Walls Going Up on Ringness Site
pOSTED mARCH 2006

Those who drive by the Ringness reconstruction site on FM 219 are witnessing daily progress! Window and door frames are currently being erected, fashioned from old lumber located by Joe Brooks for the project. Carpenter Beckland has copied the frames from existing ones from the original house. Although the interior and exterior of the house is being plastered, as was original to the structure, a section of one wall in the interior will be left unplastered, leaving the hand-hewn rocks exposed, so that visitors may see how the house was constructed. Standing in the interior of the house at this point, one gets a sense of the openness and congeniality of the home, with the large windows opening in every direction, and carefully crafted fireplaces on each end of the house. Even in the hottest summer weather, cool breezes would have wafted through the openings, and the rock structure remained cool.

A gala celebration of the laying of the cornerstone at the Ringness site is planned for June 24, 2006. All patrons of the project, descendants of the family, and members of NST will be invited. The Leikerringen and Barnerringen dancers will perform, a slide show of pictures taken as the project has progressed will be presented, and stories told about the history of the house. If you are a descendant of any branch of the family, we hope you will contact relatives out of the area about this event.

Donations of $5,685.50 have been made since January 1, 2006 that partially allay current expenses, but we need to keep funds coming in if we are to be able to complete the reconstruction of the rock portion of the building without periods of delay. The Ringness Project committee and the Norwegian Society of Texas are hopeful that as the community sees the progress being made that more people will contribute. We are especially proud of local businesses who have become patrons of the project, such as River’s Bend B and B and Wallace Sight and Sound. We feel that this venture will enhance tourism in our community and thus, benefit all of our area towns and businesses.

Donations may be sent to Betty Tindall, 7010 CR 309, Cranfills Gap, TX 76637. Checks should be made out to Ringness Project, and may be designated as a memorial if so desired. All donations of $100 will receive an 8 X 10 colored picture of the house, and donors of $250 qualify for a pavestone. Donations of $1000 entitle the donor to have his name or that of a relative placed on a bronze marker to be placed in the building.