HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1994-9-21, Page 13Rebirth of a rail station
Exeter's old train station gets a new lease on life... in Grand Bend.
Dr. Anne Wilson bought and renovated the building for her new office.
By Fred Groves
T -A staff
GRAND BEND - Over a hundred
people of all ages gathered in
Grand Bend on Friday morning to
witness the preservation of a build-
ing and the perseverance of its new
owner.
Optometrist Dr. Anne Wilson of-
ficially opened her new office
which will be housed in the nearly
120 year-old Exeter Railway Sta-
tion. There were many special
guests on Friday including Eliz-
abeth Kettlewell from the Canadian
Railway Heritage Society.
"A year ago we thought it (the
station) was so run down, many of
us thought it was a terrible mis-
take," said Kettlewell.
Wilson bought the station a year
ago and had it moved from its Exet-
er location to its new home in
Grand Bend where it is positioned
right on the edge of town so all can
see when they enter the com-
munity.
Kettlewell said she visited the
Exeter station when it was still in
use and talked to an elderly man
who told her some interesting sto-
ries including how certain freight
was transported.
"There was always one stray cow
that would get loose, run down the
tracks and the children of Exeter
would chase it."
Kettlewell said that when she vis-
ited the station it had a distinct
smell of wet clothes, pipe tobacco,
manure and work boots.
"Today 1 went in and sniffed the
walls," she admitted of looking for
the familiar aroma.
In 1993 the Goderich-Exeter
Railway wanted to put to pro-
ductive use the land on which the
station was located, but had no use
for the station itself. 1t was going to
be demolished unless someone
bought it and removed it from the
site in Exeter.
That's when Wilson stepped in.
Although she wouldn't say how
much it cost to move, she did admit
it was more than it would cost to
build a new clinic.
Among the many special guests
who attended the opening was
Lambton MP Rose -Marie Ur.
"I'd like to congratulate Dr. Anne
Wilson for her courage and in-
itiative in preserving the station,"
said Ur.
"The heritage has continued. I ap-
preciate that you stuck with it," Hu -
ton MPP Paul Klopp said to Wil-
ton. "The turnout here today shows
the community appreciates it."
Exeter was the most important of
the 16 stations on what was orig-
inally the London -Huron -Bruce
Railway which was opened on Jan -
4, 1876.
.Wilson was very humble about
Jan-
cry
feat andAo inted out that the sta-
tion's preservation would not have
been possible without the efforts of
many people.
"I want to thank those who
pelped out in special ways. There
ere just so many," said Wilson.
She said that some minor changes
had to be made to the station and
said, "we had to make a few altera-
tions, I hope you forgive us,"
Also invited to the special open-
ing on Friday were Kent and Shir-
ley Shoults of Ingersoll who pro-
vided all the antique light fixtures
for the station.
They were dressed in clothing
from the late 1800's and say they
often come garbed to fit the occa-
sion.
EX:. ER FATIQf,
i;ii BU'll IN EXETER, ONTARIO BY
Nc Atl 1pL NK kAt,WAY CN THE
',DON, Li ON AND BRUCE LINE
T C _ANAD.AN NATIONAL RAILWAYS
io GRAND BEND, ONTARIO
a'JD OPENED
AS HER OFFICE
WILSON, OPTOMETRIST
Shirley and Kent Should; came dressed for the occasion.
Above, Exeter Mayor Bruce Shaw, Dr. Anne Wilson, and Grand Bend Mayor Tom Lawson cut the ribbon to officially open the 1arnbtavl MP RosoMarle W, left; and Dr. Anne Wilson in the
station. foyer of the station.
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