This is from my church, St. Pauls Lutheran in Gilbert sc, spotlight article telling about the building and its history, thanks Shannon for writing! St. Paul’s December Spotlight It’s not uncommon for someone to collect antiques or collectibles. Many people love vintage Pyrex dishes, Disney figures, sports memorabilia or Barbie dolls, for example. But Danny Kneece has the ultimate collectible: an entire building. Originally built as a canning facility by the Laban Sease family, it now serves as a rental hall and houses many other vintage items. The Canning Station, as it is now called, used to sit just off of Spool Wheel Road behind Homer and Sylvia Sease’s home and was a 2-story operation. In the 1930’s, the Seases were a farming family and grew tomatoes, corn and okra which they canned and sold to local stores. Nancy Tinman remembers helping there alongside her siblings, father, and Grandmother Sease. “There was a chain and a pulley that would lower up or down through the window. Pat and I helped to take the tin cans out of the boxes and dipped them into cold water to rinse them and then into hot water for the vegetables,” recalled Ms. Nancy. Her father eventually got out of the canning business when many of his workers, such as the Haltiwanger boys down the road were called off to war. After sitting vacant for many years, Homer and Sylvia were ready for the building to find a new home. Danny was doing some work for the Seases one day and they asked if he knew anyone who might be interested. After thinking about it and talking to his wife Amy, Danny decided he would like to have it. All he needed to do was pay to have it moved. Once set up, the building needed a lot of work as it was completely empty on the inside. The large vats and long tables once used to process tomatoes were gone. Danny used reclaimed wood from old buildings to panel the walls and construct booths. The windows and front door are from David and Margie’s Kneece house which was built in 1896. He added a working kitchen, complete with sink/refrigerator combo and an ice machine. The Canning Station also has a bathroom, playground, screened porch, cable TV, a disco ball and is heated/air conditioned. Various collectibles, old signs, license plates, an antique cash register, a jukebox and many others items Danny has collected over the years are on display and add to the old-timey feel. Some of them are personal to the Kneeces such as the gas pump out front which belonged to Amy’s grandpa. Also on display is a set of four original canning labels, which bear the “Lewiedale” brand name along with “L. E. Sease.” The only thing left Danny would like to add is a large, metal gasoline sign to hang out front. In a way, the building has simply switched hands from one family member to another: Amy has Sease roots on her dad’s side of the family. “I just love what they’ve done with the building,” Ms. Nancy said. “Daddy would like that. He liked things to be used.” Danny didn’t intend to rent out the building, but he had a lot of interest so he decided to make it available and has many events booked over the next few months. If you would like to use the building or see pictures, you can find the Canning Station on facebook or call Danny at 803-240-9219. And since then I have added that gasoline sign I wanted!
Posted on: Mon, 12 Jan 2015 01:00:37 +0000
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