The Huron Expositor, 1982-12-22, Page 3'I
THE HURON EXPOSITOR, DECEMBER 22, 1982 v A3
Mary Romanik sits in her elegant living room which has been gracefully
decorated for Christmas.
The Sproat house in Tuckersmith, built in the
1860s, has been restored by Mary and George
Romanf�C
Mary Romanik winds the old clock that hung in
the kitchen of the Sproat house When she and
• her husband bought it.
1
"I'h',bircular staircase In the Romanik house
has green garlands and red bows for Christmas.
(Wassink'Photos )
rist
BY 4USAN WHITE
Christmas has always been
a special time in the large
yellow brick house in Tucker -
smith Township, and this
year is no exception. Built
sometime in the 1860s by
John Sproat Sr., who operat-
Sed a brick and tile -yard at the
site, the house is now owned
by Mary and George Roman-
ik.
The Romaniks have loving-
ly restored the old house, and
this year it's been specially
decorated for Christmas be-
cause Mrs. Romanik enter-
tained fellow members of a
decorating class she's taken
this year in Wingham.
In a letter to the editor in
the Expositor in 1965, the late
Russell Sproat, a grandson of
the man who built the house,
describes Christmas when he
was growing up in Tucker -
smith. Family members and
neighbours skated on the
pond near the house on
Christmas afternoon. or they
had a game of curling, using
blocks of wood with handles,
on the river ice or of hockey.
with wooden pucks. There
were cutter drives too. per-
haps into Seaforth, where it
seemed the whole town was
out for a Christmas afternoon
walk "down to the Egmond-
ville bridge and back." Mr.
Sproat says..
On Christmas horning 80
or so years ago,` Mr. Sproat
says horse racing up Sea•
An old fashioned Christmas
An old fashioned Christmas, with all its
cheer, fun with family and friends,
memories and good will to all: that's our
witih 10 Expositor readers,
the special art on this year's Christmas
alter is by Cornelia Svela, a commercial
artist who is married to Expositor reporter
Kris Svela.
The art and stories throughout the pages
of this Christmas edition have been
contributed by students of Seaforth and
area schools.
forth's Main St. was popu ar,
and crowds would gather to
watch.
Back home in Tuckersmith,
Mr, Sproat -in his letter
remembers the thrill of!et-
ting an orange in a Christmas
stocking, one saw log candy
and one stick of licorice.
' And maybe mitts and stock-
ings if mother had had time to
knit them." Then it was duck
or goose for Christmas dinner
and perhaps a home cured
ham."
CHRISTMAS SHOPPING
Mr. Sproat also remembers
gathering up 10 or IS
people" (Sproat relatives liv-
ed in the neighbourhood, as
did the men who worked in
the brickyard) and driving to
town to do Christmas shop-
ping. The older women would
be wrapped up in shawls and -
heated bricks would be put in
the sleigh to keep everyone
warm.
Christmas. he notes in that
letter 18 years ago, "Is much
different and much more
expensive now. Are we get-
ting too big for Christmas or
is Christmas too big for us?''
The house remained in the
Sproat family for about 100
vcars. and then it wak sold to
Mr. and Mrs.John Leishman.
The Romaniks bought the
house and 100 acres from the
Leishmans about 11 years
ago. after it had been empty
for nine years.
They've worked hard at
restoring it to its . original
beauty. Because the house
was empty. Mary Romanik
says floor boards were warp•
ed and 22 windows were
brqken. But she fell in love
with the house, its location
"far back from the road but
not too far". the lovely old
trees (planted in the shape of
an S which can be seen from
the air, she's been told) and
she convinced her husband
that the place could be made
beautiful again.
The Romaniks, who ooer-
ate Her'tage Estate, a mobile
home park south of the, house,
have done most of the work
themselves. Because the
walls are three bricks thick, it
took three days to put up the
carriage lamps at each side of
the broad front door, And
Mary spent eight•and-a-half
hours hanging wallpaper
(most of the paper in the
house has been imported
from England) in the down-
stairs hallway, at the foot of
the circular staircase. The
staircase, according to a
Tweedsmuir History publish-
ed in the Expositor in 1947,
was designed by a John Scott
of Seaforth who later was
known in Chicago as an
expert stair builder. William
Copp, a well-known Seaforth
contractor of the era, built the
house, which was named
Auchenhay, probably after a
place in Scotland, birthplace
of John Sproat Sr. and his
bride, Jean Ross Sproat,
TWO YEARS
Mrs, Romanik says the
house, with its three huge
bedrooms was decorated in
two years. From classes, and
trial and error, she's learned
a great deal about working on
an old house, and she's more
than willing to s ' her
secrets. Forexamp fine
cherry bannister was s,. gypped
and by wrapping Saran Wrap
around the paint remover she
applied, "It keeps moist
longer and you use Tess
stripper that way," she
explains.
Modern heating costs
meant the Rmfianiks had to
lower the ceilings in their
house from the original
height to just above the eight
inch wide window moldings.
about nine feet. The dead air
space between old and new
ceilings adds some insulat-
ion. insulation was blown into
the attic and the house has
electricity. plus one natural
gas furnace.
Although the big house is
Our
prescription
for a Merry
Christmas?
Lots of love,
warm
wishes,
and good
old-fashioned
family fun!
Thanks to
all our friends.
0111
KEATING'S
PHARMACY
MEM
Seaforth 5274990
It's the season of His birth!
Here's hoping your holiday is filled
with spiritual rededication and
renewal of cherished friendships.
From the Management & Staff of
Seaforth
13mA
OUR JANUARY SALE BEGINS TUESDAY, DECEMBER 28
still expensive to heat, and
the Romaniks spent a lot of
time in Wingham, where they
own a motel, Mary Romanik
says "a lot of .love and care
went into this house, and my
kids want me to keep it as
home."
OUR HERITAGE,
Mrs, Romanik, who credits
Pierre Berton with awakening
a lot of Canadians to the value
of our heritage, loves the
Seaforth area and its big old
homes.'' We could promote it
more," she adds.
- She's used to visits from
people whose relatives once
lived in the Sproat house or
who lived in the bunkhouse o
on the property that was for
men • who worked at the
tileyard. She'd love to see .a
photo of the house in the early
days, and she's learned a lot
about her house "even how
the furniture used to be
arranged" from people who
remember the old days.
The 37 families who live at
Heritage Estates make the
area a booming place once
more. And Mrs. Romanik
says local people still skate on
the pond in the winter time.
It's a labour of love, and it
hasn't been easy, but the big
house in Tuckersmith is the
scene of an old-fashioned
Christmas once again.
Here's hoping you
find many treasures
under your tree!
Merry .Christmas
to one and all!
DAV I D lO IGSTAFF
[5191527-1303
0
O
0
fpY
We're ringing out -how glad we are to
have you as our friends and we extend
our sincere good wishes for a very
merry Christmas to you and your fami-
ly. ft's been a pleasure serving you.
ROWCLIFFE MOTORS
a
X527-1670
Seaforth
0
eOP
*r.C7
Blcssffigs to'lUI
May this message convey to you our best
wishes for a Christmas that will Tong be
remembered by you and yours.
CLERK TREASURER:
Jim Crocker
P.U.C. MANAGER
Tom -Phillips
SUPERINTENDENT OF
WORKS
John Forrest
aa•'�
TOWN OF SEAFORTH
MAYOR: Alf Ross
REEVE
Wm G. Campbell
COUNCILLORS:
Wayiie Ellis
Irwin Johnston
Henry Mero
DEPUTY -REEVE
Bill Bennett
Hazel Hildebrand
Bill Martin
Paul Ross
POLICE CHIEF:
Hal Claus
FIRE CHIEF:
Harry Hak
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