Fundraising to mount exhibits at the John Updike Childhood Home just became less of a priority, thanks to a more than generous donation from the Robert and Adele Schiff Family Foundation.

The Ohio-based foundation, which initially donated the money for the John Updike Society to purchase the house at 117 Philadelphia Ave. in Shillington, and which has supported the society’s ongoing efforts to restore the house and turn it into a literary center and museum, donated $200,000 to the society before the New Year.

That’s something to celebrate, John Updike Society president James Plath said. The donation ensures that once suitable curatorial help is found and a timetable created, the society will be able to take the next step and pay to have someone qualified help construct exhibits.

“This donation is enough to get us to the finish line,” said Plath, who was recently named to the Affiliates Steering Committee of the American Writers Museum in Chicago—a recognition of how far The John Updike Childhood Home has come.

“All of our donors have made a huge difference, but I think it’s safe to say that The Robert and Adele Schiff Family Foundation has been most responsible for the rapid growth of our organization.

The Robert and Adele Schiff Family Foundation was also responsible for seven Schiff Travel Grants that were recently awarded to young scholars to help them get to Serbia for the 5th Biennial John Updike Society Conference at the University of Belgrade.

Pictured are the front parlor/”piano room” and dining room showing recently installed period-authentic roller shades.

In the past, The Robert and Adele Schiff Family Foundation had donated the money that enabled The John Updike Society to purchase the home at 117 Philadelphia Ave. in Shillington, where the Pulitzer Prize-winning author spent his first 13 years, and since then the foundation has contributed annually to help cover the costs of repairs, restorations, and maintenance.

This year’s donation provides a substantial increase—$280,000—for continued work on the house restoration, as well as $30,000 to be applied toward annual expenses, $50,000 “untouchable” money to grow an endowment that will help fund annual expenses well into the future ($1.5 million is needed, at bare minimum, to fund annual expenses moving forward), and $20,000 for a new initiative to help fund travel to the Fifth Biennial John Updike Society Conference in Belgrade, Serbia.

Details on the travel grants will be announced in a future post and email to members.

The donation allows work on the house—which had temporarily stopped, due to a lack of funds—to proceed again, and the crew from R.J. Doerr has already begun tearout work in the kitchen and second-floor sleeping porch. Workmen found more marbles that had fallen from their Black Room hiding place under floorboards, and also found the “footprints” of the original cabinets, stove, and sink. Anyone who took a tour of the house and walked onto the second-floor porch and noticed how “spongey” it was will not be surprised to learn that the wood is rotted and that the porch needs to be completely rebuilt, for safety’s sake. That work proceeds now.

The John Updike Childhood Home has been ruled eligible to apply for the national register of historic places, and the application process as well as a separate application for a historic marker are also moving forward.

The society is grateful to The Robert and Adele Schiff Family Foundation for their continued support. Pictured is the restored parlor and living room.

Donors are still sought for other aspects of the complete restoration—which will include planting privet around the perimeter of the property, re-doing and expanding the parking area, and changing the landscaping to incorporate elements from Updike’s childhood—and sponsoring/supporting exhibits to be placed inside the museum. An archivally safe exhibit case costs $2,000 and up, depending on size, and the goal is to place exhibits in cases in every room and on every level. Corporate and foundation sponsors are especially sought to sponsor exhibits. Contact James Plath (jplath@iwu.edu) if interested in helping.

With the R.J. Doerr Company making great progress on the historic restoration of The John Updike Childhood Home at 117 Philadelphia Ave. in Shillington, Pa., the Robert and Adele Schiff Family Foundation announced that they will increase their support of The John Updike Society’s efforts to turn the home into a museum. This fiscal year they are upping their donation from $75,000 to $175,000.

“This really gives us some breathing room,” John Updike Society president James Plath said, “and I hope that the Schiff Family Foundation donation spurs others to give to a restoration project that’s really picking up steam.” Plath said that Doerr has come up with a restoration plan that takes into account Updike’s writings about the house, interviews with people who were inside the house during Updike’s time, historic features in similar period architectural dwellings, and “footprints” and other clues found inside the house that identify where architectural features and finishes were located. Restoration plans include replacing modernized radiators with period-style radiators and installing UV-protective surfaces on all windows. Interior walls and ornate archways that had been removed or simplified after the Updikes left will be recreated.

The entire restoration process is expected to cost $300-350,000, and the society is committed to making this museum and literary site a showplace equivalent to such historic American literary venues as the Mark Twain Home & Museum in Hannibal, Mo., and the Hemingway homes in Oak Park, Ill. and Key West, Fla.

The Robert and Adele Schiff Family Foundation is located in Cincinnati and is particularly interested in supporting projects that have to do with education.