source: Farm and Food Report
Given that the Town of Eatonia was named after the Eaton Family, it would make sense to celebrate this fine anecdotal detail with a piece of Eaton memorabilia.
How about a house -- an Eaton catalogue house?
That is precisely what Eatonia's Anne Reinhardt is working on.
"Eatonia was originally known as Eaton, but the name was changed because of the confusion with Eston for mail delivery purposes," says Reinhardt. "The Town of Eatnoia and the Economic Development Committee -- of which I am a member -- became aware of an Eaton catalogue house five miles away. We needed to know if the owners would consider letting us have the house."
The King family agreed to donate the house to Eatonia. The town will eventually have it designated as a heritage property. It will provide land on which to place it, and hopes to establish a park setting around the new site where the 1925 railway station, which was featured on cover of the 1955 Eaton Catalogue, is also located. The station is on its original site. It is already listed as a heritage property owned by the town.
Now, Reinhardt has to find a few dollars.
"The house is solid and the materials were of excellent quality. The first phase of this project is to move the house and place it on a foundation. The Town of Eatonia and the newly formed Heritage Committee hope to begin soon. We have approached numerous individuals and companies for funding. Our first contact was the Eaton Family, and when we received a donation from the Thor E. and Nicole Eaton Family Charitable Foundation, we were encouraged to proceed with fundraising. To date, we have received donations from a number of former residents, oil companies, a car dealership; we received a grant from RBC Foundation, as well as from Boomer family members -- the original owners."
Nearly $8,000 has been raised for the project, and more is to come. On June 18, former resident and singer Denise Reinhardt Wolda will give a concert in Eatonia with special guest Ann Mortifee, under the theme "Coming Home." This will be a community fundraising event, and proceeds will go toward the project.
"We already have plans for the house. It needs to be re-roofed, and certainly needs a fresh coat of paint. We might turn it into an art gallery and a place for art classes, children's art activities, dance classes, community college programs, or even a picture gallery of prominent former citizens. It could be used for meeting rooms, office space, as a living museum and, of course, as a tourist attraction."
Reinhardt definitely has no shortage of ideas for uses. Much solace will be found in knowing that Eatonia, at last, will have its very own Eaton catalogue house.
Tickets for the June 18 concert are available at Rogers Jewellery in Kindersley and Stueck Pharmacy in Leader, or by calling (306) 967-2992.
For more information, contact:
Anne Reinhardt
(306) 967-2992
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