Party to replace century-old floor
The floor of the Okanagan Centre Community Hall has seen better days.
The floor was put down 100 years ago. In those days, the hall was going to be an Anglican church.
The priest, a Rev. Buckeley, appointed in 1910, wanted his church to be bigger and more impressive than the small Presbyterian Church that already existed in the community. Construction began, but halted when World War I took most of the young men available for labour to the Canadian armed forces.
By the time the war ended, the commercial centre of the district had shifted over the ridge to Winfield. Buckeley’s Anglican building was completed, but never consecrated as a parish church.
So in 1923, it was sold for $1 to be a community hall.
Since then, that floor has hosted dances, weddings, funerals, and anniversaries. It has experienced everything from indoor dog obedience training to yoga classes, from children’s parties to touch tennis and pickleball. It has been set up for polling stations for elections, political meetings, and pub nights.
But it has now passed its best-before date. Its edge-grain quarter-sawn old-growth fir planks have been sanded and refinished so many times, they’re wearing thin. There’s also concern that the joists under the floor, also 100 years old, may need replacing.
Estimates for the cost of replacing the floor run around $40,000.
All through this year, the Okanagan Centre Hall Association will hold events to raise funds to replace the floor. In December, the hall’s annual Christmas party raised more than $4,500 for the renovation project.
The next fundraising event, in co-operation with the Rotary Club of Lake Country, will be a Beans ‘n’ Jeans party, Saturday Jan. 27. Tickets cost $20 each, available at Intrigue Winery, 2291 Goldie Rd. (cash or cheque only.)
In recent years, the hall association has expanded the original building, added modern washrooms and kitchen facilities, re-roofed, repainted several times, and completely replaced the interior walls, wiring and insulation.
But the original floor is still there. Attending the Beans ‘n’ Jeans party could be your last chance to walk on a floor that’s older than you are.
For further information, visit www.okanagancentre.net/event or call “Jenny” at 250766-5345 or “Elaine” at 250-766-2372.