The house Lovelace (Betsy) lived in, built in 1892, was purchased for $60,000 by the society in 2001. The house since has received a new roof and furnace, the chimney was removed, the exterior was painted, the windows were repaired, and improvements were made to the foundation — work also done by Weis.

After four or so years at the houses, Weis is pleased with the progress. He also is pleased “Hometime” came down to pitch in.

“It’s terrific for the society, and it’ll bring people to town to get a look at the place,” said Weis, who has been somewhat of a go-to guy for the “Hometime” crew because of his knowledge of the Lovelace house. “It’s kind of been tough because I’ve been asked a question here and then pulled over there to do something. ... But I’ve enjoyed it.”

Weis said working on the Tacy house was much easier because there were photographs to show the house in its original state. No such photographs exist of the Betsy house.

Author and illustrator Cheryl Harness of Missouri used Lovelace’s description of the Betsy house in her books to create illustrations of each room. Workers are using the illustrations as guidelines for the restoration.

Schrader is incredibly grateful for the help of “Hometime.” But after the crew leaves, much work remains. Schrader doesn’t know when the society will have the money to complete both houses.

But Johnson said he’s already planning to bring the show back sometime.

“Some of the crew has read the books, and they’re all into it,” he said. “We’ll be back. ... It’s my home town. It’s always fun to come back to Mankato.”

The website for “Hometime” lists a schedule of its shows. Visit www.hometime.com during the next few weeks for more information on the Lovelace house episode.