By Daily Press staff
Nomads from all over the country have taken to one of Santa Monica’s oldest homes and the results are expected to be uplifting.
The historic Archer House, located in the Third Street Historic District, is getting a fresh look courtesy of retired United Methodists who have come from around the country.
Calling themselves NOMADS (Nice Old Methodists Always Doing Something, or Nomads on a Mission Active in Divine Service), a group of workers have traveled here in their recreational vehicles to help the Church at Ocean Park restore the 104-year-old Archer House.
The NOMADS, who are camping out at Dockweiler State Beach, will be here through Nov. 15 working on the house. They are the second group to work on the home. The first group, “RV’ers in Mission” arrived in mid-October and spent a week scraping and sanding the home so it could be painted. The group is made up mostly of Southern Californians who spend one week a month traveling around the lower half of the state donating their labor to similar projects.
The Church in Ocean Park began its renovation efforts in 1998, when a foundation was poured and supports were added to maintain the structure.
“We’ve been working on this project for four years — we’ve got a new roof, a foundation, a new porch and railing and have restored much of the interior as well,” said Rev. Sandie Richards, the minister at Church in Ocean Park. “We are so grateful to these hard working folks for donating their labor, helping us to complete this project.”
The Archer House was built by Alvin Archer in 1898. He served as the first captain of the Ocean Park firefighters. His wife, Louetta was the postmistress of Ocean Park. The house was one of the first buildings in the neighborhood.
The church bought the house from Archer’s daughter, Buelah, in 1961. It was used as a teen drop-in center and later served as a homeless intake center and then a battered women’s shelter for the Ocean Park Community Center. When OPCC moved its headquarters in 1997, the church began renovating the house to use it as a minister’s residence.
The RV’ers in Mission donate one week each month for eight months a year and the NOMADS go out for three weeks at a time. They volunteer their time to help United Methodist churches maintain their properties.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 9, 2002. Read the original PDF.