The John Updike Childhood Home at 117 Philadelphia Ave., Shillington, Pa., is getting a badly needed exterior paint job. The exterior had been neglected for many years prior to the Society’s purchase of the home, and compared to other buildings in the neighborhood it was looking quite shabby—with lead paint peeling off in big chunks, right down to the brick.

Although the scraping, preparation, and painting is costly and the Society is still in need of donations, the board voted to move forward based on a substantial gift from the Robert and Adele Schiff Family Foundation and a commitment from the PECO Foundation.

The work is being done by a Shillington company:  Bilger Construction, affiliated with PuroClean Emergency Restoration Service, also of Shillington. The house will be repainted white, as it appeared for the bulk of the time that the Updikes lived there.