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This Old House ~ Heller & Rees
The big real estate boom that overtook our little island during the turn of the 21st century came without warning. On every street from the beach to the bay, from Anglesea to Wildwood Crest, beach cottages and motels were coming down and being hauled away and replaced with condos and townhomes at such a rapid speed that it was difficult to keep pace and remember what once stood in its place.
Although many of our old buildings have been razed, never to return again, (if only in a photographic memory,) we have discovered quite a few “home improvement heroes” who refused the way of the wrecking ball in order to preserve the past. In this issue of The SUN we’d like to acknowledge 2 of them, Frank Heller from North Wildwood and Bill Rees from Wildwood Crest. Their painstaking renovation and restoration work to their old Wildwood homes would even inspire Bob Vila, the original old house guru from “This Old House” that first aired on PBS television in 1979. Surely both of their German grandfather’s, whose wise investments bought them to this place called Wildwood, would have been more than delighted in their endeavors.
Our hope at the SUN has always been to provide locals and tourists with the original nostalgic newspaper filled with positive stories and news. We make every effort to capture the heart of Wildwood and to print the stories you want to read about. We are pleased to showcase this story of a select group who value their old homes and want to keep them in their families for generations to come. Look for more “heroes” in our future issues.
If Gustave Schanbacher were alive today, he would be delighted with his great grandson, Bill Rees, who followed in his shoes by inheriting his German woodworking skills. The house and carriage house in the rear on Heather Rd. in Wildwood Crest were built by Gustave in 1916, and passed down to his son, Adolph and his wife Agnes, which then passed down to their daughter, Dorothy and her husband William Rees, which then passed down to their children, Bill, Carol & Beverly.
When the building boom hit the island of Wildwood at high speed in 2000, Bill Rees & his wife Cathy began their renovation project. To this day they still continue to work on restoring Greatgrandfather, Gustave’s home. What Bill & Cathy have done to this house is remarkable. For the past seven years they have worked tirelessly on stripping years of paint off of the wooden cabinets, window benches, flooring, molding, trim and doors. The home boasts many varieties of wood that now shimmer with natural beauty. When faced with what to do with the hole in the living room floor that was left when they removed the old Coleman gas heater, Bill’s woodworking skills went to work.
He designed a
Rosette measuring 4 feet in circumference which is made of 7
different types of wood including teak and mahogany from an old
transom of a salvaged boat, along with woods that were taken
from an old home nearby on Lavendar Rd. that was being torn
down. Bill said, “You just can’t find old growth lumber anymore.
When these trees were cut down 100 years ago to build these old
homes, they were already over 100 years old.” By running it
through his planer, Bill has bought the old wood back to life. His
artistry is apparent in the way he mixes different woods to create
trim around the doors and to make various molding throughout
the house. The Rees’ have worked hard to achieve their dream
home, a home that very much resembles the home once summered
in over 90 years ago and by the 4 generations before them.
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