NEWMARKET -- A piece of Dover history with special importance to a local family received a surprise unveiling at a family reunion Sunday.

The 100-year-old front door of 1 Main St. in Dover could have been lost forever if not for the quick thinking last fall of 79-year-old Priscilla Schanda, of Grant Road in Newmarket. The building was being torn down and Schanda hoped to save a piece of it due its significance to her family.

"They said if I wanted the door I could have it," she said, adding her neighbor, George "Winn" Hilton helped her pick up the door before it was to be destroyed.

Schanda -- whose maiden name is Carabelas -- said her father Dionysios and mother Stella started their family in that building. Each of them was originally from Greece, but did not know each other until they each moved to America and happened to settle in Dover, she said.

Dionysios worked in a grocery store at 1 Main St., which is how he met Stella. Schanda explained that Stella would come over from the mills to get lunch and Dionysios would slip small treats into her bag.

The pair fell in love, got married in 1913 and moved into an apartment above the store. They went on to have 14 children together, Schanda said.

The last remaining children were all present at the family reunion at Schanda’s Newmarket residence. Alongside Schanda were her older sisters, Fula Pouliopoulos, 85, of Kittery, Maine and Nikki Vatistas, 86, of Madbury.

Schanda had a surprise for them and the rest of her family: she started the reunion with an unveiling of the wooden door, which she had decorated with flowers, American and Greek flags and old photographs of her parents and family. Those in attendance knew Schanda had planned something, but no one was sure exactly what they would see.

"I think it’s great. She did a good job," said Pouliopoulos. "It brings back a lot of memories."

Her daughter, Christina Pouliopoulos, was touched by the demonstration of family values, and enjoyed searching out a photo of herself among all her cousins and family members when they were younger.

"My aunt said she had this project ... I’m just really surprised. I didn’t know all of the details," she said. "It’s very, very moving."

The display even moved some younger family members at the reunion. Fourteen-year-old Dionysios Vatistas -- named after his great-grandfather -- said, "it’s a great thing to have."

"It’s pretty cool they got the door to the house of their parents," he said. "It does make me realize this is a nice family. Most people aren’t that lucky."

Nikki Vatistas explained the family has had reunions this time of year annually because her father had a series of accidents while working on Aug. 15 and deemed the day was cursed. Since then, they have always gathered for a day with family on or around Aug. 15, she said.

"Our family grew up all together, all the time," she said.