HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1979-09-27, Page 31THE HOME IMPROVEMENT SECTION TA
BY YV'ONNE REYNOLDS
Some' song books contain a hymn titled:.
"My Home is a Church." Ross and Shirley:
Smith have reversed that, and could
truthfully sing. "A church is my home."
Ten years ago the. Smiths, like more than
a million other Canadians, were leading
orderly, uneventful lives in Toronto, where
Ross was employed by a firm that makes
television commercials. Each summer they
renewed acquaintance with the small town.
atmosphere of their childhood - Ross from
Wingham Shirley from Aurora and White-
church - while Shirley operated a craft
store in Grand Bend. But they were looking
for "something' quaint "out from Tor
onto."
in 1969, they found what they had been
looking 'for. A country church had been
slated for demolition and the contract had
been let, when the man who was to do the
job,suddenly died. The Smiths carie, saw,
and were conquered by the large structure
with its beautiful stained glass windows; fir
wainscotting, priceless wooden ceilings,
and tranquil setting. They became"the new
owners of the former Roys Church at R.R.
• 1, Mitchell. (The address used to be
RusseLiale, but the latest official Ontario
maps have eliminated that little village.)
"I tell my friends that we sat on it for a
couple of years", Shirley laughs, "and
they picture us seated ontop of the spire,
contemplating the countryside..
The Smiths visualized a gift shop and tea
room upstairs in the former church proper,
and living quarters in the basement. In
1971 they decided to turn theirr dream into.
reality. They sold their Toronto home and
put their furniture into storage. Ross
moved into a rooming house so he could
"batch it'' in. Toronto, and changed jobs to
allow himself four days in the city and.
three days to work on the church. Shirley
. moved to the living quarters that were part
of the Grand Bend shop. Ten -year-old
Bradley was boarded with a neighbour in
order to attend school in Mitchell, and
16 -year-old Kathy enrolled in High. School,
By November 1972 this arrangement had
caused too many problems The Smiths
resolved to cut all ties with Toronto, camp
The stone fireplace is the focal point of the Smith's: sunken living room.
(Photo by Ross Smith)
in the church basement, and concentrate
on getting the main floor ready to be:.
opened as a gift shop. '
That summer a stonemason was hired to
build the magnificent stone fireplace that is
nowthe focal point of the sunken living
room. A contractor had been hired to
"rough in" the, :basement partitions..
However, he had used green lumber which
had warped badly; many of the studs had
to be cut and straightened, and most of his
"rough" work had to be redone.
INSULATE
The Smiths also hired .a contractor to
blow'. cavity foam insulation into all the
walls, with orders to drill all holes above
the irreplaceable fire wainscotting in the
former sanctuary. When Mr, Smith paid an
unscheduled visit to the property, he was
shocked to discover that the insulators
were at work, and had already drilled holes
in the, wood three-quarters of the way.
around the huge room. The fir, being old.
and dry, had splintered, chipped and
ripped.
Fortunately a retired farmer, Ezra
Willard, was now the Smith's neighbour.
"He was getting close to 80",. Ross Smith
recalls, "but there was nothing he didn't
know how to do." The two men devised', a
jig, cut plugs from identical wainscotting in
the basement, enlarged the holes with a
router, Mr. Willard rounded theplugs with
his jack knife, and they filledin all the
'holes. Ross now challenges anyone to find
where the holes were. When the insulaters
had finished their job Mr. Smith replast
ered all the 20' high walls.
For the next 3 years Mr, Willard, was
Ross' catalyst, adviser, helper and friend.
Although . he has since died, he has left
behind some very fond memories.
Thefirst necessity for basement living
was water. A well was dug on the adjoining
property, a 99 -year lease signed, and the
water was pumped up to a solitary cold
water tap. All cooking was done on a hot
plate, which also heated water, one pail at
a time, when someone wanted the luxury of
a hot bath. Ross made a styrofoam cover
that fitted over the tub andkept the Water
reasonably warm as pail by pail the water
uwtwwr4wl.P4Ptil ulx:i t/.Y.,, of:t+ef f lil v *,, wC wl4m Of yin M. w. 134,.#0404444.,0 44
was slowly heated and the bath prepared.
The whole process tookatleast an hour.
What really hurt was the thought of all
(Continued on Page 8A)
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