The old Haynes residence was built in 1882, but is now slated for demolition. The building has deteriorated and is beyond repair. (Richard McGuire photo)
Ruth Schiller was reduced to tears when she heard the building lovingly referred to for decades as Haynes House was being torn down.
“It’s just sad … very, very sad,” said Schiller, 90, who has called Osoyoos home since 1939. “That place brings back so many fond memories to me. I’m having a hard time dealing with the fact it’s being torn down.”
The Town of Osoyoos and the South Okanagan is losing an important part of its history as it was revealed early last week that Haynes House had been sold to a new owner.
The new owners started to carefully take apart the interior of Osoyoos’ oldest residential property on Lakeshore Drive early last week and full demolition is expected to take several weeks, said Kara Burton, the curator at the Osoyoos Museum.
The new owners, who haven’t been officially identified, have been “exceptionally co-operative” with the museum and are donating many artifacts including original windows and doors and pieces of furniture, said Burton.
John Carmichael Haynes, the man recognized as Osoyoos’ original pioneer and “the father of Osoyoos”, started building the two-storey, 10-room house in 1878.
It took four years to build.
Material used to construct the home was transported from the Postill sawmill north of modern-day Kelowna and brought to Penticton, where it was then transferred onto a raft on Skaha Lake, portaged around Okanagan Falls and moved down the Okanagan River to Osoyoos Lake, said Burton.
One of the most prominent features was the wide veranda that surrounded the entire structure, she said.
Schiller, who was age 14 when her family moved to Osoyoos, said many of her fondest memories during her many decades in Osoyoos came from her lifelong friendship with Doug and Dorothy Fraser. Doug’s father purchased Haynes House in 1917.
“The Haynes House became the cultural centre for the entire community,” said Schiller. “Every time there was a concert or a play in town, most of the people in attendance would join Doug and Dorothy back at their place for a dinner and social.
“Dorothy taught piano in this town for many years and she and her students would spend the night entertaining into the wee hours of the morning. That house was such an important part of this community. This was a very small town back then and everyone who grew up in Osoyoos would visit that home at some point.”
Schiller estimates she attended more than 200 social functions and parties at the Haynes House over the years.
George Fraser, the only child of Doug and Dorothy, eventually took over ownership of the Haynes House and lived there for many years before selling it in the early 1990s.
Schiller said she was devastated to learn a new owner had purchased the property and had started demolition early last week.
“I had always believed that we (town residents) should have worked together to purchase that property,” said Schiller. “It’s such a big part of the history of this town and it’s just heartbreaking that it’s going to be destroyed.”
Former Osoyoos mayor Stu Wells, who was born and raised in this community, was also emotional when informed Haynes House had been sold and was being torn down.
“Wow, I didn’t have a clue … that’s really too bad,” said Wells. “I’m a little shattered to be honest because that place has such a prominent place in the history of our little town.”
When informed the new owners have gone out of their way to ensure the museum will be able to create a permanent exhibition based on donated items, Wells said he was very pleased.
“I think it’s wonderful the museum is going to keep a permanent record of our original building in town,” he said. “On one hand, it’s terrible news to hear the building is being torn down, but on the other hand we all have to realize the building is almost 140 years old and is in very bad shape.”
Wells said he was going to go down and pay a visit late last week to take one final look at Haynes House.
“If you grew up in Osoyoos like I did, you knew all about Haynes House,” he said. “Not only was it the original home built in this community, but it became the cultural and social centre for the entire community.
“We’re certainly losing a big part of this town’s long history with the building about to be demolished.”
Burton said Haynes House “has always been private property from the day it was built.”
It would have been nice to have the building declared a historical building, but the town doesn’t have a bylaw relating to historical designations and the price to bring the building up to modern safety standards would have been exorbitant, she said.
“There’s no way the museum could have afforded to purchase the building and the only way the town could have done it is to go to taxpayers for a referendum and I don’t think local residents would have approved spending a huge amount of money to bring one old building up to code,” she said.
Burton thanked the new owners for donating so many items to the museum and she believes there will be more than enough material to form a permanent exhibit about Haynes House for future generations to enjoy.
She doesn’t know all the details, but said the new owners are longtime Osoyoos residents and they plan on erecting a new building and running a business from that location.
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
Ricky Dhaliwal, son of the owner, shows the old wooden stairway in the front hall of the old Haynes residence. The building has badly deteriorated and is slated for demolition. The stairway with wooden bannister is typical for that era. (Richard McGuire photo)
This old kitchen shelving unit from the Haynes residence will be donated to the Osoyoos Museum. Working on clearing out the house are Dylan Bennest (left) and Ricky Dhaliwal. Dhaliwal is the son of the owner. (Richard McGuire photo)
