Hometown girl rescues heritage building
BY JOAN JANZEN
joanjanzen@yahoo.com
Residents in Eston were excited to see a sign go up at 205 Main Street announcing Dr. Nickey Knight’s dental office will be opening soon. Dr. Knight has been practicing in Kindersley for many years, but Eston is her hometown, and the building she chose for the dental clinic has sentimental value to herself and many others in the community.
“It was my hometown’s most beautiful structure, and it made me sad to think it would be destroyed. I bought the building for sentimental reasons,” Dr. Nickey explained. “Other properties were available for a new clinic, where the work involved would have been far less, but I decided I was up for the challenge.”
The project has been more of a rescue project than a renovation project, since the building was slated for demolition as a result of it being empty for the past twenty years and falling into extreme disrepair.
It was built in 1925 as the original RM of Snipe Lake headquarters, and became Hughes Law Office in 1979 before being abandoned in 2000, when ownership went back to the Town of Eston. However its value and significance did not go unrecognized, as it was a declared a municipal heritage building in 2010.
Dr. Nickey also recognized the building’s value. “I have been renovating it for over a year and a half. The work has been tremendous! A huge hole in the roof left everything inside wet and rotten, and it had to be gutted to the four outer walls. But the bones were good: brick walls, a concrete floor and 18 inch foundation walls,” she explained.
Dr. Nickey attributes all the credit for the building’s restoration to her father, Larry Andrew. “He has done the lion‘s share of the work, and he’s extremely fussy and precise; as a result his work is stunning,” she noted.
As they worked on the building, they tried to salvage everything they could from the original structure, including the safe, doors, sinks and picture windows. “I was able to secure the original front desk from Brian Proudlove, the former pharmacist, who had it tucked away in a shed on his farm,” Dr. Nickey said.
Dr. Nickey went to a great deal of effort to ensure the building would be as close to its original design as possible. “I did a lot of research to keep the details period appropriate. The lighting, switches, knobs, and furnishings have been the result of a year long quest at antique stores,” she said. “I found photos of the building in the 30s, and changed the frontage back to its original appearance.”
The clinic is slated to open September 24th, when Dr. Nickey will be there to serve in her hometown. “I will work in Kindersley Monday to Wednesday, and in Eston Thursday and Friday,” she said, but added she would be happy to do more days in Eston if the response merits it.
“The community has given me nothing but support and praise, for which I am grateful,” Dr. Nickey said. Everyone in Eston will be grateful to have a dental clinic in their town, but they’ll also be grateful for Dr. Nickey’s labour of love in restoring Eston’s municipal heritage building.
