Within the charred remains of the historic Hollow Tavern in Unity, a contractor has found two safes to add to the many relics he has recovered from old buildings.
Beneath a pile of bricks from an old retail building in Rochester, N.Y., Fred Haeflein once dug free a large combination-lock safe securing checkbooks and paperwork from the long-ago business.
That object was the first of the salvaged relics Haeflein has collected and stored at his home over the past quarter-century.
"My house and barn have become like museums," said Haeflein, 48, a principal of Victor, N.Y.-based Phoenix Builders & Contractors with expertise in selectively demolishing old buildings with historic value. "I think I've forgotten more than I remember about all the things I have."
Haeflein has claimed many rare and quirky prizes from the innumerable building projects he's completed, from several old-time tricycles to a 1950s-era fire truck to doors from a carnival truck adorned with the picture of a python wrapped around a lion.
One of the safes Haeflein found at the Hollow Tavern is a 100-year-old, 1,000-pound combo-lock model.
The Unity native is disassembling the iconic Lincoln Highway landmark with a master plan to rebuild it as it looked at the time of its 1939 construction.
"I think I'll find a place for the old safe in the new building," Haeflein said. "It's quite large. I had to move it with the excavator. It's hand-painted with gold lining and braided metal on the outside. It's a very ornamental safe."
Phoenix crews continued work Wednesday at the Hollow Tavern site as both safes sat in the sun-bathed parking lot.
Haeflein is refurbishing other items his crew has recovered since they began taking apart the fire-charred building in late June -- a popcorn machine, several sinks, brass lighting fixtures and a Corona metal beer cooler.
He plans to make use of other decorations that hung on the walls before the business closed in October, including a pair of antique skis, a Halloween witch-and-broom prop, golf clubs, a scale and various Lincoln Highway road signs.
Deeds, mortgage data and operating manuals from previous owners were found in a small safe in the rubble of the building that burned down in February. Haeflein may organize the documents and place them in a showcase for visitors once the building is restored.
Shirley McQuillis Iscrupe, consulting archivist for the Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor and Pennsylvania Room specialist at the Ligonier Valley Library, was enthusiastic about the treasures Haeflein has preserved from the building that police say was torched by an arsonist.
"That was a very sad thing to see that building look like that after it was burned," Iscrupe said. "The community will be happy to see a business there again, especially one with historic roots."
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