Daughter Of Former Illinois Governor Ogilvie Recalls State Of Disrepair Of Governor's Mansion

(CBS) -- After 45 years, the leaky roof at the Illinois governor's mansion is finally being replaced.

A former governor's daughter recalls the place was dilapidated when she and her family arrived in the late '60s.

Elizabeth Ogilvie Seimer is the daughter of Richard B. Ogilvie, Illinois 35th governor. Ogilvie died in 1988.

Liz moved into the Springfield mansion in 1969 and says even then the house was in more than just a mild state of disrepair.

During cold winters, they had to fashion a rather unattractive window treatment, Liz says to keep a chill out of all the rooms.

"They had to tape plastic on the inside of all the windows because none of them closed real tight to keep the cold air out," she said.

The place was pretty shabby with a lot of big cracks. One day, Liz says she, "walked into my bathroom and I put my foot through the floor down through the tiles intot he wood underneath."

The Ogilvies moved out into an apartment and First Lady Dorothy Ogilvie took over a major renovation project restoring the now 160-year-old mansion. But since the roof has been leaking for many years, much of Dorothy Ogilivie's hard work has now been damaged.

Still, Elizabeth Ogilvie Seimer says it was a great place to live.

"It was wonderful," she said. "I enjoyed it a lot."