麻豆视频

On Oct. 17, 1947, the Carlyle Community Hall, which was built in 1930, caught fire. With community assistance the building would be rebuilt and renamed the Carlyle Memorial Hall.

Over the years Carlyle Memorial Hall has been renovated and redecorated both inside and out, but it has remained a main stay in the community standing tall as a place to hold artistic performances in the theatre or gatherings in the hall, such as the Lions annual Dinner and Auction.

Recently the hall has seen improvements to the Green Room, which is approximately large enough for a gathering of 50 people, but is used extensively during drama performances as the bar.

The Memorial Hall Board is also very happy with the positive response of the elevator, which was put in a few years ago, to help people between the theatre upstairs and the hall main level.

In the hall downstairs the door leading to the back alley was raised to prevent flooding as each spring there were issues surrounding how the water flowed. With this issue of flooding resolved, the Memorial Hall Board decided to go forward with a larger renovation design. The bathrooms on the lower level were also addressed a few years ago as well.

Beginning on Jan. 7, the Board along with a number of volunteers from the community began work on the main hall renovations downstairs. This included taking out the bar wall along the north side of the building, which included a one foot thick concrete foundation approximately eight or nine feet long according to Doug Waldner the Memorial Hall Board Chairperson.

The flooring was the next piece tackled with the hardwood floor having issues with swelling and buckling a change was needed. The hardwood flooring still remains underneath the new flooring with small slits strategically placed to prevent the floor from buckling. Plywood was then laid and new vinyl grade flooring was put into place on Feb. 1.

In addition to this flooring the bar area flooring was also redone with new ceramic tiles as the ones which had been there were in poor condition.

"We were actually sucking tiles off the floor with the wet vac in the bar as we were taking out the concrete," Waldner laughed.

The flooring in the hall took a staggering amount of work with 12 people in the morning, with a few needing to leave at noon, and 12 in the afternoon, with new workers stepping in, helped to lay the flooring.

Waldner explained the process and stated, "It was a staggering amount of work. We used 78 sheets of plywood, 23 tubes of glue, and 5,000 screws."

"It takes time. No matter how long you think it's going to take, it takes longer."

While this work was all happening the storage room door was also widened and a gradual cement slope was poured to make setting out and cleaning up easier as individuals no longer have to fight to bring chairs through the doorway of the storage room.

An oak ledge has also been affixed to the wall in this lower portion of the hall, though it still needs to be finished, the Board felt like it would be a nice touch allowing people to set their drinks down during a dance, while also aesthetically pleasing to the eye.

Finally the bar area not only has new tile flooring, but the room has been painted, and a completely new bar front has been created and installed.

These major renovations have been planned for a number of years; it was simply a matter of having the capital and volunteer power to complete the plans.

"All in all, it's coming," Waldner smiled. "We've been talking about this one [this major renovation] for years."

"We've had donations from all kinds of people, the other day I had taken something to my truck and somebody stopped me on the street and gave me $500 for the project.

"Donations towards a new floor started, maybe, 10 years ago."

Though a long time having been talked about there were other projects the Board was finishing and unexpected complications, such as the flooding issues which needed to be addressed before renovations could begin.

Though this particular project is currently wrapping up, the Memorial Hall Board has further plans.

"We have all the material for the front entry way, but it's just been too cold to work there yet," Waldner explained, stating that the glue would not set properly for the flooring and they want their renovations to be done well as they take pride in their building.

Following renovations of the front entryway, the Hall Board is then planning on renovating the kitchen.

"We're really, really proud of it," Waldner exclaimed. "We're trying to preserve it and make sure everything will last."

"The blue prints for this building were found at one point and it's a very well designed building, the clear sound upstairs and the really great sight lines... it's a tremendous facility and I'd hate to lose it."

Overall Waldner was extremely pleased with the contributions of the community both financially and through donation of their labour.

"All of the volunteers did a huge amount of work," Waldner said, explaining that Paul Twietmeyer was a driving force behind the entire project and extremely valuable when explaining to the volunteers what to do.

"His expertise in design and construction is evident in the bar, and also throughout the entire project," Waldner stated. "His knowledge allowed us to make the decisions that we did on the floor construction and on the approach to resolve all the issues that we ran into. There were many people who worked hard to make this renovation successful, but Paul Twietmeyer was the touchstone, and catalyst for the entire project."