The PAST team at work. NPS photo.

The NPS Preservation and Skills Training  (PAST) program has taught over 100 building maintenance personnel the proper skills and techniques to maintain, repair and restore historic structures in the national park system. Part of the program consists of three, two-week-long skills workshops held in host parks. 

Rocky Mountain was the host park for the program for two weeks in August.   The group conducted preservation work on the Onahu Lodge on the west side of the park and stayed at Grand Lake. 

The group consisted of 23 participants from throughout the National Park Service – from Pacific Northwest Region to National Capitol Region – and included six mentors and 17 trainees. They performed 1,100 hours of work at the Onahu Lodge, including log replacement, re-chinking, masonry floor repairs, window installation, interior paneling installation, and masonry cleaning.

The Onahu Lodge was built in 1945, and this is the first major restoration and rehabilitation that the lodge has undergone since then. It was operated as a lodge until the NPS purchased the property in the 1960s and was determined eligible for the National Register in 1998. The lodge had been used as seasonal employee housing, but the park deemed it unsafe for occupants in 2005-2006 due to mold and unsafe electrical and plumbing issues.  The improvements include making the lower level accessible.  The lodge will again be used for seasonal housing and is expected to be completed in 2010.

Contact Information
Name: Kyle Patterson, Public Affairs Officer