A fortunate arrangement has landed the Armstrong Spallumcheen Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Centre with new headquarters and the role of preserving a historical community gathering space.
The chamber held a grand opening and open house Wednesday for its new home at the Oddfellows Hall on Wood Avenue, adjacent to city hall and right across the street from its old building.
The chamber's "new" building is in fact older than the City of Armstrong. It was built in 1909 with local brick by the Independent Order of Foresters, predating Armstrong's incorporation by four years.
The new visitor centre shows no signs of the building's age, having been renovated with support from local businesses, including new lighting, windows, plumbing and electrical updates in the small hall. A small kitchen has been converted into a lunchroom, and a storage room into office space. The bathrooms have been updated, and a fresh coat of paint provides a welcoming space for visitors.
The chamber's new digs come thanks to a mutually beneficial arrangement with the building's former owners. The Oddfellows' numbers are dwindling with only five members left, such that it was no longer feasible to continue operating the hall they'd purchased in 1984. Chamber executive director Patti Noonan said the Oddfellows still wanted to make sure their hall remained a community hub.
The Oddfellows put out a request for proposals and the chamber came up with a creative idea to satisfy both parties.
"We took a proposal to them that said we wanted to operate this end as our visitor centre and chamber of commerce. We would keep the big hall as it is, as a community space. We would ensure that their bursary to the high school students gets paid every year and that people would forever know this was Oddfellows Hall," Noonan said.
Five groups put proposals in for the hall, and the chamber's proposal was the one the Oddfellows chose.
"No money exchanged, we pay for all the bills. We pay a small stipend every month that keeps their bursary going," Noonan said.
"It's like it fell out of the sky. We were sitting here yesterday and just saying how blessed we were that (Oddfellows) didn't put it on the market and try to sell it, and that they were willing to think outside the box for a way that we could keep it."
The main hall will continue to serve the community down the little hallway from the chamber's office and visitor centre. It will continue to host the Lions Club bingo and the indoor farmer's market. A number of water districts will soon be using it for their AGMs, and summer camp classes will be held there. All of these bookings will be taken care of by the chamber 鈥� one less encumbrance for the handful of remaining Oddfellows members.
Paul Eichinger, 84, cut the ribbon at the chamber's grand opening. He's been with the Armstrong Oddfellows for 58 years.
"You could call it a work of art," Eichinger said of the old front end of the hall that's been spruced up as the chamber's visitor centre.
The Armstrong Oddfellows were instituted in 1903, and Eichinger said their commitment has always been to give back to the community.
"Our main objective was to find somebody that would keep the hall for community use," he said. "Our objective was we made money in the community, and we like to invest it in the community."
The storied hall has evolved from a rural structure to a key community heritage site, bridging Armstrong's past and present. It has had many uses over the decades. From 1925 to 1928 it was used by the Presbyterian Church. Throughout the '30s it served as Armstrong's public library. In the '40s it was the Armstrong school district office (the original phone system is still visible). When the old high school was demolished while Pleasant Valley Secondary was being built, it became a classroom.
Chris Pieper, Armstrong's former mayor for 14 years, remembers going to school in the Oddfellows Hall.
"It was where we learned all our woodworking skills when we went to school," he said.
He's pleased the hall is being preserved.
"It's part of the old Armstrong heritage for sure, and it's going to get looked after now. It's definitely an important building for our community, for meetings and voting and everything else," Pieper said.
The chamber has plans to further improve the building, including signage, visitor centre updates and exterior maintenance this spring. By September they are aiming to create a permanent exhibit recognizing Oddfellows' community contributions; painting, doing lighting upgrades and other renovations to meet accessibility standards; and adding ramps and doorway modifications for enhanced accessibility.
