Saturday, August 29, 2009

The Saturday Scan

The photo today is from 1903

This is The Family House.

Though actually the family didn’t own it until 1942.

My maternal grandmother bought this house while my grandfather was off in the Pacific fighting the Japanese. Apparently it was an incredibly good deal & she wrote to ask him if they should spend their savings on it. But mail took weeks to travel to and from people in the military and my grandmother had to act without hearing from him.

It was a 4 square style home, cinderblock with siding. 5 rooms, one bathroom, and a crawl space under it. It was maybe about 800 sq feet.

When the war ended and my grandfather came home the first thing he did was elevate the house and dig out a full basement. Due the house layout he had to put in probably the steepest set of stairs I have ever encountered. My cousins and I, to this day, have never ventured down them without a parent shouting after us “Be careful those are steep!” And we say it to our own children every time as well.

The larger front porch was removed at this time and a smaller stoop with steps on the side replaced it.

My mother and uncle grew up in this house. My cousins and I spent many Sunday afternoons in it. There would be dinner – featuring ham, mashed potatoes, noodles and canned vegetable and then there would be Hee Haw and Lawrence Welk on TV. Sometimes we’d get to see Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom or the Wonderful World of Disney before we all dispersed to our various homes.

After my grandparents died, my own parents sold the home I grew up in and moved into this one. They were living half the year and more in Florida and a small house was perfect for them. Two years ago they reduced their time in Wheeling to 6 weeks and they passed the house on to my uncle who still lives there with my youngest cousin.

The house has been in the family for 67 years now.

2 comments:

Cousin Carol said...

It was a great place to spend our childhood. I miss Nan and Pap so much. Allison does not even remember Pap Pap. It makes me sad. It is so strange to be in the place without them there. I lived there for a time while I attended college it was great to be with Nan . She LOVED the Golden Girls! Remember the coo coo clock and Sandy the cat. I still remember how the house was when she was there. I hope she is smiling down on all of her Grandchildren and Great-grandchildren. I am sure they both are :O) Thanks for sharing.

Unknown said...

THAT'S awesome!