Magic Staircase to history at Schell Lumber in Stouffville

                                    
Glen Byer operates the foot pedal on the mortise and tenon machine dating back                                                    to 1922 in the Schell Lumber Sash and Door Shop.

From Stouffville Free Press, August 18, 2016

By Hannelore Volpe

There’s a magical-looking staircase that leads directly to the past at the Schell Lumber Home Building Centre in downtown Stouffville.

Climb up the well-worn stairs and you enter into a heritage woodworking shop dating back to 1878.

Called the Schell Lumber Sash and Door Shop, it is presided over by Harry Schell, the 89 year old Schell family patriarch who still comes in to work every weekday. The head craftsman is Glen Byer, who learned woodworking and related trades from his dad. Mr. Byer has been working with the Schell family for around 20 years. His first assignment was to make 40 windows destined for the British Virgin Islands.

Working with him is Mr. Schell’s grandson, Jeremy, who can be found on any given day involved in such projects as producing dozens of dogleg balusters destined for local homes.

The workshop is a fascinating place. With its high ceiling, now insulated, and exposed brick walls, it wouldn’t be out of place in a fashionable downtown Toronto coffee shop-except for the machines and sawdust, although these too would be a drawing card.

In fact, two machines, the band saw with its 18 foot long blade and ‘Harry’s Sticker’, used for cutting out intricate trim shapes, date back to 1878. The mortise and tenon machine from around 1922 produces custom window frames. All three machines, as well as many others, are in regular use.

 The solid maple floor was installed by Harry Schell himself. A giant boiler that was located downstairs at one time produced steam to run the belts that drove the main shaft in the workshop upstairs. It was in use until the 1970s, when the business converted to electricity.

“This was one of the first commercial buildings in Stouffville,” noted Schell operations manager Ron Schell, who is the grandson of the original owner, Wesley Schell. The building was first used as a planing mill in 1878. Wesley Schell bought the building with a partner, Clayton Stouffer, in 1922. It was then home to the Canadian Bee Supply and Honey Co. “They had a planer and a saw to keep the customers. Farmers wanted wood to fix their wagon or their manure spreader,” Harry explained.

After a few years, Wesley Schell became the sole owner. “After World War Two, my brother Percy and I started to work with Dad and carried it on and we are still here,” said Harry. Back then, he managed the mill workshop, and Percy managed the office.

The shop still produces windows and doors and is also sought after by people looking to restore the trim, mouldings, windows and doors of their traditional homes here and in surrounding communities. In the early years, the business produced 14 inch high baseboards and door trim, Ron noted. Now, the Sash and Door Shop fixes doors, does replications of historic designs, builds mantelpieces and “whatever is related to wood,” he added.

When you head back downstairs, you are right back in the 21st century in a bustling place with trades people and residents coming in and out. You can sense the camaraderie between the staff and customers. This is a place to come, not just for building or lumber related supplies, but because the knowledgeable staff will answer your questions and point you in the right direction with your project. These days Harry and Percy Schell’s children and grandchildren work in the shop, the Schell hardware and design store and the lumber yard.

But the wood working shop still retains its link with the past. It is unique, said Mr. Byer, because it “still uses the old machines” and the work is done “the old-fashioned way”.