BLANCHARDVILLE - The Saether name has been a staple of the Blanchardville community since 1879 when Paul Saether's great-great-grandfather emigrated from Norway and began working as an undertaker for the area.
Five generations later, 50-year-old Saether has a family of his own: wife Julie and two children, one just beginning college at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and the other a sophomore at Pecatonica High School.
Saether operates a well-established funeral home within the town. The family name had also been displayed on a furniture storefront, but the business closed in 1998 when his mother retired from interior design work. The space became a mish-mash of rental businesses, including a natural foods store, a virtual shooting gallery for a local whitetail hunting enthusiast and even a veterinarian office for nearly a decade.
Dr. Gary Chapin decided to downsize, and Saether said the timing could not have been more suitable for him to begin a new endeavor.
"We were both really relieved when we discovered we were both planning on parting ways," Saether said. "It worked out really well."
Now the building, renovated and restored, reads "Blanchard Hall" with a historic-looking front to match the ornate tin ceiling.
"My main goal was to create an event center where we could have funerals, weddings, anniversary parties, any kind of event like that," Saether said. "And it would be used by the Saether Funeral Home. ... The American Legion Post, is available for rentals, but I was never trying to compete with that. This is just a different space."
Work began in December of 2015, "over winter break," Saether noted. At least 20 local contractors worked to style the craftsman-like interior. And a number of personal touches were added as well, from the drapes his great-grandmother Pearl purchased during a trip to Marshall Fields in Milwaukee to benches made by Northwoods Casket Company of Beaver Dam. It was notable to Saether that the casket company creates furniture because it had been his own family's endeavor over more than five decades.
Pillars that had not stood for decades in Saether Funeral Home were taken out of storage and restored. They now stand as part of the alcove, a focal piece of Blanchard Hall. Chrome metal pieces set above two open doors at the front of the hall were once part of horse-drawn hearses.
The space, which Saether said comfortably seats 180 people, serves partially as an extension of the family funeral home. Saether said the "stately home" just across the river had been seeing fewer services and noted it may have been because of its size. He said the location had roughly five visitations per year.
"The community, I think, felt it was too small," Saether said. "Because of that, because of my desire to figure out a good use for the real estate we owned, I came up with the idea for using this as an event center that the funeral home would use on occasion for visitations and funerals."
Now the home is part of the three-section business. The main hall, rich in dark wood, has bright sunlight streaming in from the front windows and a new fireplace; the Pecatonica Room holds tables throughout the space and a fully-functional kitchen; and the Saether Room, outlined in green, serves as a funeral space.
The changes to an old building were noticed by residents. Corrugated steel installed in the 1960s was removed, the canopy cut and the facade brightened to a replica of its original.
Focused on local support, Saether said a priority in operating the hall and possibly seeing it grow over the next decade will be bolstering other businesses within Blanchardville. Bringing in people from out of town to use the space, he said, should support his neighbors and friends.
"I really have a motivation to try to market this space and try to generate business," Saether said. "I really hope the businesses on Main Street will benefit from it. People seem to really appreciate it and everyone seems happy with what we've done."
Five generations later, 50-year-old Saether has a family of his own: wife Julie and two children, one just beginning college at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and the other a sophomore at Pecatonica High School.
Saether operates a well-established funeral home within the town. The family name had also been displayed on a furniture storefront, but the business closed in 1998 when his mother retired from interior design work. The space became a mish-mash of rental businesses, including a natural foods store, a virtual shooting gallery for a local whitetail hunting enthusiast and even a veterinarian office for nearly a decade.
Dr. Gary Chapin decided to downsize, and Saether said the timing could not have been more suitable for him to begin a new endeavor.
"We were both really relieved when we discovered we were both planning on parting ways," Saether said. "It worked out really well."
Now the building, renovated and restored, reads "Blanchard Hall" with a historic-looking front to match the ornate tin ceiling.
"My main goal was to create an event center where we could have funerals, weddings, anniversary parties, any kind of event like that," Saether said. "And it would be used by the Saether Funeral Home. ... The American Legion Post, is available for rentals, but I was never trying to compete with that. This is just a different space."
Work began in December of 2015, "over winter break," Saether noted. At least 20 local contractors worked to style the craftsman-like interior. And a number of personal touches were added as well, from the drapes his great-grandmother Pearl purchased during a trip to Marshall Fields in Milwaukee to benches made by Northwoods Casket Company of Beaver Dam. It was notable to Saether that the casket company creates furniture because it had been his own family's endeavor over more than five decades.
Pillars that had not stood for decades in Saether Funeral Home were taken out of storage and restored. They now stand as part of the alcove, a focal piece of Blanchard Hall. Chrome metal pieces set above two open doors at the front of the hall were once part of horse-drawn hearses.
The space, which Saether said comfortably seats 180 people, serves partially as an extension of the family funeral home. Saether said the "stately home" just across the river had been seeing fewer services and noted it may have been because of its size. He said the location had roughly five visitations per year.
"The community, I think, felt it was too small," Saether said. "Because of that, because of my desire to figure out a good use for the real estate we owned, I came up with the idea for using this as an event center that the funeral home would use on occasion for visitations and funerals."
Now the home is part of the three-section business. The main hall, rich in dark wood, has bright sunlight streaming in from the front windows and a new fireplace; the Pecatonica Room holds tables throughout the space and a fully-functional kitchen; and the Saether Room, outlined in green, serves as a funeral space.
The changes to an old building were noticed by residents. Corrugated steel installed in the 1960s was removed, the canopy cut and the facade brightened to a replica of its original.
Focused on local support, Saether said a priority in operating the hall and possibly seeing it grow over the next decade will be bolstering other businesses within Blanchardville. Bringing in people from out of town to use the space, he said, should support his neighbors and friends.
"I really have a motivation to try to market this space and try to generate business," Saether said. "I really hope the businesses on Main Street will benefit from it. People seem to really appreciate it and everyone seems happy with what we've done."