The Artworks Building (The Old Strawberry Barreling Plant) in Olga has a new face. The Olga Strawberry Council, along with volunteers from Orcas’s Eastside Community, have started a restoration of the historic building’s façade. The south face of the building has been restored to new board and battens and is the same as it was when first built in 1939.

Although the re-siding was done in January and February, the work began months earlier.

Douglas fir trees donated by John Tokarzs were retrieved by Orcas Construction and were trucked to the Bond Mill in Doe Bay. Master Sawyer Thurman Bond then supervised the sawing of trees into the dimensional lumber needed for the job. He was assisted by volunteers Andrew Stephens, Stu Stephens, Paul Losleben and Scott Whiting.

One day in January, when the buildings Artists and Café folks had closed for the month, a volunteer group descended on the site and stripped off the circa 1975 siding. These folks included Dick Staley, Steve Garrison, Chris Brems, Keith and Ann Jones, Sue Roland, Paul Losleben and Merry Bush.

The building was then re-sided with the newly milled boards by the local company Olga Valley Design Build.

The artworks building is now up and running for the season. The Co-operative gallery, the James Hardman Gallery and the Café Olga are open for business. The Artworks was named to the Washington Register of Historic Places in 200.