HomeMy WebLinkAboutVillage Squire, 1980-01, Page 11For seven years now one of the favourite spots in Huron county
to go for a night out has been a creamery. Well, to be honest, a
former creamery.
The spot that's become so popular is the White Carnation in
Holmesville, another example of the ingenious recycling of an
old building to a new use. The owners at that time Bruce
Rathwell and Bob Norman turned the old creamery into a
banquet and dance hall. Today Sandra Orr and her husband
David and their staff are trying to turn the White Carnation into a
full-time restaurant and so far it's working quite well, thank you.
The beginning of the Cinderella story of the old creamery goes
back to 1972 when the factory was put up for sale. The building
was originally built in the 1870's, one of a large number of
farmer -owned co-operatives started up in that period to allow
farmers to make use of their surplus milk and cream to make
cheese and butter. The company was the Holmesville Cheese
and Butter Co. The co-op sold the building in 1935 to Melville
Elliott who ran it until 1946 when he sold it to Carnation Milk
which converted it into a milk handling depot.
The men saw the building was for sale in 1972 but wondered
what to do with it. They thought of using it as a warehouse at
first but then came up with the idea of using it as a nightspot.
There was a lot of work however between the idea and the
reality. The building came up for sale in April of 1972 and in July
the two men and dozens of workmen, relatives and friends went
to work on the building. The first job was to completely gut the
interior of the building so they could rebuild it. It took two
months to remove the milk coolers and the ice plant. One of the
ice making machines, in the best tradition of recycling, was sold
to an arena for making ice.
Another three months was spent remodelling the interior of
the building for its new purpose. There were many suggestions
from relatives and friends as to how to make use of the assets of
the old building. Even the name was reused. The white carnation
symbol of the milk company became the name of the new
nightspot after a suggestion of Bob's father-in-law. Ken Scott of
Brucefield. Bruce's brother, •Bill thought the front of the old
boiler should be used somehow and eventually it became doors
to the kitchen area. The handsome original glass -brick floor was
retained to be used for the dance floor.
Recycled materials from elsewhere were also used.
Chandeliers were made from the wheels of old seed drills. Barn
boards and beams were used to give the place a rustic, country
look. And besides the things borrowed there were things new
like a huge corner fireplace in the diningroom that consumes logs
up to four feet long.
The new night spot was opened early in 1973 for banquets and
dances. Bruce and Dawn Rathwell and Bob and Pat Norman
were kept hopping to run the place looking after the food and the
bar and entertainment, at the same time as running other
businesses. Over the next few years however the White
Carnation became a popular spot for wedding receptions, club
banquets and dances and other activities. During those years the
place operated under special occasion liquor licences meaning it
was open only for such pre -booked events, not for the general
public.
By 1977 the burden of keeping the White Carnation going was
getting too much for the original owners and they put the place
up for sale. It was David Orr who suggested to his wife Sandra
that it might be a good thing to get involved with. The couple
have a farm south of Goderich and Sandra has had a busy life
both on and off the farm. A native of the Bayfield area she had
worked for the Huron County Board of Education and the
Goderich Psychiatric Hospital doing psychological testing. At the
time the White Carnation came up for sale she was working at
the Bedford Hotel in Goderich so had a little background in the
business.
At first, Sandra says, the talk was of a partnership with the
former owners but as time went on she found that although she'd
only been marginally interested in the beginning, her interest
grew. Eventually Sandra and David set up the operation as a
family partnership and took over the White Carnation in
ROSS SHOE SHOP
"ONE STEP AHEAD"
ENTIRE STOCK
OF SHEARLING AND HEAVY PILE LINED
WINTER FOOTWEAR
50-50Z off
ALL OTHER LINES OF FOOTWEAR
10-50% discount
SALE STARTS
WED. JAN. 3rd, 1980
?od4 Shoe Sft
142 THE SQUARE, GODERICH, ONT.
January 1980, Village Squire 9