The Jeanne Gordon Hall in Wallaceburg celebrated a grand re-opening on Friday night in Wallaceburg.
Michelle Bissonnette, the curator at the Wallaceburg Museum located just below the hall, said a lot of work has been done and a lot of time and effort has gone into the refurbishment.
“Our volunteers worked really hard and I think it turned out quite lovely and we hope that you agree,” she told a packed house on Friday.
“This was the culmination of a long project that started back in 2014. The Wallaceburg and District Historical Society applied for funding that fall and fortunately we did secure funds and we got some grants to go ahead with the project, which was initially to put in new washrooms… and to update the one’s we already have. Unfortunately the best laid plans don’t always run so smoothly and that was the case in this situation.”
Bissonnette said building codes changed during the process of getting the project off the ground.
“We had to change our project,” she said.
“We couldn’t meet the building codes, because this is a historic building. It’s the old Hydro hall, it’s an old structure and there is no way to bring it up to codes that would need to be met to put in these washrooms. So we went back to the drawing board and we had to revise the project and get it approved again. Fortunately our funders were understanding of the dilemma we were in, and they gave us the go ahead to proceed with plan ‘B’.”
Bissonnette added: “Plan ‘B’ was to do the aesthetic upgrade as opposed to the physical structure, which we could’t modify.”
Wallaceburg’s Bob DeKoning, the head of the building committee for the project, said they were able to do many upgrades to the decor, the lighting, the ceiling and other parts of the hall, and all on a “shoe string budget.”
DeKoning said fixing up the Jeanne Gordon Hall was a long-time dream and wish of the late, Jerry Benn, who was a major supporter and volunteer with the Museum.
“It all comes back to a promise made to Jerry… Jerry, I hope you like it,” DeKoning said.
Presentations were made to four organizations who assisted with funding for the project, including:
– Community Futures Development Corporation
– South Kent Wind Community Fund
– Chatham-Kent Community Foundation
– Community Partnership Fund from the Municipality of Chatham-Kent
The evening was concluded with a performance of ‘Imperfect Proposal’ by The Glasstown Players.
