Meet the conservationists

©Trex

The people who help us bridge the past, present, and future

There once was a church built on a bed of sand … until George and Louise Kelegher, filled with an inexhaustible source of inspiration, moved in. More than half a century later, on a warm May morning, George, Valentine, and I met with the chapel’s current owners, Pierre and Cynthia.

The poets declare that a house never forgets the sound of its original occupants. The current owners along with their predecessors have ensured that despite the passage of time, its history has remained evident in this onetime gathering place. The old clapboard chapel – one large room with pews, altar, and organ – has been transformed, however, and is now a home.

The heritage building sits in the heart of Beattiedes- Pins, the only neighbourhood in the City of Mont-Tremblant that is recorded as a heritage site. The neighbourhood originally included a school, a chapel, and private residences. Today, all buildings serve as private residences.

The Keleghers began the reconfiguration of the chapel in November of 1962. They reimagined the chapel as a beautiful and well-proportioned living space, dividing its height into two floors and adding a basement.

THE CHURCH
This home at 924 chemin Beattie was once a United Church of Canada chapel built for the leaders and workers of the CIP (formerly known as International Paper). International Paper operated a mill at the intersection of the P’tit-Train-du-Nord rail line and rue Labelle at the end of the 1890s.
©Valentine Leclerc-Anderson

 

Changes come through a process of discovery

Elias Forget led the excavation of the basement. “At the time, the chapel was built on sand,” Mr. Kelegher explains, “Mr. Forget dug out the basement using a shovel, pick and wheelbarrow during the winter of 1962-1963. We then added columns to hold up the structure, as well as a new foundation.

The basement became the children’s playroom.” Today, Cynthia and Pierre use the lower level as an office. Storage units were built, occupying some space between the foundation and the main floor. A previous owner used one of the rooms as a photography studio and added brick wall covering.

The beams holding up the second floor are spruce and were restored by George and Louise, who stripped and stained them entirely. George reclaimed these structural pieces from an abandoned barn in Arundel. We can still see the joints and carvings from their original structure, and they add character and texture.

ARCHITECTURAL DETAILS ON THE MAIN FLOOR
The fireplace was built of fieldstone, brick and grater blades, the bricks repurposed from a mill in Arundel. The fieldstone masonry on the facade of the fireplace was done by mason Samuel Rochon. The grater blades support the fireplace, which is a focal point in the residence. While it is not centred on the floor plan, it is what we see first as we enter the home. Furthermore, the thoughtfully planned layout leads the eye to a mezzanine opening which separates the dining and living areas of the home, thus spatially expanding the home’s first floor and letting in natural light through the preserved, stained-glass windows.
©Valentine Leclerc-Anderson

The walls and ceilings are stucco and finely finished by Louise. The maple floors are original and were also stripped and stained. The staircase, also made of maple, was built unconventionally – not centred in its frame. The staircase is ingeniously placed in the centre of the first floor and leads to a mezzanine having two rooms: a bathroom, and the main bedroom.

The first floor now includes a foyer, an open living room, a dining area, a powder room, and a closed kitchen leading to the backyard, where a milkhouse brought over from La Conception has been converted into a shed.

All materials used in the chapel/residence building were carefully selected to ensure durability, and the building’s excellent condition today provides proof.

Heritage treasures recycled and given new life by George, Louise, Cynthia, and others who have lived in the house carry valuable lessons for the age we live in. The transformed materials from the past bring something magical into the present, bearing witness to strength, durability, a unique aesthetic and a sense of emotional presence.

Outside, the tall oak and white birch planted by George more than 60 years ago stand as living memorials in this historical setting.

 

Illustration by Valentine Leclerc Anderson — valentineillustrates.com

 

More from this author by clicking on his photo below.

Deborah Phillips

 

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