Mrs. Ellis had a barn

When most people look upon the property at 25711 E. Truman Road in Independence, they see an old barn with peeling paint and broken glass windows, overgrown weeds and knee-high grasses whipping in the wind.

Not Cheryl Ellis. When the local woman gazes upon the site, she envisions a pristinely-dressed bride gliding down an aisle through the middle of a restored barn situated in an open field, flowing with wild grass and native trees.

The Lee’s Summit woman and her husband, John, a physician specializing in ear, nose and throat medicine, are in the process of purchasing the dilapidated structure, and its accompanying 1929-era farm house and detached garage. They plan to create an Eastern Jackson County events center, suitable for weddings, showers, hayrides and corporate events.

Never mind that vandals have taken baseball bats to the house’s interior, gashing holes in the flower-papered walls. Or that teenagers have used the site as a “party house,” leaving broken beer bottles in their wake. Or that stolen cars have been found on the property, once even torched there.

Since the couple first conceived the idea of purchasing the property and renovating, they have had plenty of chances to become discouraged. But, no disappointments have caused them to consider abandoning their dream.

Cheryl wasn’t even deterred when she visited the property one night to find a man sitting in a parked car inside the garage. Cheryl made a quick call to 911, where, upon running the car’s license plate, the dispatcher told her to quickly leave the area because the car was stolen. Before she could drive far, the driver peeled out, making a quick get-away to nearby Truman Road, leaving Cheryl sitting in her car in the dust.

The latest hurdle was big and firey. Lightning struck the old barn during a storm late last week. About a half-dozen different firetrucks and pumpers responded to fight the resulting blaze, which destroyed the barn’s old tin roof.

The Ellises already had contacted nearby neighbors, asking them to call if they witnessed any teens on the property. Instead, the neighbors used the contact information to tell them about the fire.

“We saw the flames,” Cheryl remembered. “You could tell the roof was pretty much gone.”

In discussions with firefighters at the scene, firefighters said how the fire could have had a much more devastating result.

“They said we were lucky it didn’t take the whole thing down,” she said.

Instead of seeing the set-backs as obstacles, Cheryl views them as challenges to be overcome.

“It’ll make it all the more special when it’s all said and done,” she said.

She plans to replace the roof with that of another old barn. That method will maintain the barn’s authenticity, as opposed to re-constructing the roof, Cheryl said. The builder the Ellises plan to use for their renovation knows Amish workers who have restored old barns and can replace the roof using old-fashioned methods.

The Ellises first dreamed up the idea of having a place to hold weddings when one of her sons, who plans to marry in February, 2009, couldn’t find a suitable location for a wedding reception. He turned to his mother for help finding a location. Spots for such a crowd are few, and existing sites are pricey, they learned. Cheryl visited several area locations in search of a suitable site before she happened across the old barn.

Although the area still stands in its dilapidated state, and the couple has yet to sign final papers sealing the purchase, they’ve already renamed the area “White Barn at Ellis Farm.” The couple passed a hurdle last week when the Independence Planning and Zoning Commission voted to rezone the property from residential to commercial, a requirement for operating a business out of the old structures. The vote also cleared the way for the annexation of some of the property from Jackson County to Independence.

The vote brought tears to Cheryl’s eyes.

“Now we’ve pretty much gotten through all the hurdles,” Cheryl said during a recent trip to the site.

Cheryl spends her weekends researching old barns and how their owners have given them new lives as homes, bread and breakfasts, meeting and party centers. Although they hope to reinvent the old structures, they plan to do so in a limited way.

“I do want to maintain a rather rural, rustic look,” she said. “But I want it to be unexpected – with what people see when they walk in.”

Although restoring the old buildings on the property won’t be easy, the couple expects the restoration to move quickly once started, perhaps taking about five months to complete.

“We’re going to gut it right down to the studs, but keep the original flavor of the old farmhouse,” John Ellis said of the project.

Cheryl’s vision for the property is clear, right down to the natural arch in nearby trees that will make a perfect setting for outdoor weddings.

John said he’s learned to trust that vision.

“She picks up on trends earlier than I,” he said. “I think she’s going to work some magic in that old barn.”