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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1975-09-18, Page 13I10th Year No. 38 . '��' �,/rwv�t�'�-<r �'�,;;.P,/'�''F'^:��'� ,.:,,;,;�,�;r�, .,�,�.*.,�s.q�,✓.*„�,,�,,,,�Ip +may. ,,,+r�,,,�./� .,.��, �,,� ...�., . '�.�1*.. .n--'"�',.'d,°'��.�+�,a ..,�""'�."\.�: 1. �.. ,rf,�",r�"� .e�r�,+�.d'ww, ✓.!r'.'tw�' `�.\ "�"'`�"./�"�."M"�+_~''�. �w�'"` �.`�~'`�,,�.'' During the sides, many small rural ebur closed because of dwindling convegatiorLs. In July 106 9, Ponces Grace United march in Goderich Town- ship fell death theauctioneer's hammer. But the building wasn't doomed .for demolition: Andy' Riehl and hts father Albert (Red) 'Riehl of Saltford had a dif- lend ea. 'may not turn the 42 -year-old church into an apartment building? Andy credits his father with the idea: "gad had the plan in his -heed--, and even I was surprise at the way things turned ¢tut. it:PP nzy first experience at a job like that.' Andy wanted tot buy property in the country because he believed rural homes would soon be in demand. The location of the church seemed excellent for luring tenants. The site was only five miles frozn the Psychiatric Hospital, where he worked at that time, and eightmiles from the Alexandra Marine and Genera Hospital, where both he and his wife, i tmy, arenow employed. When the auction was held, he was in P.E.I. His father attended for him and vied for the property with only one other bidder. After the sale, the Riehls began their ar- duous task; they ,did most of the work themselves. Andy explains, "As a cement contractor, Dad had to know a little bit ' about everrything, carpentry, masonry and things like that." Red's knowledge came in handy during the remodelling of the church. First, they removed the old steep roof which needed repair. They added bricks to the walls and made the two-storey building into three storeys. Then they , laid a new black -shingled roof in a modern !ow style. They bought the red bricks from aSeaforth house, that, had been disrrintled. The house bricks matched theeuiricka. Because they were covered with black mortar, each had to be scraped and cleaned.by hand. Now the addition is in- disce,-nible. Next, they replaced the long, narrow windows with modern, rectangular ones. Andy recalls the chore of installing the picture window in the second sttorey: "A group of friends helped us. We slid it up on planks and balanced it with ropes. It was a .. dangerous job, if you didn't know what yiiu were doing." To retain the church effect, they left two colored windows, one in the front peak on the west side and the other at the back on the north side. Andy sold the other stained glass windows to an antique dealer, who sanded the frames and inserted mirrors in them. The two original winding staircases inside the front of the church were dismantled. Andy and Red erected cement steps and a platform as well as an inside -stairway at the hack of the building. At the front. they,r"` built an outside staircase and a platform of angel stone. Red laid the mortar, and Andy trowelled the joints. Their technique was unique. The church o f Ike jx:sI Most constructors use forms and start at the top; the Riehls began at the bottom withoutt.forms. . - -"Many people said, 'Don't you thunk they'll be out at the top?' " Andy recalls. "But Dad had the plan in his head. He followed the lines of the brick or something, and the steps were right on." Much work took place on the grounds" around the structure as well. They bought a septic. tank, that the dealers claimed could handle three apartments. They also drilled a well to the south of the building. Finally, they turned their attention to the inside of the church, which was then only a shell. The whole building required new electrical wiring. In the basement, they replaced the old wood and coal furnace with an oil furnace. A double brick wall separated the heater from the rest of the room and made an ideal partition for a fruit cellar. On the second storey, they used the lumber from the ceiling to level the slued church. floor, The apartment floor now consists of , three or four layers: After erecting the partitions, they installed the plumbing and the .pre -constructed cup- boards. Andy and his father panelled the living room walls, while Andy's mother papered and painted the other rooms. They covered the large kitchen and bathroom with cushion flooring. The combined living room and dining room and the two bedrooms have hardwood floors. They obtained the hardwood floor from the original btzilding at the Goderich Airport, that was used during World War II. After the boards were sanded, Andy's mother coated thein with durethane. Enough hardwood remains for the two bedrooms on the third storey. The Riehls spent almost four years completing one apartment. They invested much time, work and money into tran- sforming a church into Aa modern home. And they're not through yet! They want to finish the upstairs apar- tment. They also plan to add a laundry room on the second . floor, and someday they'll turn the basement into a rec mom. Above the front, steps, they'll erect pillars and a balcony. This fall and next spring, they'll land- scape the grounds, They're grateful for the evergreen trees at the back and the bar- berry, forsythia and spires bushes along the west and south walls. The shrubs, which were planted before Andy bought the land, cut down on landscaping costs. Andy rented the apartment to tenants for two years, but last June he and his wife, Ramy, moved in. Both of thein list several reasons for enjoying their novel home. The house is situated on a hill." From the building The apartment of today living room window and the front door, they see a beautiful view of the lake. On most summer days, they fee) a cool breeze. The television reception is excellent, especially with the tall antenna they recently bought: The aerial also acts as a lightning rod. Remy is a nurse at AM & G Hospital and Andy is an ambulance at- tendant. Both enjoy their scenic drive to and from work. Rainy lived in Goderich Tor aver a year before she married Andy and moved to the country. "I liked Goderich the first time I saw it," she comments. "There seemed to be a church on almost every corner, and I thought maybe that's why they called it Goderich." "And then you end up living in a chur- ch," Andy grins. A few weeks ago Andy and Ramy held a party for Red on his 70ui birthday. It seemed appropriate to celebrate in the - building where the family worked so hard. Sometimes they refer to their home as a house; other times they call it "the church." Some neighbors boast it's Por- ter's Hill's first high-rise apartment building. Regardless of what it's -called, the church shows what people can do with a little ingenuity and a lot of work. by EIain(► Toic'nslu-nd old ped at Clinton for a plcttuw i log ctt past chile it suite hed ttr the Strratford- Godericlt line. The trip wale set up, by the Upper Canada Rall ; l Society. (News•Reenrd Gale force winds last Sa boli turmoil as six foot Wa BaytIeld. Daytime temperatUtesfig the ft's the coldest September OK and hail*, rain and lnta a sno !anile greeted any who at Widispread frost was rep+ earth tar in many plrrts of on. (Newsaecord photo) • out ew. rithe d. y'