Meet the folks from England who bought the mill

When Hilary Oreschnick and her family returned home from a holiday and told friends they had just bought an old mill and museum in America and were emigrating, they thought she was joking.

But Hilary is not the type of woman to joke on such matters and within a few months the deal was signed and sealed and the seeds were sown for a new way of life for Hilary, her husband Bob and her two girls Rose,10 and Emily, seven. What makes the story even more remarkable is that they never intended to house hunt while they were out at the 40th anniversary of an old school friend of Bob's, who is originally from Connecticut.

"Whenever I go abroad I tend to go into estate agents and pick up details, just to get an idea of what things cost," explains Hilary, 44.

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"I picked up a bundle while we were visiting Bob's friend in New England and then we were driving down to Connecticut about three hours away."

It was only later that Hilary got time to look at the details she had gathered from the real estate firm.

"I showed this one to Bob and said, 'My brother would love this'. Bob said, 'Never mind about your brother, why don't we go and see it?'"

So they hopped back in the car and drove back up to

New England.

"I wasn't looking to move to the United States. We have a lovely house in Yorkshire and the children are really settled at school. But we

are believers in taking risks in life.

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"We took one look at the place and fell in love with it. It looked like the most wonderful house with a lake out front and huge trout lake out the back. It was in a great location close to Lake George and I could see that it had the most amazing potential.

"I am a great believer in serendipity and I truly believe this is our destiny."

What the Oreschnicks found was an old Grist Mill with 117.5 acres including 14 barns, lakes and a museum – and all for the equivalent of 240,000.

"You couldn't buy a semi-detached house for that price near us."

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The property belonged to an eccentric 92-year-old former woodwork teacher who was a larger than life figure in the small community of East Hartford.

The owner, the late Floyd Harwood, had built up a collection of artefacts dating back to the time the mill and farmhouse were built in the 1800s.

"We had never seen such a collection of stuff. If there was one log burning stove, there were five of them. There were endless old woodworking tools and a library of 10,000 books."

One of the first jobs has been to sort through all the items and work out which ones to sell and which ones to keep for when Hilary reopens the museum.

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"We want to get the Grist Mill and the waterwheel working again and I want to reopen the museum focusing on house keeping over

the ages."

Hilary also plans to open a Bettys-style tearoom on the lakeside and possibly make the property available for weddings. "It will be very English with staff dressed in black and white, but there will also be some American offerings," she said. But the Oreschnicks are very much aware of the importance of the property in the local community.

"Floyd and his wife were so well known in the area. They were a real focus of the community and we really want to replicate that in someway. Bob and I have both worked with youth groups and we really want this place to be central to the community once again. It needs something for the young people to encourage them to stay."

The family have already become something of celebrities having been featured in the local newspaper and are recognised wherever they go.

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"It does take a bit of getting used to, but we really want to be part of the community. The girls are looking forward to going to school here, which is fantastic," says Hilary, who has a background in marketing and events, and is secretary at Bootham School.

Bob, 64, told the Halstead Chronicle: "We want this to be a holiday destination for families and groups to visit whether it is for walking, fishing, ski-mobiling, or a look around the museum and the Grist Mill. In particular, we as a family really are inclusive people and we want to be a vital and dynamic part of the local community."

He said he was drawn to the property's "location, unique character, the values of the local community,the mountains, the pond, the mill, everything".

Mr Oreschnick, a businessman with expertise in the health service, has six children from a previous marriage and his wife Hilary has two.

The children range in age from seven to 39.

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"Therefore, we are looking for a place where we have room for family to visit and can adopt a more rural lifestyle based upon basic Christian and friendly values. We want the best for our kids and families," he told the newspaper.

His youngest daughter is studying literature at university and is helping to redevelop the library and catalogue the books.

Bob and Hilary met on the internet and two years ago were married.

Hilary believes it is all part of their destiny.

"Bob wants to retire out here – although I'm not sure he will ever retire, he's not that sort of person.

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"He's a workaholic. That's how we met really. Neither of us had to time to go out and meet new people. We arranged to meet in York and then really hit it off and got married two years ago.

"We are both quite strong people with our own ideas. We have never worked together before but I am sure it will be fine so long as we stick to our own projects."

The Oreschnicks are spending the summer at their new property painting the barns and making the house habitable for their eventual move next year when Rose is due to start secondary school.

While excited about making their dream a reality, Hilary is also aware it will take a lot of time and money, They are selling some of Mr Harwood's collection to help fund the redevelopment and Hilary is trying to sell her cottage in North Driffield (www.vebra.com/property/

21965/20055079) before they eventually put the family home up for sale next year.

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