The restoration of a B.C. heritage house has energized the life of a group of Vancouver Lower Mainland retirees. Kirkland House in Ladner is a heritage pioneer farm home being restored by a dedicated volunteer group of about 20 - mainly retired Delta citizens. Their mission is to open the building to the community as “a productive gathering place for small non-profit community groups and events that contribute to the preservation and improvement of the social and cultural fabric of Delta.”

The Kirkland family first occupied Kirkland House, built in 1911 as a three-storey impressive Edwardian farmhouse. Over many years, the abandoned house fell into serious disrepair. The property subsequently came into public ownership by the Corporation of Delta and is now managed by a volunteer society - the Kirkland Foundation. When the Foundation began restoration work on the house, there weren’t any doors or windows, and graffiti and holes marred the walls.

Due to the commitment of core volunteers, the house now welcomes the community and is well on its way to attaining its goals. Two of its most dedicated volunteers are retired teachers Colin Campbell and Matt Rogers.

“The house had been boarded up and had become party central,” says Colin. “From 1992 to 2000, we stripped the place down to 2x4s, and then we started to rebuild. On the inside, most of the original wood had been burnt, but what remained - we removed many coats of paint, took off most of the lasting wood, stripped it, stained and varnished it and put it up again. We want the house to look 100 years old - but a nice, old feel to it, including antique furniture, and the kind of heritage home where people can actually sit on the furniture.”

As of 2011, the approximate two-acre site is used mainly for outdoor weddings and community gatherings with limited use of the house and kitchen. Movies have also been filmed on location. Plans include renting out the main house for small community events. The renovation also expanded to include beautiful adjacent gardens, a gazebo, an onsite shed and the beginnings of an antique farm equipment collection. The grounds are already fully booked for the summer of 2011 and have become one of the best July 1st celebratory locations in the Lower Mainland.

How did this “labour of love” begin for volunteers like Colin and Matt? “My friend Matt Rogers was cutting blackberry bushes at Kirkland House by hand,” says Colin. “At that time the blackberry bushes had overtaken the house property. They started about 10 feet (3.1 metres) from the house and went eight feet (2.4 metres) high. Matt got me involved at that stage of the house restoration. A small group of us got together and formed a society to protect the house and weatherproof it.”

The rest is history - about 15 years of committed volunteerism has brought the building out of decay and back to life. The volunteers meet on Wednesdays and Saturdays to continue work on the house. Their activities include anything from carpentry, electrical, plumbing, furniture building, gardening or hosting social events. Participants come to help for a variety of reasons.

“When I was ready to retire,” says Colin, “I thought money was the least important part of retirement. Staying alive is far more important. And the way you stay alive is to be involved in the community. Kirkland House is a fun project to do because you can do physical work, organizational work - all sorts of different kinds of work - or not, because the pay is zero dollars per hour. If your wife says you have to go on a holiday, you go. This is a great project because it is very flexible that way.”

Matt’s thoughts on retirement: “There can be a problem for men when they retire. They are so used to a schedule (9-to-5, five days a week) and when they retire, they lose their schedule. My philosophy has always been that when you retire, you should think really hard and plan what you are going to do tomorrow and then you’ll have a good night’s sleep. At Kirkland, Colin and I are here to organize so that what is done doesn’t have to be undone, and then people can see progress and completion. We have a regular group coffee time and chatter goes on and we update everyone as to what is going on with the house. As a group, we get a sense of togetherness and completion.”

Colin also believes it’s important to keep busy and build social connections after retirement. “Kirkland House does both, because most of us didn’t know each other before we got involved here, and now at coffee time, our volunteers will tell you they know each other pretty well. You can miss that if you’ve worked all your life.”

More volunteers are always welcome at Kirkland, and donations of early 20th century furniture and household items are appreciated. For more information, visit, www.kirklandhouse.ca

MARCH 2011 SENIOR LIVING MAGAZINE VANCOUVER & LOWER MAINLAND