BARRY’S BAY – An iconic landmark is no more following its demolition on October 10.
The Bayview gas station came crumbling down that day after gasoline-contaminated soil was detected at the building’s foundation. The Township of Madawaska Valley owns the property.
Hilary Kutchkoskie, operations manager for the township, said more testing will be done to determine if there is still contaminated soil on the property. All of the impacted material has been shipped to the Bark Lake waste disposal site.
As the building was being torn down, previous owner Anna Mary Etmanskie ventured to the demolition site to see the action for herself. According to Etmanskie, she didn’t know it was happening until someone told her.
Although there is a lot of history in those walls, Etmanskie didn’t seem too sad to see the building go.
“It’s part of life,” she said. “Life goes on.”
The building was constructed on Etmanskie’s grandparent’s property. She got involved in the family business in 1954, when she was only 21 years old.
Over the course of 57 years, she would trek into work every day, seven days a week, and 364 days a year. In addition to offering gas, the business served snack foods into the wee hours of the morning, serving the partiers coming from down the road.
Read more in the October 16, 2013 issue of The Valley Gazette.