“I’m scared to go down there,” said Pam Beavers, referring to her own business, Potter Sundry.

For the past two weeks, crews have been inside the popular shop, stripping out electrical wiring, replacing vents and duct work, removing the last vestiges of modern day paneling and--mostly--restoring the building’s original 1917 tin ceiling.

Her fear? “I haven’t been in to see how it’s going,” she explained. “But I’m excited.”

The project is part of the Potter Historical Foundation’s efforts to maintain and preserve the town’s old business district, alongside and adjacent to the old Lincoln Highway. Restoring the tin ceiling has “been a dream for five or ten years,” said Kirk Enevoldsen, chairman of the foundation and president of the Potter State Bank.

The foundation owns the Potter Sundry building and its neighbor, which now houses a flea market but is known by long time residents as the old hardware building. The effort to restore the Sundry’s tin ceiling began in earnest two years ago, with the assistance of part-time Potter residents Steve and Margaret Davis, a grant from the C.A. Story Foundation in Sidney and a lot of local fundraising.

“It has been kind of a community effort,” Enevoldsen reported.

Indeed, some 25 volunteers worked alongside hired contractors on the project. The ceiling had been damaged by the installation of a drop down ceiling with fluorescent lighting, as well as an apparent plumbing leak. As part of the restoration, crews replaced damaged sections with better preserved pieces from the back of the building.

They have contacted a company that makes replicas of old tin ceiling designs to fill in the areas where tin was removed.

Crews have repaired the ceiling, painted it and installed more traditional fans and lighting. At press time they were bringing in the finishing touches, although it was still uncertain whether they would complete the work in time for Sunday’s opening.

Still, Beavers said, the old ceiling will add a “new and refreshing” touch to her business.

The work crews also uncovered historic advertising on brick walls when they stripped some of the modern work, as well as a stained glass window.

“We’re going to preserve those,” Enevoldsen assured. “They are going to be a real neat feature.

The Potter Sundry is scheduled to reopen on Monday, October 24.

In Enevoldsen’s words, the dream “has become a reality.”