On Saturday, July 9, 2011 very shortly after the museum closed, lightning hit the metal rod on the roof bracing the chimney and spread through the house and into the carriage house. It took out the Internet and Security Systems as well as blew four small holes in the ceiling of the children’s bedroom. Neighbors tell us the sound of the explosion had their homes shaking and car alarms were going off all around. We are still assessing the damage, have repaired the security system, had the fire department out several times to insure the safety of the museum and are working on getting the computer and Internet back up and running. We also we will conducting a fund drive as we carry a high deductible and this clearly was not in the budget for this year. We are looking into a lightning rod system despite its lack of historical accuracy. The McAllisters didn’t have gutters either and yet they are clearly necessary for the good of the House!
In an ironic turn, the chairman and treasurer of McAllister House began a seminar the end of June on Disaster Preparedness and are in the process of updating our disaster plan. The lightning and loss of communication we suffered on Saturday demonstrated how important this plan is. Unfortunately we don’t complete the seminar until the end of July. But we now have hard evidence of how necessary it is.