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KENMARE - A little grant money is going a long way to help shore up some buildings in Kenmare's Pioneer Village.

The Lake County Historical Society recently received a matching grant of $14,325 from the North Dakota State Historical Society to do repair work on two buildings.

With 21 buildings and an assortment of historical artifacts, Pioneer Village takes visitors back to the times of early settlers and offers a glimpse of what their life was like.

Bryan Quigley, president of the Lake County Historical Society, said the State Historical Society gets money from the state Legislature to give out in the form of grants every two years. Since the grants must be matched dollar for dollar, the Lake County Historical Society had to come up with $14,325 of its own money to receive the grant.

"The way we got our match was Kenmare Vets Gaming gave us $5,000 towards the match, and then we committed the funds we raise each year at the Pioneer Day, we committed the funds for 2010 towards the match," Quigley said. "And last year we raised a little over $10,000."

Pioneer Day is usually held the second Sunday in July, and features a raffle to help raise money. Two pigs are barbecued on site and a variety of other activities are held as well.

"We give tours, we have kids games, we have some old tractor displays, that type of thing," Quigley said.

The grant will be used to repair Niobe Hall and the Bintz House.

Niobe Hall features a post office display, mercantile store, original jail doors and a stage that music legend Lawrence Welk performed on, which now holds a musical display. The hall received a new steel roof two weeks ago that should be durable enough to withstand rain, snow and anything else Mother Nature throws at it.

"We go to steel primarily because if we got a hail storm in the village, you can't afford to do all the reshingling if you had a major hail storm because you can't insure the shingles of the roofs like you can on your own home," Quigley said. "We can't afford to insure all that."

In the spring, the building will be temporarily moved while a new concrete foundation is poured, which should further stabilize the structure.

Like Niobe Hall, the Bintz House received a new roof two weeks ago - this one composed of asphalt shingles - and as with the other building, the Bintz House will also be temporarily moved so a new concrete foundation can be poured next spring.

"We'll have level buildings," Quigley said with a laugh.

After that is complete, the house will undergo a renovation to repair the damage sustained by the interior over the years.

"The Bintz House is all the original furniture of the Bintz family. That's in kind of a state of remodeling right now, and probably will be through next summer," Quigley said.

The plaster has fallen off the inside walls, so Quigley said they will be carefully taking off the rest of the plaster and trim so the walls can be repaired as close to their original condition as possible before the house goes back on display.

He noted after the buildings are secured on their new foundations the hope is to install rain gutters. They will also move a cook car that is presently on bare ground onto a concrete slab when the other buildings are moved for the foundation work.

While Pioneer Village is closed for the season, tours are still available. Anyone interested in scheduling one can call Quigley at 467-3444. If he can't give a tour, he will find someone who can.

"We give tours anytime someone calls. All our names are on our newsletters. I've given tours when it's been so cold people couldn't stand around too long," he said. "We don't have power in a lot of the buildings so you pretty much have to give tours during the day."

Quigley is excited to get the buildings jacked up next spring and get the new foundations poured. He said maintenance is a never-ending process at Pioneer Village, and as soon as something gets repaired, something else needs to be looked at.

"When you have 21 buildings to maintain, there's always something that needs repair and there's always something that doesn't get repaired as soon as it should get repaired," he said. "You are working every summer trying to get the repairs (done)."

It's due to that constant repair work that the history contained in Pioneer Village will be around many years from now, telling the stories of past generations to those in the future.