The fireplace mantel and coffee table in our foyer and the wood wall in our showroom were milled from a butternut tree that stood on the grounds of where the new office would be. The property used to be the front lawn of the Matthies house at 76 Woodstock Street for almost 90 years.

This 2002 photo shows Gordon Matthies standing beside the tree he planted on his family’s property at this location (circa 1927) when he was a boy.

The butternut is an endangered species protected in Ontario. The Ministry of Natural Resources assessed the tree in 2014 and determined it was a hybrid variety that could lawfully be removed to permit construction of our new building.

The tree was carefully taken down in January 2015 by Lange Bros. Tree Service of Tavistock. The wood was dried, milled and installed by Muma Fine Woodworking of Amulree.