‘Getting to meet him was like a dream come true’: Replica made of Bret Hart’s childhood home

Penny Tetz built a miniature version of the famed Hart mansion where Bret Hart and his siblings grew up.

Penny Tetz made a replica model of the home Bret Hart grew up in.

“I have been a fan of Bret since he first entered the ring,” Tetz said.

Tetz was first contacted by a member of the famed Hart family after seeing work she had done on her YouTube channel of other miniatures.

“She emailed me to ask if I might be interested in collaborating with her to build her grandparents’ house,” Tetz said.

“When I realized who her grandparents were, it was a pretty easy yes for me.”

Bret Hart has seen the miniature, which brought back memories.

“They’re all good memories. That’s the one thing about the Hart House is that it was a house of love for so many people that were there, like even the wrestlers who visited,” said Bret Hart.

The 1:24 scale model is commissioned by the Hart family.

The project took seven months to build with at least 750 hours going into it.

The miniature design features 20 rooms.

“The original house has 22; I had to take out a few so you would be able to see in behind it,” Tetz said.

“We heard the stories about the Dungeon and Terrible Ted, the bear that used to live under the stairs. I was just instantly drawn to that project.”

Tetz says Terrible Ted was a wresting bear that came through Calgary for about three months in the summer.

“One of those novelty acts in Stampede Wresting,” she said.

The replica was built in four stories and includes the Dungeon, where the family members used to train.

Hart was very impressed with the end result.

“You see there is a lot of H(e)art in it. There’s a lot of details,” he said. “It’s a beautiful structure.”

Wresting has always been in Tetz’s family’s blood, and she got to meet Hart for the first time after completing the replica.

“Getting to meet him was like a dream come true. It was always a bucket list (item) for me,” she said.

“But he was, I think, really taken with the house, which was always my whole goal—to give them a house they could be proud of.”

The replica will be turned over to members of the Hart family, who will put their own touch on the interior of the home.