Nearly 40 years ago, Elicia Madetzke was a student walking the hallways of the school in Jasper. Even before then, she hung around her mom’s special education office, looking outside the window to the very top floor.
Today, she walks those same hallways, but with a different purpose in mind. Her old school, a 70,000-square-foot building, was constructed with Quartzite from a nearby quarry, just like the old hair salon and other structures that give this town of 600 people in southwestern Minnesota its distinctive feel. It’s a symbol of the area’s history – and also a solid structure that could just as well be reused. Indeed, its preservation, Madetzke hopes, will lead to a revitalization of a downtown that has grown stagnant since the school closed over 20 years ago.
### A Historic Initiative
The group has purchased two buildings in Jasper and is working to get them to a condition where the community can use them again. The smaller building, Bauman Hall, will most likely be completed first. Madetzke’s old school, built in 1911, is a larger project that she anticipates will take many more years to complete, although parts of the building are currently in use too.
### Preservation Efforts
Rebuilding the school is a big project. Right now, the roof and taking care of the mold and mildew are the main priorities. As for what it could be used for, there are still lots of ideas. But the group definitely wants to implement ‘adaptive reuse’ – using what’s already there as much as they can.
### Artistic Endeavors
The building purchased in 2018 is called Bauman Hall, and most recently was a hair salon and senior center. The group has been making fixes to the space to eventually use it as an arts incubator. But in the time since then, the bottom floor has served as an event space, hosting things like Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.
### Cultivating Innovation
The goal is to make third spaces that cultivate innovation, creativity and businesses. Reclaim Community's effort in Jasper is modeled off other towns that have done similar things, such as Granite Falls or Durango, Colorado. Since purchasing both buildings, Reclaim Community has been making upgrades and improvements one step at a time, as its funding allows.
Reclaim Community’s work in Jasper showcases the power of community-driven initiatives to breathe new life into small towns and preserve their historical charm. As they continue to invest in the renovation of these buildings, the hope is that Jasper will once again become a vibrant hub of creativity and commerce.