Fee’s preservation project

At the 2002 Historic Preservation Conference sponsored by the Historic South Dakota Foundation, Fee (Feruzeh) and Jerry Jacobsen were honored with the Award for Excellence in Historic Rehabilitation. The Jacobsens’ award winning work was the restoration of the Central Block building in downtown Pierre, the state capital, as notes an article by Mary Gales Askren in Capital Journal of May 10, 2002.

In the early 1880s a group of investors constructed several wooden frame structures in the upcoming town. Outstanding among them was a commercial building of St Louis pressed brick and Kansas stone trimmings with Italianate features, described as "the handsomest building in town,” according to records maintained by the South Dakota Historical Society.

The 1884 Republican territorial convention was held in the new structure to celebrate the grand opening while businesses vied for office premises, indicates Askren.

By the mid 1990s when Jacobsen bought the building "downtown was pretty sad,” she told Askren. The upper storey of the Central Block, which had once held the offices of prominent professionals, had been boarded up; the lower level had been renovated so often that "only the pressed tin ceiling remained and that was covered by a suspended ceiling,” notes Askren.

Jacobsen bought the building thinking "it would be kind of fun to... restore it.” Her goal was to restore the exterior and convert the former office space into apartments, notes the article. Her view was endorsed by historic preservation coordinator Steve Rogers. "Restoration is rehabilitation. It’s not just a matter of preserving the buildings the way they were originally. It’s rehabilitating them,” Askren quotes Rogers. In the process of her task Jacobsen encountered "expensive challenges like preserving the windows and some surprising finds, like skylights in all of the offices,” writes Askren.

Jerry and Feruzeh with sons Eric and Zak

Like a deft facilitator Jacob­sen created a team of professionals to aid her — banker Bill Fischer providing financial support; local contractors like Jim Leid­holt being "sensitive to the special demands of historic restoration;” Stokes Masonry who met the exterior requirements by slicing bricks in half to give the wall a uniform appearance; Mary Gates of the state historical society who guided her to avail of grants and tax incentives; friend and former colleague Sarah Ackerman who, in Jacobsen’s words, "was part of the whole project all along.” However Rogers maintained, "If (Jacobsen) hadn’t had the vision, it wouldn’t have been done.”

Daughter of the late Keki Erani, founder of Steelage, and his wife Nerges, Fee now has beautifully crafted items for sale in her Pierre Street Emporium. Together with her husband, who works for the Federal government, she has run other businesses. A former secretary of the South Dakota legislature, Fee’s social commitments have included work at the local hospice and with cancer patients. Mother of two and grandmother of four, Fee is an active member of the town’s museum committee and heritage center, informs her mother. A prize winning gardener, she helps maintain gardens in various parts of the city and is enthusiastic in imparting the love and lore of gardening to children.