room-inating
Anytime you are dealing with a building originally constructed in the late 1800′s and still being used on a daily basis, there will inevitably be some room and space issues within it. That’s what has been going on recently at our main chapel on Church Avenue in downtown Roanoke. While the original portion was used as a Presbyterian manse for many years, we purchased it in the 1930′s and constructed a major addition in 1938. Together with the adjacent Oakey’s garage on Luck Avenue, I’m sure it seemed the facility offered plenty of space for our firm to operate for years to come.
Since then, we have completed numerous expansions to the building while attempting to stay true to the architectural integrity of the 1938 building. Still, it seems like our corporation is growing faster than our physical plant. There’s still plenty of room for the general public; our visitation rooms, lounges, foyers, and chapel offer ample area for families and friends to congregate. Where I sometimes get in a pinch is when I have to dole out precious square footage for new positions or in areas where our programs have outgrown their designated space.
We recently moved our Aftercare program to the first floor area that most recently housed the Oakey’s History Room. Aftercare had previously been in an area the size of a closet (in fact, it WAS a closet back in the seventies and eighties!) and needed more space. Since our historical collection was going unviewed by all but the most stalwart devotees of funeral history in our valley, this move seemed prudent. Shortly thereafter, Gerald Sink became manager of the downtown chapel and moved from his former office to a more spacious area, freeing up his old office for whatever we saw fit. Shazam! Two primo offices on our coveted second floor empty! This was unheard of, and many chops were being licked as staff envisioned what might become of this space.
Oakey’s is probably the last funeral home in the state that stills feels it is important to keep a night crew on premises after hours. We know death doesn’t cease at 5 or even 9 PM. Thus, we want to give families the same service they would receive if they suffered a loss at noon. That means no employees “on call” and no answering services. After 9:30 PM, we have two staff members (one is always a licensed director/embalmer) and a security specialist that stay on premises until a fresh crew arrives at 8 AM. For years, the two funeral workers have had to share a small bedroom on the second floor. While it was not a horrible situation, snoring and variable sleep patterns led me to turn Gerald’s old office into a second bedroom. That was a pretty big hit with the night crew, who often don’t get to sleep much anyway if they are busy.
One space filled, one to go. While I would have loved to place some old pieces from the History Room into the former Aftercare office, I also knew our funeral directors needed an area for retreating and doing their work. Whether it might be paperwork, e-mailing obituaries to a newspaper, or conversing on the telephone, our directors needed a space of their own. Problem solved, as we converted that space into a director workplace (that our Medical Examiner, Dr. Eddins, can use when he is here as well). The change has gone over quite well with our top notch team of funeral directors, who have to deal with an ever-increasing amount of paperwork each time they meet a family.
Alright, so everyone seems happy with how the empty spaces were filled. I still have no History Room, but am diligently searching for a nook or cranny where I can exhibit some of our company’s archives. I wonder how a fourth floor would look on our building?!
