27 March 2009
Old CPR Building Will Live On in the Nicola Valley
A crew worked to demolish he old CPR
building last week. The salvageable,
history-laced lumber will be used in other
projects. Piles of garbage were found under
the building, which served as occassional
shelter for the homeless and stray cats.
Merritt British Columbia - The last of the historic
Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) buildings in Merritt was torn down last week.
A derelict railway loading dock that was home to forgotten cats and the occasional homeless person seeking shelter was removed from
the lot adjacent to Purity Feed and the Merritt Library. The demolition and salvage operation marked the end of an era for residents,
but Mike Goetz, a member of the Merritt Model Railway Club, said that the removal of the building was welcome and that
heritage-minded people won't miss it too much.
"The building had to go - it was a fire trap," Goetz said. "Transients were living underneath it and it wasn't safe at
all. Railway buffs were more sad to see the actual train station go than this old CPR warehouse."
The dilapidated CPR building no longer stands on the property adjacent to the Merritt Library, but parts of it will live on throughout
the Nicola Valley. John Anderson, from the Sunshine Valley Good Earth Co., hired a crew to dismantle the warehouse and salvage as much
lumber as possible from the site.
"We recovered as much of the building as possible to be used for a barn and some other buildings," Anderson said. "I'm
pretty excited about the salvage because it's all part of the history of the Nicola Valley. These boards were cut here and using them
in our buildings will help us remember where we came from."
Anderson's salvage supervisor, Nick Beers, explained that the near century-old structure had approximately 16,000 board
feet of useable lumber. Beers was on site to direct the demolition and recovery of the timber and said that there was evidence of cat
infestation, fire, and squatting below the deck of the old warehouse.
"I haven't seen anything like needles yet, but we're not going down there," Beers said. "We'll bring in an excavator
and scrape the entire site after we remove the building."
Beneath the raised flooring lay mouldering clothes, bedding, and a recently deceased cat. The stench of urine and garbage was
overpowering whenever the wind disturbed the fetid air. Beers said that a large number of felines fled from underneath as soon as his
crew arrived.
The demolition didn't turn up any interesting artifacts except for a few unidentifiable bottles, the labels having fallen off long
ago. Beers remembers the time when the old station was removed and the tracks ripped out of the ground near the old warehouse.
"The train used to pull right in up to the side of this warehouse, and the workers would unload the boxcars right here. I was
around when all of this was still operational," Beers said. "The trains used to go by just when my son fell asleep, and the
conductors would pull the horn and it would wake him up."
Anderson said that recycling timber from buildings like the CPR warehouse softens the blow that nostalgic residents may feel when
demolition is completed and the structures are no longer part of the landscape.
"I think everyone who has a connection to the Nicola Valley feels a little remorse when they see an old building knocked down and
hauled away," Anderson said. "Anytime an old building finds another use like this, I think the community feels warm about
that."
He explained that while reclaimed wood is quite trendy right now, his interest is not so much based solely on the looks of the
finished product.
"This wood will be part of something that has value as a memento and it can live on for another hundred years," Anderson
said. "We feel kinda good about using it because it's good wood; we're recycling it and we're keeping it in the
Valley."
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