Crowdsourcing cleaning: Owners of Holman Homestead to host 'cleaning party'

The owners of the Holman Homestead in Summerside are inviting people in for a sneak peek of the soon-to-be ice cream parlour and inn, in exchange for a helping hand.

• Holman Homestead gets new lease on life

"We're just hoping that people can come by, and we'll get a few people to a room, depending how many people we get there to dust and to clean up, and to get things all tidied and ready," said Ken Meister.

Ken Meister and his wife Jenny bought the P.E.I. historic property in January, saving it from demolition. The couple also owns the Summerside Inn Bed and Breakfast.

The Meisters have been doing most of the renovations themselves, but with the work falling behind schedule, Meister said they can use any help they can get. They have an inspection to prepare for on Monday.

Calling on offers to help

To help prepare, they are hosting a cleaning party Friday, and a gardening party on Saturday. People can check out the nearly-complete renovations while also helping out.

Meister said in the last few months he's had many offers from friends, neighbours, and members of the Summerside and Area Historical Society to help out with the renovation work. Now they are taking people up on those offers.

"A lot of the time it's difficult to have people stop by and work, because we have occupational safety issues that we're concerned about," he said.

Now that they're down to cleaning and gardening, Meister is glad to be able to involve more people.

He hopes the once the ice cream parlour and inn are open, it will be a community gathering space. They plan to include historical artifacts and information about the Holman family and the house on display once they open up shop.

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