said. “With things going on right now, nothing’s guaranteed.”

Work will be done between 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Saturday at the house on Burtner Road just off Route 28. Lunch will be provided. Jones asks those interested in helping to call him at 724-205-8784 so he knows how many people to expect.

Volunteers should bring rakes, and chainsaws if they have them. Because of covid-19, Jones said people should practice social distancing and those who feel they need to wear a mask can.

If it’s raining, the work will be canceled, Jones said.