Repurposing, Selling a Piece of Lakewood's History

Looking to hold a memory from the ?

For $22, you could also open a beer with it. 

Last year, Reclaimed Cleveland — a company specializing in repurposing wood from historic structures — salvaged materials from the demolition sites of the St. Paul Lutheran Church as well as the building that housed the .

The property is now the site of . 

Some of the salvaged wood can be found in items for sale at on Detroit Avenue.

They include bottle openers made from the wood of the church’s floor joists and mirrors made from the wood in the . 

Each item is stamped with a marker of where the lumber came from. 

Aaron Gogolin, who attended the school at the church nearly 30 years ago, has made a successful career out of repurposing wood from demolished structures.

“I grew up on Westwood, so it was sad knowing the church and the school were not going to be there,” he said. “I am happy to see that the congregation was able to sell the property. But it’s sad to see part of my childhood gone.”

Donna Witmer, the co-owner of Green Smart Gifts, said that in order for items to be sold at her store, they need to be locally made, organic, non-toxic, fairly traded, recycled or a tool of change.

“Aaron’s stuff fits every category,” she said. “This is good for the giver, good for the receiver and good for everyone.”

Gogolin, who started out his career building new homes, said there’s too much waste in new development.

His company typically builds chairs and tables out of repurposed lumber, but he says this project was special.

“We’re trying to save some of this lumber that otherwise would just thrown into a landfill,” he said.