HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1993-01-06, Page 9Cie openSed .and BreahlaSt
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CREDITON
- If the walls
could talk, the stories they might
tell. Standing in the room, staring
out through stained glass windows,
you wonder what the original own-
er had in mind.
Doug and Donelda Lewis have
nearly completed renovations ,to
%tip former Crediton Post Office.
They purchased the building a little
over a year ago, and have since put
many hours into its restoration.
"It would have been a shame to
see it go," said Donelda. "It has a
long heritage."
The Lewis' have turned the
quaint building into a bed and
breakfast, and have affectionately
christened it the Village Post.
"I had always worked away from
Abome so I thought it would be a
meat way to work close to home
and meet people," smiled Donelda.
The building was originally con-
structed in 1888 by 'henry Eiiber as
a constituency office. From 1881-
1933, Eilber was manager and sec-
retary -treasurer of the . Hay. Town-
snship Farmers Menial Fire Insu-
:atartce Company.
' In 1899, Eilber was appointed as
:..clerk for:the Township of Stephen
:.sand began to operate both the insu-
rance business and clerk's office
from the :building which he main-
tained for almost 35 years.
. Eilber's son Herbert then wok
•over both positions which he held
for a number of years.and Contin-
ued working from.the building un -
dl passing it on to tete township.
The office -was purchased by John
Stewart, who then operated the
post office from the location until
two years ago.
When the building came' up for
sale, the Lewis' pondered its pur-
chase as all the land surrounding
the building-ah+eady belonged to
them. Three years earlier, after
many years of farming in the area,
they bought the neighbouring
house which itself has stood for
123 years.
Pose gemilis fitiager
trim. The-Georsas1 ecially dif-
(ioult bett+satse italtattliaen covered
vounpumenreems withfliwMMle.
to the building's
charm are the four large stained
glass windows. The original owner
sent to Germany for the glass, and
the windows were made to order.
In addition, when carpenters re-
moved a false ceiling, another
small circular window of stained
glass was revealed.
"It had been hidden tor over 30
years," said Doug. "It looks really
"We were so afraid to see it ruined,
we just had to save it""
Built in 1869 by Jacob Winer, it
had since been lived in by Alonzo
Hodgins who owned the flax mill,
William and Mary Finkbeiner, and
Nelson and Catherine Schenk.
Along with the home, came the
land which the post office sat -on.
The building stood vacant for a
near and a half, but finally, after a
lot of thought, and the fear of
someone else ruining both the
building and its history, the Lewis'
took the plunge.
"We had to save it," agreed Do-
nelda. '
They began work last November.
With ocily 13 feet between the
buildings, a passageway was con-
structed and the two joined as one
unit.
Next came the chore of trying to
restore the office to its original
form. Work began on trying to
match the original woodwork, from
the floor to.the window frames and
nice at night with the light behind
it."
In addition, when the false ceiling
was installed years ago, the owners
at the cut off the top portion of trim
around the stained glass windows.
The . Lewis' sought the help of
neighbour Arnold Mallett to' help
with its restoration.
According to Doug, the toughest
job of all, however, was removing a
safe located in a room. Eilber
had a Dement vault constructed, 14
inches thick, in which to
-pers such as' wills and
drew up durflag-his thne
tor.
'We anteelted`eine 41111 tacit id it
was an awful job," he agreed. "It
took three days, five men and a tot
of equipment."
An iron door was also manufac-
tured, which can now be found in
the Township office.
Donelda continued by restoring
furniture and finding other rustic
pieces to compliment the building.
Doug even went so far as to locate
a picture that had once hung in the
office, by finding the granddaugh-
ter of the original owner.
"We were trying to gather every-
thing we could find that was old,
but it's hard to find some of the
items," said Donelda. "Especially
things like bathroom fixtures."
With only a few small touches re-
maining, the Village. Post is open
for business. The next step for the
Lewis; will.:bo to have the building
designated as a heritage site.
Rescued from an uncertain fu-,
lure, the office continues to make
history.
'h
:Doug and Donelda Lewis standbennalke lame Vast Bed
_and Breakfast which is now openforbusiness in:Crediton.
the -Lewis' many
hours of labour
have .paid off in
the restoration of
the former Credi-
ton post office.
The duo em-
ployed local car-
,penters Paul
'Hern and Larry.
.Bourne of Gener-
ation Homes
while friends and
relatives also of-
fered a hand.
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