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Wednesdsay July 18, 2001 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER A3 A b a rn -ra is in g like n o n e o th e r W h en w a n te d R o n to D yc h e r e b u ild h is h e r ita g e b a rn , h e tu r n e d to M e n n o n ite c r a f t s m e n . . . a n d h e 's g la d h e d id B y A n g e la B la c k b u r n OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Paws Awhile kennel owner Ron Dyche didn't hesitate when a trio of Mennonites offered to help rebuild his heritage bam. They did the job last winter when the barn-raising business was slow. If you had gazed across Bronte Road North, you could have seen lots of traf fic, and the Mennonites raising a bam. Dyche, 57, and his wife Patricia, 54, bought their Bronte Road property over looking Twelve-Mile Creek last fall. "We're retired, it's like a hobby," said Dyche of the kennel operation they opened on the Victoria Day weekend. At first, Dyche dubbed the "dilapi dated" bam that stood on the property "the leaning bam of Oakville." . "Nobody really knows how old it is, but it's old," said Dyche. That's obvious from its construction -- large, hand-cut fieldstone as founda tion with a batten and board second storey. Dyche said Mennonite Maurice Martin of Maur-Mart, a company out of Moorefield, near Arthur, Ontario, not only helped him rebuild his heritage bam, but turn it into an A -l dog kennel. The 20-ft. by 40-ft. bam now houses 2 4 ,4-ft. by 4-ft. dog kennels. On the second level, Dyche is operat ing a cattery and an office. Outside, there's a fenced, grassy pad dock area for exercise. "For the dogs, it's the best they could get in a home-away-from-home," said Dyche. When Dyche first wanted his bam rebuilt, he searched the Internet for bam builders. Then he headed to so-called Mennonite country to talk to some bam supply companies, one of which con nected him to Martin who's from a colony of several thousand Mennonites. "I really lucked out," admitted Dyche. As livestock chores got done for the winter and the bam business grew slow, the Mennonite agreed to do Dyche's bam. "They had to leave the job for about three weeks because the roof of a dairy bam collapsed because of snow," said Dyche. Nevertheless, the resident said he preferred having the Mennonites rebuild his bam because "they know bams best." He also learned that most popular preconceptions about Mennonites need to be updated. "I get the sense that Mennonites are losing touch with the old, established ways," observed Dyche. While the bam raising was almost all done by-hand, modem tools were used, as was cutting-edge construction mater ial. While Martin and his crew dressed like everyone else and drove a van-like construction truck, Dyche said some of the old traditions haven't been lost. "They haven't lost their belief in a gentlemen's agreement," said Dyche. "Before I knew it the lumber was delivered, the men arrived and they were going at it full tilt and I hadn't even given him a deposit. You just don't get that today," said Dyche, who has operat ed three businesses during some three decades of self-employment. "You would not believe their work ethic," said Dyche, noting the trio arrived at 7 a.m., Monday to Friday, after a 60 to 90-minute drive, and worked until sundown. Dyche admitted Martin "dressed as you and I would dress," but said at Martin's farms (he maintains two 300acre farms with chickens), his wife dressed traditionally, in a black gown and bonnet. "His two daughters, however, oper ate a mammoth piece of farm equipment on his farm," said Dyche, noting "I think the family was very modem. I think it's a family in transition." Yet some other traditions still reign. Business was definitely out-ofbounds on weekends and if a bam needed work in Martin's home community, he had to put Dyche's project on hold. That suited Dyche who said he was glad to have the Mennonite expertise restore his heritage building -- though a purely replacement, modem bam proba bly would have cost some 30% less than the $120,000 price tag, said Dyche. Ron Dyche decided to have Mennonite craftsmen rebuild his cen tury old barn. The interior (left) is now part of his state-of-the-art kennel. Photos by Peter C. McCusker W ith 20 M -C lass now in stock, th e re 's never been a b e tte r tim e to PET ITE CLASSICS Sizes 2-18 S id e w a l k Wed., July 18 - Sat, July 21 H u m 8 4 5 -0 6 5 5 (some exceptions apply) MAPLE GROVE VILLAGE, OAKVILLE (905) It t 11 v w j l u urn i c j QiTil~i~ Under N ew M anagem ent Game Bov Advance Demo Day NINTENDO. on / J u l y 2 3 rd & J u l y 2 4 th 3 :0 0 -7 :0 0 p .m . · F ree F o o d · F ree D o o r · F r e e G a m e P la y · F ree F u n '4 . 9 Exercise Your Options. Limited Time Offer! Choose An Option... % D o n 't m iss out, b rin g y o u r frie n d s !!! 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