ONE ON ONE | Jack Rees Splitting time between two careers pays off nicely

How did you start your career as a photojournalist?
I took photojournalism at the Art Center College of Design. I went out there to school. I lived in Hollywood. I had served in the Army in Italy during World War II, and when I got out, I went to Ohio State in 1946. I was an art major. After some time, they thought I ought to take up something else. Photography isn't so far removed from fine arts so I decided to do that. I ended up leaving Ohio State. They suggested I attend the New York Institute of Photography. I graduated from there, and they told me about this great school in L.A.
Did you pick up photography quickly?
Yeah, when I went to California, I took photojournalism. I've got catalogs of pictures I took. After I graduated from school, I went to New York to work for Black Star Publishing Co. Black Star sold pictures to different magazines. They sent me to Denver, Colo. I went there to cover the Rocky Mountain area. I took pictures for a lot of news stories. I did work for Cosmopolitan, Reader's Digest, so many magazines. I also took pictures for print ads. They paid really well. They sent me all over for about three years. It was great living in the mountains. I covered the western part of the country for Black Star. I took some celebrity photos; not too many. Many times, I'd use my friends and family as photo subjects. One picture I took ended up on the front of a Hallmark card.
Why did you give it up?
I was in Denver for three years. My mother and dad were living in Girard, and they were getting old. So I came back to look after them, and be handy to them. When I came back home in the 1960s, I was shooting some portraits, shooting some weddings, and doing some work for Black Star on a freelance basis.
I would go back and forth to New York City for them to shoot pictures. Then one day, I drove past a barn on Turner Road [in Austintown in 1966] and there was a for-sale sign on it. I bought this barn to put a studio in it so I could bring groups out here to take pictures. When I first bought the barn, it was in good shape, but it needed a new roof and floors. It was used at the time as a cattle barn. The owner gave me a real good price on it. It was really cheap; probably $1,000. I fixed it up and used it as a photo studio for a while.
How did it become an antique store?
I had also been collecting antiques at the time. Antiques were my hobby. I spent a lot of money on antique furniture. I was doing real good with it, buying and selling them. I came across a lot of good buys. After a while, people would come in here looking for antiques and less and less were coming in to get their picture taken so I opened an antique store. I actually lived in the upstairs portion of the barn when I first got married, and had the antiques on the first floor.
Is antiquing still a hobby for you?
I'm not active in it really. I just told my wife that I've got to get back into it.
Tell me about your home.
A friend of mine, Lamar Jacobs, told me about an old house on New Buffalo Road [in 1975]. I went down and looked at this old house, it was a beautiful New England-style home. I called the man who owned it. I think I paid $200 for the house. The man didn't want the house there. I made him an offer.
How did you get the house moved?
My grandmother had this secret: "What good are friends if you can't use them?" They helped me. I borrowed a truck from a nearby lumber yard. I took the house down piece by piece and move it to Turner Road, where I own six acres. It took only a couple of weeks to put it up. That's where my friends and relatives came in handy. It was a wonderful experience. The move and rebuilding was covered in the newspaper.
Besides your home, you've got another building near your home that came from an old home near Geneva-on-the-Lake. At your business, you have a few smaller buildings that were built with materials from old homes. How did you develop an interest in tearing things down and building them back up in different locations?
I think I'm tight. [laughs] Growing up in Girard, there were woods around us with a bunch of trees. We built a shack up in a tree, and I loved it. It was pretty high. I put a floor in it, and I guess I didn't do it too well because one day I went right through it and down to the ground. But I've always enjoyed working with my hands. I would see an old building and have an idea what I wanted to do with it. It's been something I really enjoy doing. I always have a project I'm working on.