Community Corner

Elm Street Resident Wants Action on Stratford's 'White House'

'I have made many complaints about the condition of this magnificent mansion,' writes Carol Lockshier, 'nothing changes.'

Editor's note: Links to relevant content within this letter to the editor have been added by Stratford Patch editor Jason Bagley, not the letter writer.

By Carol Lockshier, Elm Street resident

I have lived near the Shakespeare Theatre for most of my life. I have seen it in full action and was very proud to say I live near the Theater. 

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I have seen it go through many hands. Obviously the right people have not come around to undertake its revival. 

There are people in town who have a vested interest in the Theatre and its property, but from what I read, their hands are tied as far as getting any cooperation from those who hold the key.

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My focus right now is the , at 1850 Elm St. Greek Revival, (c.1840). This historic and very famous mansion is an integral part of the (1850 R Elm St.).

My focus now is on this mansion because as I was doing spring cleanup in my yard I noticed pieces of roof shingles that were blown into my yard during the last high winds. These shingles came from the White House mansion which is part of the Theatre property. 

This is not the first time I found shingles from this property in my yard. This can be a dangerous situation during windy days. I understand that bids went out months ago to have this historic mansion repaired. I took it upon myself to go the Purchasing Dept. at the . 

I have the names of bidders and the bid results pertaining to , sitting on my desk in front of me now. I believe if a business puts out bids for a project, that they have the funds to back up the bid proposals. 

I took it upon myself to call the mayor's office to find out what the next step is.  I had very little faith that I would get to talk to the mayor as I have found out that he has a closed door policy as opposed to an open door policy as most Mayors in other towns and cities have.

I am not a political person. I do not care who likes and does not like the mayor or anybody else in office. I do not care if there is animosity between the mayor's office and other offices in Town Hall. I could not care less. Politics will always be politics be it dirty or not. People in office have to earn respect. 

My focus is to find out when the White House will be repaired so that when I look out my window...I do not see a huge blight problem. I have made many complaints about the condition of this magnificent mansion....nothing changes.

Lets upgrade Stratford from a Mayberry U.S.A. to a respectable unique town with quality that we could be proud of. Mayor Harkins, please let me and all the people of Stratford know when the money that has been put aside to repair the John Benjamin House on Elm St. (which is part of the Shakespeare Theatre) will be released.

Carol Lockshier

Elm Street resident


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