| From Derelict to
Dynamic |
| by: Rosa del Flores |
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Several
times a year, I have been making the breathtaking drive from
Ottawa to
Whitney and through Algonquin Park to visit family just outside
Huntsville.
The last few years I have caught myself marvelling at the transitions
taking place to that old, I dare say derelict, building,
just west of the Mad Musher on hwy 60 (heading for the Park
Gate). Apparently
it used to be an outfitters store and a restaurant called,
'The Howling Wolf' back in the day.
Last week, I nearly drove
off the road when I saw what new renovations had
taken place since last autumn. And truly, if you put the two
buildings in a
Police line-up, you would not recognize them as one in the
same.
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| Before |
After |
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It
is now ‘The Driftwood Gallery and Gift Shop’, and
as luck would have it, they were open and I got meet the folks
behind the vision: Jody McKone, Paul Overy and Torben Michalsen.
Paul and Torben run ‘Viking Lumber’ and had originally
purchased the building in hopes of transforming it into a showroom.
“We wanted to create something to both display the quality
of work we are capable of as well as display different kinds
of lumber in different applications,” explained Paul.
The decision became clear to them last fall, and it was decided
that instead of a 'wood' showroom, they would create a 'wood-accented'
gallery for local artists and crafts people. The attention to
detail in the Gallery makes a perfect backdrop for the multitude
of local treasures that Jody has collected and tastefully displayed.
An
artist herself, Jody feels like she has had a dream come true,
“I love art, and have always wanted to run a gallery.
It allows me to support local artists and gives me a space
to showcase my own work...once I have the time to make some
work that is!”
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| Inside the
Driftwood Gallery and Gift Shop in Whitney |
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After
I oogled over the wonderful paintings and crafts, I couldn’t
help but ask about the engineering of the grand porch and of
course, the staircase, which creates a grand
entrance way, with the cedar slabs each being about 12 feet
long. |
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