Ontario Community Newspapers

Whitby Free Press, 19 Sep 1990, p. 11

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WHI'1BY REE PRESS, WEDNESDAY,SETMR 19,199M, PAGE il Lnde family lives on t-manor Buy Grog NMaceil Walk into many homes or buildings fr-on the pioneer age and you automatical? know you've entered a museum. Items of the past are arrangedneatly and lab:eled for display purposes, and of course there s a pungent, musty smoll. Sucli is fot the case at the Lynde Houso at Cullen Gardons. Upon entering the front door of the Lynde House you.got the almost eerie sense you've just taken a'stop 140 yoars back in time. That feeling is accontuatod by siglits and sounds omanating from each of the eight rooms.,The folks at Cullen Gardons have gone to great lengths te insial very life-like moving figures, complote with appropriate recorded conversation or sound effects. Tho scene ie circa 1850, when the house was occupied by Jabez Lynde bis daughter Elniina and son W'arron. Also in the houso is daughter Clarissa singing to her newbxjrn child in the nursi The house was built ine 12 by Jabez Lynde, who with his fasmily moved to Wbitby fr-om New York ini 1803. Constructed' at what is. now Dumdas St. W. and lYHiller St., Lynde Flouse stood out as quite a stunning structure compared with other buildings in the ares, mostly log cabins. SThe stately home was occupied by members of the Lynde farnily until daughter Elmina's death in 1891. She left the house to Al Saints Church in Whitby. Over the following yars Lynde House was occupied y a few different families, until 1939 when it was sold and converted into three apartment units. Ini 1969, -fire desrod one of those units, but sprdTrest of the house. Lynde House was donated to the Whitby Historical Socioty in 1972 and turned into the Whitby Museunm. The land in a rapidly expanding Whitby was snappod LYNDE HOUSE up by dovelopors by the niid-1980s for a new subdvidion. It was thon cloar the bouse would have te be moved, of' meet its doom. In 1986, aîmd çontroversy over the fact the Towni was picking up the tab te move the bisteric honre, the huge structure was loadled on a truck snd trsnsported to its new location on Taunton Rd. After nearly two years of resteration, Lynde House was opened te, the public as the latest attraction, at Cullen Gardens. The project te restore the bouse cost Cullen Gardons about $500,000. Aftor ail was complote, thougb, the reopened Lynde Flouse won raves from Town Region sud even provincial officiais. The house pîsys host te inany visiters these days, with a largo -portion cf thoe visiting Cullen Gardons paying the extra dollar te tak a trip trough aday in the lifo of the Lynd faxnily. "On a good day, a couple of hundred pjeople will come tbrougb," says liane artr, one ofthe flive hostesses wbo greet visitors and.- eagerly answer qustons bu the bistory of the bouse and Lynde family. Dressed in period costume, the reai-life bostesses are almeeti difficult te pick out among the niechanized figures. Jabez Lynde, one of these figures, would bimself probably gret people at the door, exoept that he and one of the family's pt cats are taking a nap in front ofthe firoplace in the parlor. It's amazng he can sleep'over the sounds . of daughtor Elmina happily humming while wasbing the chshes' in. the neighbori kitchen, or the racket the gran children are maldng upstairs in Jabez's bodroom lap ng hide-and-go-seek. Oh, anddon't alarm the maid, whoee attention is focused on soeking'out dust bunnies from undemneath Elmind's bed. idden away from sight are 1,500 feet of hoses carrjing air pressure needed td brmng the *characters to, life. There's also about a thousand feet. of wire for the 19 different soundtracks piped into each room. During the years Lyndo House has beén open te the public, a number of people who are quite familiar with- the house have paid à visit. "We bave hàd a lot of people who are relatod te the Lyndes corne tbrough,", according te, hoetess Marion D-alby. IlPeople that- used te, live in the house while it was an -apartment building ojoy -coming tbrough, to."Dlby adds that even COUples who were married in the front parlor in* the 1930s have corne back te, relive some In addition te, the teur through the home,' there are a couple of attractions within the attracétion. Throughout the year different oxhibits are brought ini There are now examples of rug hooking.by membors of the loéaJrug-hookin guild. Coming u before the ng of the year -are a cr. display and demonstration, a quiltrng display a nd demontrtion, andr a l9th centuro 'Christmnas card workshop. The basement of Lynde House bas been tranred into a photo hgrapbic journey tbrough Whitby&shistory. Youlfl find many pictures of Witby life from the- turn of the century until todaýy. 0f particular interest are the comparison shots of buildings or street scenes, then and now. It's an interesting way te, see how VWitby bas changod, snd in more cases than you may realize, lias not changed throughi the decades. MURAL-PAINTING was one of the activities as The Station Gallery held its 2Oth anniversary party recently. Peter Tombli photo Hei*rloom 'discovery' at Station Gallery Heirloonis Discovery Day will be hold ýSaturday, Sep t. 22, 1 a.m. te 4 p.m., at The Station Gallery. Anyono wishing te participato ean bring fine art objectasuch as paintings, drawings' prints, sculptures aud amaïf orientai rugs,. or docorative art 0b jetso sueF as eut glass, pressed -assý art g1ass, pottery yudporîelain. silver sud gold objecta, antique jewolry, watiches aud tdUc'ks, toys and dolîs, hookod rugs and =Utscoins, booksaud â mal Fees for verbal appraisal of objecta are $5 for gallory mom- bers, $7.50 for non-mombers (dis- count for more than three items). For- more information call the. g~ilery kt 66&'4185aj.

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