Acton’s real artifact of political history, the reeve’s chair, is back and looking like new.
The freshly-refurbished chair was unveiled Tuesday night at Heritage Acton’s annual general meeting (AGM).
The chair that's over a century old was the top seat of power in Acton long before the formation of Halton Hills in the 1970s. Like any historical artifact, it was showing its age. Signs of distress were visible and vital components were falling off, rendering it too unsafe to sit on.
Heritage Acton sent the chair off to be restored in December. It returned late last month, in time for the AGM.
“This town has a heritage. It (the chair) is a three-dimensional piece of that heritage. It’s real - something that (people) can touch and they can even sit on it," said Heritage Acton board member Kevin Hazzard.
Hazzard founded the KW Hazzard and AM Follows Foundation with his partner Michele Follows to support heritage projects - the refurbishment of the chair being one of them. A pool of money has been set aside, the interest from which will go to Heritage Acton.
Erin-based Furniture Renew handled the restoration. They disassembled the chair, put in new springs, reglued missing components and reupholstered the historic piece of furniture.
Overall, Hazzard and Heritage Acton say they're very pleased with the job done by the restoration company.
The now-former chair of Heritage Acton Lloyd McIntyre - board member Larry Lichty has taken over - said he was “amazed” by the work. His wife Anne added that the chair is “beautiful.”
“It (the chair) is truly back to what it must have been, or maybe even better than it was originally,” Lloyd McIntyre said.
The chair is used quite commonly for public events. It acts as a throne of sorts for brides and grooms, Miss Acton and the local Citizen of the Year. The seat will stay in the Acton Town Hall Centre building.
