Bryant Cizek, co-owner of C & C Welding & Sandblasting, works on the Winding Stairs located out front of the Star-Clipper-Canfield Building in downtown Traer just before 11 a.m. last Sunday morning. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

TRAER – Traer’s iconic Winding Stairs underwent the first phase of a much-needed refresh last Sunday afternoon.

Contractors Jeff and Bryant Cizek of C & C Welding & Sandblasting spent late morning through the afternoon hours sandblasting the peeling, flaking stairs at the direction of the Traer Historical Museum Board of Directors which owns both the stairs and the Star-Clipper-Canfield Building to which the stairs are attached.

Following the sandblasting, the stairs were repainted black on Monday by the Cizeks.

Funds for the project have been raised in full thanks to two recent $5,000 donations, according to Carol Boyce with the museum board.

The board is now raising funds to gut the Star-Clipper-Canfield Building, a project that will include removing asbestos and mitigating mold issues among other tasks.

PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

The estimate for the building project came in at $22,000, Boyce said, of which $5,000 has been raised thus far through a Traer local option sales tax grant.

“After the asbestos and mold have been removed,” Boyce explained, “we want to remodel the building for use.”

In preparation for the building refurbishment project, the North Tama Telegraph/Star-Clipper newspaper annuals are set to be moved from the building’s upper floor – the Star-Clipper’s former newsroom – to the nearby museum by a band of local volunteers.

The annuals were donated to the Traer Historical Museum last fall by Ogden Newspapers which publishes the North Tama Telegraph.

To donate toward the Star-Clipper-Canfield Building refurbishment project, contact Sharon Stoakes at traermuseum@gmail.com.

PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

The lower section of Traer’s Winding Stairway pictured on Sunday, July 16, while being sandblasted. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

Bryant Cizek, right, of C & C Welding & Sandblasting, works on the Winding Stairs while his dad Jeff Cizek, left, looks on. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER