It was in 1996 that Doreen Sisto believes her brother Robert went crazy.
"I don't mean crazy-crazy. I mean he became completely obsessed with a dream to renovate a house he purchased the minute after he walked through it," said Sisto, a real estate agent with her late brother's Century 21 franchise in Selkirk, Robert Jefferson & Associates Realty Ltd.
Though the house was oldish, likely built during the Summer of Love in 1967, Bob, as he was known, became starry-eyed whenever he thought about the masterpiece he would create out of the aging rock star.
One of the features he most admired was the pie-shaped lot on which the 1,600 square foot bungalow was located.
The lot was a Frisbee-toss from the meandering Red River and the land was sufficiently elevated to cancel any concerns about springtime flooding.
Said Sisto, "If that lot floods, the rest of Manitoba will be under water, too."
Being riverside property, it is a natural haven for wildlife such as deer, otters, beavers and raptors.
Indeed, while I was recently viewing the inside of the house, a bald eagle landed in a Manitoba maple tree in the backyard. I watched it through floor-to-ceiling windows that comprise the wall of a major renovation added to the back of the original house.
Sisto said when her brother took possession of the house, he completely gutted the interior, hiring his talented nephews to build a double-sided fireplace in the living room out of solid red oak.
Trims, frames, interior doors and much of the home's cabinetry were also replaced with the lovely quarter-sawn wood.
Ceilings throughout the house have inset lighting controlled by dimmer switches; the walls and ceilings are painted conservative whites and beiges, with a splash of lighter earth tones in some bathrooms and bedrooms.
On the main floor, dark-stained T&G oak boards were used to cover the most of the area, including the addition to the home's back elevation.
A second-storey suite, also a new addition, was outfitted with a complete kitchen featuring curly-cherry cabinets, black-walnut T&G flooring and walk-out doors leading to an outdoor porch with a glorious view of a bend in the Red River.
"Depending on which level you are on, the view of the river changes like that of a painting observed from various angles," said Selkirk Mayor Larry Johannson, a long-time family friend.
The home's front elevation was also completely renovated including the addition of a two-car garage with earth-tone brick siding and matching pillars to support a longer roof overhang, an entrance with a gable-roof porch protecting a solid wood exterior door with a cut-glass window, matching side lights and a arched-glass transom. Grey stucco walls were complemented by two-tone grey laminated shingles with a 40-year warranty.
Johannson said Bob was renowned for his hospitality and philanthropy.
"There wasn't an organization in town from the Steelers hockey team to the cubs and scouts that bob didn't support," said Johannson.
Large gatherings of family and friends were held in the walk-in basement Bob converted into a sports bar, the walls festooned with signed and framed jerseys of hockey greats such as (Jean) Beliveau, (Sidney) Crosby, (Dale) Hawerchuk and (Bobby) Hull, as well as a game stick autographed by (Bobby) Orr," said Johannson.
A wet bar built of oak includes stools upholstered with the logos of NHL teams; a round coffee table resembling a puck has the logos of the six original NHL squads on its top.
Surrounding the coffee table is a black-leather sofa set facing a wide-screen television; a red-cedar bathroom features a steam room.
A large room overlooking the river was added to the original walk-out basement; slabs of stone tile with in-floor heating comprise the new floor, sliding glass doors open onto an outdoor flagstone patio with a commercial barbeque.
"Bob was always buying some new item to enhance his dream house," said Sisto. "One day he brought home a juke box that he may have purchased on eBay. Even though he put the best building materials into his renovation, he was a Scotsman who loved a sale."
The juke box was ensconced in the new basement addition adjacent to an 80-inch TV and stand up posters of hockey legends in their later years.
Bob's vision also included a full-size pool table for his elegant basement man cave, a wish never fulfilled because of his sudden and unexpected death on Christmas Day 2013.
I recall speaking to him about his house as a potential renovation story a year before he passed away.
He said, "I know I've spent a lot of money on this renovation, but it's my life's dream and it will be my legacy to the City of Selkirk."
Now that's a sentiment worthy of the Summer of Love.
For more information about the soon-to-be listed home, contact realtor jefsisto@shaw.ca or toll-free at 888-632-8221.
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