Wayne County Life

SUBMITTED by John O'Brien, Good Old Days Country Shop (13-Oct-2010)

In 1902, because of increased demand from the local fruit growers in the region, a packing house was constructed at the fork in the road where Lake Ave meets Hamilton and Jay Street in Pultneyville. This apple packing warehouse was used to store, slice, dice, and pack apples grown locally. Often, these apples would be taken, by horse driven wagons, to the huge piers in Pultneyville, where they would be loaded onto ships heading to England. For 50 or 60 years, this apple packing house served this purpose. The old scales the wagons would pull up on still exist. The old elevator that would take huge crates of apples up to the processing floors is still visible, although not working. The ambiance of the "old warehouse", as it came to be called, still exists to this day.


In 2001, a couple from Marion bought the dilapidated building to expand their business into. Due to years of disrepair, the old warehouse was falling apart. The paint was completely missing and faded. The roof had leaked right through to the inside. Some of the old beech supports had rotted. The basement wall was swelling inward due to a large tree growing too close tho the foundation. Finally, the side porch collapsed and fell onto the porch floor under the weight of a heavy snowfall. John & Barb O'Brien from Marion, took on this project in earnest. The roof was replaced with a tin roof. The side porch roof was rebuilt. The interior issues were corrected and a new furnace was installed. The exterior was power-washed and 40 gallons of paint applied. The old lean-too shed which was an eye-sore for years was removed. The lawn and gardens were manicured and the old warehouse came to be known as The Good Old Days Country Shop. The new owners began small, as this was a large step from their country shop that started in the basement of their home. The first year it was re-opened, only the first floor was used. A year later, part of the 2nd floor was opened. A few years later, that old loading dock where the roof collapsed was converted into an enclosed side porch. Later still, more room was made available on the 2nd floor.



As time went on, the old building's exterior continued to take the abuse of the elements. The cold drafts in the winter time and extremely high heating bills had kept the business from staying open in the cold of the winter. The old ceder siding had started to fall apart. The windows were either existing windows from 1902 or were of the 1970's vintage. After years of searching for funding for infrastructure improvements, the owners decided to bite the bullet and make the improvements themselves. Currently, all the old weathered siding is being pulled off. All the old windows are being removed and replaced with current energy efficient low-E glass vinyl windows. The whole building is wrapped with ty-vek to keep out the drafts, and an added layer of insulation is added to the exterior. New vinyl siding is replacing the old weathered, faded, and cracked cedar. All the windows will be trimmed in colored aluminum, making the exterior completely maintenance free. The exterior will look very similar to the way it has been for over 100 years. From the inside, one would never notice that any work had ever been done to modernize this century old building. All the old 60 watt globe bulbs are being replaced with 19 watt globe compact fluorescent, which will give off even more light at a third of the power consumption.



The work continues on the exterior which does not bother the customers who come in droves to buy the wonderful home furnishings, accessories, and antiques. The owners are planning on having all the work complete in time for the Annual Christmas Open House from November 5th thru the 7th.
If you have a moment, drive down to Pultneyville and take a look at the preservation of one of Pultneyville's historic buildings, completely owner financed!

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