September 6, 2010 8:18AM # Historic Preservation: When It Takes a Village By [Walter Olson](https://www.cato.org/people/walter-olson) --- SHARE In 2003 the state of Connecticut offered the coastal village of Stony Creek a $250,000 grant to make possible the long-overdue restoration of [Seaside Hall](http://www.stonycreekdrumcorps.org/hall%20page.html), home of its beloved [fife-and-drum corps](http://www.stonycreekdrumcorps.org/). After a hard look at the extensive strings the state attached to the money, the townspeople decided to do the job themselves instead. Now the renovation is nearing completion after years of spaghetti dinners, [auctions](http://www.shorelinetimes.com/articles/2010/07/22/news/doc4c486c657f6a5237708425.txt), and other local efforts. Karen Lee Torre recounts the story [in the *Connecticut Law Tribune*](http://www.ctlawtribune.com/getarticle.aspx?ID=38036). The fife and drum corps can be seen in period regalia [here](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xs4hhf_FirA) and, performing at the hall in civilian clothes, [here](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJzQXsTfNWM). For some readers, incidentally, the village of Stony Creek may ring a bell as the place where author Ayn Rand worked on her novel “Anthem” while [summering with husband Frank O’Connor in 1937](http://is.gd/eUM0B). ##### Related Tags [Constitutional Law](https://www.cato.org/constitutional-law), [Regulation](https://www.cato.org/regulatory-studies), [Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies](https://www.cato.org/robert-levy-center-constitutional-studies) [![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).