Renovations to the Pioneer Room and the main hall kitchen at Manson’s Hall are now complete, and many thank yous are in order to all who helped to create these beautifully refinished spaces.
At the top of the list is Jim Murphy, chair of the SCCA’s renovations committee, talented woodworker and organizer, who gave hundreds of hours of his time as well as a substantial donation of money to a project which was also made possible by the Cortes Seniors Society’s support for a New Horizons for Seniors grant written by Sandra Wood who took the pictures in the collage above.
In the Pioneer Room, the 30-year-old carpet and particle board underlay was removed with volunteer help from Axel Nagorni and Dave Popke and hauled to the recycling centre by Tom Bennet. A new plywood surface was laid down by Jim and Eddie Mitchell as the base for the professionally installed marmoleum flooring. Jean Fontaine donated the use of an air stapler to fasten the plywood.
All the wooden chairs were taken to Jim’s shop in Tiber Bay where the upholstered seats and backs were removed and the old wood finish stripped in a sanding bee by volunteers Jim Kearney, Leonard Woywitka, Paul Wolda, Rocko Lemke, Genoa Coty, Axel Nagorni and John Sprungman. The new wood finish was applied by Jim Kearney. Randy Iris donated the use of his spray booth and equipment. The seats and backs were reupholstered by a Campbell River firm and reattached to the chairs by Jim Murphy.
The new exterior door onto the deck was built and installed by Jim Kearney. The Pioneer Room walls were repainted by Eddie. Ron Wolda and Bill Friedel donated the spalded alder for the wood table tops which were laminated, finished and installed on new table bases by the two Jims who then moved on to refinishing the kitchen/bar area in the main hall.
Next time you are there take a few minutes to appreciate the fine woodwork Jim and Jim have done and new arborite surfaces they installed. Thanks for Danny & Ed Safarik for donating some of the arborite.
Sinks and new faucets were purchased at wholesale prices by John Sprungman and installed by Bill Ophoff. The new arrangement of sinks is designed to meet health authority requirements for food preparation for public consumption. The new stove and fridge were paid for partially from the New Horizons grant and from community donations to the SCCA. Mark Christian organized the purchase and delivery of the appliances. Mary Lavelle, Marilyn Fitzmaurice and Sandra Wood kept track of the funds and put together the grant report.
Improvements to Manson’s Hall can only be achieved by a great cooperative efforts like this one. The hall survives and revives on short and long-term rentals, grants which take a lot of work to research, write and report on, and on donations of time, materials, tools and money from people who care about having a community centre that meets the changing needs for services and space for the many activities Cortes Islanders create together. Please help by making a donation along with your membership renewal this year.