Our community will lose out if historical ‘stable’ is torn down

To the Editor:

I would like to thank Mr. Traxler for sharing his fond memories of my grandfather, Philip Schloss. My family and I were surprised to see his name in the paper and very much enjoyed reading the letter.

Not only did my grandfather work in the building that is currently BellaVino, but my father, Richard Schloss, did as well, years later when the building housed a carryout. In the early 1960s, when I was very young, my dad sometimes took me with him to work on the weekends. Dad was always in the construction and concrete business, but picked up evening hours at the carryout to help raise his six kids.

Being a lifelong resident of Athens, I have seen many student apartment buildings come and go. It would be a terrible loss to our community to raze a historically significant building, such as the old livery stable that houses BellaVino, only to be replaced by another student apartment complex that will have to be torn down or renovated in the near future.

The historical significance of this building and others in the county should be cherished rather than shortsightedly obliterated. I'm happy to be able to point out to my children the building where their grandfather and great-grandfathers both worked; I hope that the building will survive so they will be able to show it to their children and grandchildren.

Chris Schloss
Shade Creek Road
Shade