Kellerman Foundation for Historic Preservation

06/19/2026

Michael Kight started to take some of the 1970’s paneling off yesterday because it all needs to come off to renovate the room after the water damage. We had him start on the area above the fireplace, hoping that the artwork that the architect William Ittner drew on his original Blueprints might still be there. Alas…..it’s not there. We are disappointed, but are considering looking for an artist who  might be able to re-create it for us. if you know an artist that might be interested….. or if you are an interested artist, please reach out to us. It would be a unique opportunity to have the original painting that was above the fireplace in the kindergarten room. We have found several people that went to Lorimier school and were in that kindergarten room. We could have them be a part of the celebratory event when we re-introduce the mural/painting. 

06/18/2026

06/18/2026

This is our next event. It’s in collaboration with Riverfest. Our plan is to honor Dr. Frank Nickell for starting the Humane Society, and to celebrate Semo Pets 50th anniversary. It will be a fun day and we will tell some of the early stories of Frank saving the animals and all sorts of strange situations. There are some unbelievable stories. Start working on your dogs costume. There will be prizes! Join us to honor our friend Dr Nickell, and to meet some cute, dolled up patriotic Pets. ❤️. The event will be on the Fourth of July in the parking lot at Heritage Hall from 9 an until 12:00 -2:00. amHope to see you there.

06/18/2026

Some of the close-ups of the water damage on my desk literally make me sick. My favorite books, notes, and special things caught the brunt of the flood when the ceiling fell in.
They are piled all the way up the stairs on plastic, but after looking at them yesterday they are still waterlogged and I think we need to throw most of them away. We’ll try to conquer that tomorrow.😑😳

06/18/2026

This is sort of interesting, and slightly funny. This is our award for “Excellence in Preservation” that was given to us by Old Town Cape this spring.
Its positioning on the front of my desk took an interesting turn last Friday when we had the water disaster. 😝

06/17/2026

06/17/2026

Our most recent event for the Missouri Humanities Council Grant. It was a beautiful experience!! Thanks to all who attended and all the volunteers who worked so hard to make it happen. ❤️😎

06/16/2026

I posted this earlier about the architect of Lorimier school. His name is William Ittner and he was very interested in design, artwork, landscaping, and the comfort of public buildings. He did predominantly school buildings. He was known nationally and internationally as the person that changed ugly Victorian school buildings into Open, Pleasant, inviting structures to help children learn.
This was actually the philosophy that led into what was later called environmental psychology, which took hold in the 1970s. My doctoral work and dissertation were both involved in that concept. We thought it was new in the 1970s. Little did we know that William Ittner was starting the movement way back in the late 19th century. Cape Girardeau is so lucky to have a building done by this magnificent architect. We intend to tell his story in many ways, and in many places. He died the same year that Lorimier School was completed. He was at the groundbreaking, but not at the opening.
Please help us continue to honor this fine man who was so interested in children, knowledge, and the health and well-being of the public.
Somethings never change.❤️

06/16/2026

This is Larry Haertling. He was at our Colonies to Cape Girardeau event on Sunday. We spent time with him lately and I asked him to come in costume. He was a big hit.

Larry has been a friend for many years. He sold us our very first home on Grandview Drive in 1967. Little did he know that he was starting 58 years of the Kellermans buying 8 additional buildings in Cape Girardeau. The next seven after Grandview were all historical buildings, with most of them being 19th century.

We were so happy to have him contribute a historical note to our crowd. He’s an amazing man and historian.
Aren’t friends wonderful?!? 😎❤️

06/16/2026

This was ServePro leaving last Friday after our ceiling filled with water caved in on our offices. Our timing was not good because other people were fighting flooding problems at the same time. ServePro appeared quickly and moved all the furniture out of the inch and a half of water. Abbie, Bert and Kaitlyn were fighting the water with mops, brooms and Water vacuums before they arrived. It seemed like it lasted for three days when it was really only six or seven hours. It was a day we won’t soon forget, but we’re thankful for people who jumped in to help. Brent was still there with us at 11 o’clock that night. Suzanne Camp ran home and changed clothes and came back and helped. It was a team effort.

The adjuster is coming from St. Louis tomorrow so I will continue to give you reports. With all of the furnishings moved out of the offices, i’m going to have to show him the evidence with all my photographs. I took hundreds. They came yesterday again to check moisture levels, and the walls baseboard and carpet still showed high levels. So, the machines are still roaring. We obviously won’t be open for anything Public for a long time coming. I’ve reached out to my favorite Painter because it might be time to rip the paneling off and start over. Some of it has to come off anyway because it’s soaked. I’ll keep you up on the progress
Keep us in your prayers.