Spire comes back home

There was a lot of activity at 344 Fremont Street today, when the spire reclaimed its rightful place atop a peak on the former Rachford family home, now the location of Royal Victorian Manor (under renovation). The spire was removed before the family home was sold in about 1988, and today Marty Rachford restored it at the top of the front of the house.

The Rachford family lived in the home from the early 1960s until about 1988, when Kelly Frank purchased it. The house attracted national prominence as the inn in the movie, Groundhog Day, and later more attention when it was offered for sale on eBay.com

There was another owner after Kelly, and then the home was purchased by Marshall and Debra Smith. And then Everton and Karla Martin bought it with plans to remodel it into the Royal Victorian Manor, and that's exactly what they are doing.

Mr. Rachford told me today that the house was originally built for Judge Charles P. Barnes, who was a territorial judge. He also said there is a little mound on the floor of the widow's peak where a telephone pole had been cut off. Judge Barnes had had the pole installed inside the house and run up through the widow's peak, so that the flag on his flagpole would be higher than the flag on the courthouse on the Square. How's that for a little history?

Everton and Karla, innkeepers for the new bed-and-breakfast, hope to have enough of the interior work done by Groundhog Day 2010 that visitors can tour the house. And then they will open for business a little later in the year.

Photos - Marty Rachford with the newly-placed spire (center).

Marty Rachford with the spire before placing it; being interviewed and photographed for a Chicago Tribune article.

#3 B&B in Woodstock - coming along

Innkeepers Everton Martin and Karla Stewart-Martin report that the renovation of their bed-and-breakfast, Royal Victorian Manor, is progressing. Considerable remodeling of the interior is moving forward, and exterior grounds work has been done - and re-done, to accommodate upgrades in electrical and water services.

Everton said, "The transformation is amazing." He was referring to the interior changes. He added that he is no longer stressed out; now he is just numb. Anyone who has extensively remodeled a large home can relate to that; right?

The time-table is to obtain all the necessary permits to open by (approximately) year-end. Groundhog Day 2010 will be Tuesday, February 2, of course, and this is always a big week in Woodstock. Woodstock Willie is quite likely to make his annual appearance in the Square, and he will prognosticate on the arrival of Spring at 7:07AM.

Keep an eye on the Schedule of Events for that week. It's not out yet, but no doubt the committee is already working on it. Now, where is that Groundhog Club banner?

Did he or didn't he?

Last night's weather forecast for Monday morning in Woodstock was "partly cloudy skies in the morning."

In last week's poll, 52% of the readers who responded, voted that Woodstock Willie would not see his shadow.

Well, did he?

At 7:10AM Woodstock Willie, Woodstock's own prognosticator or prognosticators, Illinois' stand-in for Punxsutawney Phil of Gobbler's Knob in Pennsylvania, did see his shadow, and you know what that means; right?

I'd say it was touch and go on the shadow thing, especially under the roof of the gazebo on the Square. Had the ceremony been just a few minutes later, as the sun rose, he definitely would have seen it, so it was a pretty good call.

A relatively small crowd of probably 200-300 people braved the cold to gather on Woodstock Square this morning for the annual celebration of Groundhog Day.

Some 568 miles to the east in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, "the" Phil raised his own paw. Did he see his shadow and proclaim, "Six more weeks of winter!"? Check out http://www.groundhog.org/ At the time of this writing the official website did not carry information about Phil's prognostication. You'll find it on TV news and elsewhere.

Thanks to the City for setting up a platform across the sidewalk from the gazebo for photographers. Some of the media were on it, giving those assembled a better chance to view the groundhog's removal from the box on the stage. However, at the last minute once again those eager photographers from the media hogged the front of the stage and blocked the view of the audience. Oh, well; there is always next year. Maybe the Groundhog Committee will finally force all of them to the camera stand and let the audience have an unobstructed view of Woodstock Willie.

Brought to you by the Woodstock Chapter of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, the Hon. Gus Philpott, Grand Stump Warden, presiding. Will the Chapter's banner be on display at the Square next year?

Cherry Street Inn Returns?

Let's welcome to Woodstock the new owners of the movie-made-famous Cherry Street Inn, the bed-and-breakfast of the movie, Groundhog Day. Rumors have been flying around Woodstock (Ill.) of a new B&B there, and this morning I passed the Special Use Permit sign in the front yard.

On Thursday, September 25, 2008, at 7:00PM at Woodstock City Hall there will be a public hearing for a permit for a bed-and-breakfast at the "Groundhog Day" house on Fremont Street where South Madison Street ends.

Let's also hope that they do not encounter the grief given to the owner of another B&B in town by neighbors and by the City. In that case neighbors seemed not to realize that a B&B is not a brothel.

One neighbor (kind of a scruffy guy himself) complained of the perverts that stay at a B&B. Another said he didn't want "that type" in Woodstock; you know the "types" that stay at a B&B; right? A couple spending the night at a B&B for $125, dining on the Square, driving a new BMW and attending a performance at the Opera House. Nah... who'd want that "type" in a residential neighborhood?!

The owner had a very difficult time passing the inspection by the City. She'd get a punch list with five items and, when the inspector returned to pass on them, he'd add five more.

The owner was required to install a very expensive commercial fire alarm system - a requirement which I understand the City has now abandoned. I told her she ought to sue the City and recover the $25,000 that she was forced to spend on a completely unreasonable requirement.

The final straw was when the inspector demanded a $5,000 fire-resistant glass window to replace her dining room window. That was the straw that broke the camel's back. She fought the City on that one and won.

When the tribe of angry neighbors presented their list of 50 questions to be answered at a public meeting at the library moderated by a councilman, now our mayor, I helped her craft initial answers.

One of the questions was, "How will the City (and we, the angry neighbors) know if you go out of business?"

I rather liked the answer I suggested (but she censored it - probably wisely). My answer was, "The ashes will be cold, and the firetrucks will be gone."

Good luck to the new owners and the future innkeepers of "Cherry Street Inn". May your course be smooth through the procedures at City Hall.