Page 59 - 04_May-2025

FAR RIGHT
White
cabinetry:
Ikea; wood
cabinetry:
Kitch
Cabinets;
wall tile:
BFC Flooring
& Design;
appliances:
Bosch;
hanging rod:
Richelieu
Hardware;
lamp: vintage
marketplace
find
into the hallway connecting their bedrooms.
As we stand in the hallway, Brett reflects on the
18-month evening and weekend process that the
couple, along with their company’s tradespeople,
spent turning one of Highlands’ oldest abodes
into their dream home. He mentions some
treasures they found along the way.
When they landscaped their yard, the Finnies
found clumps of old coal, possibly from the
Edmonton Standard Coal Mine, which operated
in the area in the early 1900s. When a neighbour
dug up his yard, he found old rail ties, likely from
the area’s original streetcar line. And tearing
down the single-car garage revealed an old
parking pad underneath, which was almost
certainly bricked together with product from
J.B. Little’s brickyard or the Hardstone Brick
Company.
But the most charming piece of Highlands
history was found within the home’s walls.
“A lot of the time, we find really weird stuff,
like pornography,” Brett laughs. “But one of our
guys was doing the demo, and he called me up
saying, ‘you might want to check this out — I
found these photos.’”
Over a century ago, someone placed two
black-and-white photos behind a wall in what’s
now the Finnies’ son’s room. The photos are
splotchy, but clearly show front and back views
of one of the area’s earliest homes, then still
unconnected to Edmonton and to the history
to come.
“It’s hard to do things the way we do them,”
Brett admits. “The easy thing to do is tear down
and rebuild — you have set plans, you know
what you’re working with, and it’s fast. But
something like this, it’s about balancing your
ethics and morals with the property and the job,
and what you want to leave behind to your
community, your kids, your colleagues, and the
city at large.” ED.
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