Reader Averyl is a new owner of a mid-century home. She recently wrote to share how she had researched — then met – the home’s original owners. I asked her to tell us more… Read on for Averyl’s wonderful story.
She writes:
I’ve always dreamed of living in a mid-century ranch house like my grandmother’s where I spent many happy days as a young child, eating lunch at her chrome dinette set, admiring her figurines in her curio cabinet, watching “I Love Lucy” on her large TV with rabbit ears or looking out of her large multi-pane window onto the tree lined suburban street of Fort Lee, New Jersey in the late 1960’s.
Two months ago I bought my dream ranch house in Maine after years of looking. As soon as I walked inside the house I knew right away it would be my home. There had only been a few cosmetic updates and they were compatible with mid-century décor; no one tried to make the house look 2009. I looked outside the large multi-pane living room window and wondered about who had lived there before the seller from whom I would purchase the house. I knew she had been there fifteen years, but what about the original owners? There was an indescribably good energy to whole house. Almost like an episode of “The Twilight Zone” I felt transported back in time and I could almost see and hear “Leave it to Beaver” showing on a black and white television set as a mother cooked in the kitchen wearing an apron and her kids played in the front yard. I decided I wanted to look up the people who had lived there to see if I could tap into some of the history of the house and thank them for taking such good care of it.
After we moved in I called the town office where public records of ownership are maintained, and it turned out that the original owners lived in the house for over forty years! I really wanted to meet them, but I hesitated; what would they think? Would I sound like a nut? To some people a house is just that but to me it’s a home filled with history and stories. I figured, what did I have to lose other than a pretty daydream?
I looked them up and saw they were still living in my town. I introduced myself via email and invited them over to see their house (I didn’t call it “my” house). They were very receptive and offered to bring old photos- bonus!
When they arrived the following Saturday morning we walked around the grounds and they told us about the old neighborhood and people in it. Inside we walked from room to room, and I asked them what was original and what had been replaced. I heard many stories and they said my television is in the same spot where they had theirs and that they indeed watched the first runs of “Leave it to Beaver” and “I Love Lucy.”
The best part of the visit was when we all sat down at my chrome dinette set in the kitchen with the large stack of photo albums they had brought over. I saw pictures of my house being built, family pictures taken inside the house throughout the years, bridge games played in my living room and my favorite, Christmastime.
Although only 1,200 square feet they raised two children in the house, and judging from the excellent condition inside, they were very well behaved. We talked about the changes in ways people are able to finance homes now as compared to then and how a bigger house has somehow come to equate “better.” A smaller house is now usually perceived only as a starting point.
I explained: “I plan to live in this house a very long time, yet people often refer to it as a ‘starter home.’”
“This was our starter home for forty-two years,” the former Lady of the House replied.
I learned about some of the local business history and even saw a picture of the businessman whose name is on the thermometer outside my door. It seemed that back then everything was locally owned and you could shake hands (or even go bowling) with the person whose name was on the shop.
After a lovely two hour visit they needed to get going and they were kind enough to let me scan some of the photos. I plan to have them over for my Christmas party so they can see the house with my 1950’s Christmas decorations.
“We approve,” they said as they left. I do, too.
Copyright Averyl Hill, All Rights Reserved. www.averyl.com
Thank you, Averyl!
pam kueber says
Elaine, Michael, Sablemable – all great memories. This story is making me think a lot about another aspect of why our postwar houses are so wonderful: The fact that in many cases the original owners are still around and happy to share their memories with us. This is just not the case if you own a 1902 Victorian or 1920s Arts & Crafts bungalow…. With our homes, we have the good fortune to hear, first-hand, just how important these homes were to their original owners, and how much love went into them. I, too, have some good stories to tell about visits from (1) the original owners, who lived for a few short years in our 1951 colonial-ranch and (2) the longer term owners, who lived here something like 38 years. I was literally pretty much stalked by the latter til she finally connected with us and approved of what we were doing with her house. We keep in good touch now. It makes the house all the more special… to have that personal connection to the past.
Tera says
What is also cool is your house came with the exact same cabinets my grandmother has and you have her table! Her kitchen has been painted turquoise since the late 40’s. You have found heaven :> in my eyes.
Tera says
OMG! We had the same Grandmother’s house experience. I can totally relate and it seriously feels you were at my grandmother’s house, teehee. Loved this!
Kristin says
Love the house and the story!
We bought our house 11 months ago today in the same neighborhood my paternal grandparents’ bought their first home, four blocks away, almost to the lot. We assumed because it was an estate property that we bought from the three children of the deceased owners, the Brown’s, that we were buying from the original owners.
Well, imagine our surprise when gardening in the yard in late March, a little white car with Illinois tags whips into the driveway and a beautiful, tiny elderly woman with a German accent hops out with two middle aged women, one very tall with dark, long hair and the other shorter with blonde hair. They introduced themselves as the original family of the home! We were blown away. The elderly woman told us that she picked the design from a builder/developer’s guide and “it was one of the better homes available.” I thought that was cute. We think so too! She also reported the cost in 1954 was $11,200. Oh my lord.
The daughters and the mother came inside and proceeded to tell us what was original–the cabinets, all of the bathroom, the NuTone kitchen fan, the pocket door closets–and some things that were removed (a built in shelving unit in a pocket in the living room and an attached accordion door between the living room and the kitchen/dinette area). The woman told me she had planted the holly bush out front and I resolved to always keep it, though I hate holly. She also planted our massive oak in the backyard in the mid-50’s.
The next day, we found a nice card from the family in our mailbox thanking us for letting them return to their childhood home. Included in the envelope were two black & white 5×7 photos of the home while it was being built, from the front and back vantage points! It was insane! We discovered the original exterior was dark shingle and the entire landscape was as bare as the Mohave! It literally resembled a desert. My father and uncle confirmed this; the developers mowed down a forest that led all the way back to Nonconnah Creek, a tributary of the Mississippi River, for the neighborhood in the early 50’s.
Perhaps my favorite part of the story is when I was speaking to the daughters, I asked one if she knew my father and my uncle, his youngest brother. When I mentioned my uncle’s name as he is closer to her age, she could not place it at all. However, when I mentioned my father’s name, she remembered him. The capper of this tale is when I told my uncle about this visit, he was stunned and reported that the woman who didn’t remember him was a former love of his youth!!! He had been in the house often as a teenager and “analyzed the White Album in her bedroom”. I didn’t have the heart to tell him she didn’t recall him, but remembered his older brother instead!
pam kueber says
Kristin, what a wonderful story. Readers, you can see Kristin’s house in these two posts:
Gardens and patio furniture: https://retrorenovation.com/2009/07/03/20-images-from-kristins-midcentury-garden/
Our famous story about whether to remove the TV antenna: https://retrorenovation.com/2008/10/16/memphis-kristin-wants-to-remove-the-tv-antenna-from-her-1953-ranch-home-help/
sablemable says
I knew the original owners of my 1955 brick ranch, Tony and Ella LaMantia. Mr. LaMantia has passed on, but Mrs. LaMantia is now 102 years old and is living in a nursing home nearby. She is always telling her children that she wants to go home!
Our neighbor, Mr. Mammina, gave us a lot of historical info on the home as his uncle, Joe Sorce, was the one who had built it.
After the LaMantias sold their home, which must have been an emotional time for them, some changes had been made to the house by the other owners (ceramic tile floors in the bath and kitchen, a gas fireplace made of rock, new entry doors), but the bathroom fixtures are original and the kitchen cabinets/counter tops remained. I can’t remove the floor tiles, but I am changing the doors back to MCM and will have the rock fireplace resurfaced with something more MCM. All in all, the LaMantias kept their home in immaculate condition and I know they would be happy that we are moving into it!
Missouri Michael says
From what I have been told, my house was built by a lady known around our small town as “Granny Medlin.” It is a comfortable and surprisingly roomy 960 square foot house with 2 bedrooms and one bathroom, built in 1958 according to the county court house, or 1959 according to the dates on the bathroom fixtures. It was built by “Granny” to be a rental house, as apparently she owned several rental properties in town. It stayed in the same family, passed down from “Granny” to her son and daughter-in-law who kept it as a rental, and then after the son passed away and the daughter-in-law was no longer able to take care of the rental side, the granddaughter and her husband took over keeping it rented. Needless to say, when I purchased the house in 2006 it had never once been sold.
My thoughts are mixed on the idea of buying a house that has been a rental for nearly 50 years. They did a lot of maintenance to it to get it ready to sell, but as I have discovered living here it was mostly cover-up work, an now I am in the process of fixing all of their “fixes.” On the plus side, since it was a rental the house is pretty much all original. The original oak hardwood floors have been carpeted over, and as soon as that new carpet that was put in when they got it ready to sell is worn out, the original oak will be refinished. The kitchen cabinets are original and needing some refinishing, but all of the original hardware is there, making things easier. For some reason they put carpet in the kitchen before I moved in…not a choice I would have made. The main changes I have in mind will be restoring the kitchen, finishing up the bathroom restoration, and adding on to the garage. I would like a 2 car garage instead of the 1 car, and I need a utility room. The house was built to have a washing machine in the hall closet, but no dryer…except for the clothesline in the back yard. Over the years a dryer hook-up was installed in the garage, but it is a real annoyance to have to carry the laundry all the way across the house to put it in the dryer…thankfully “Granny” had the foresight to build the smallest house on my street on one of the largest lots…I have plenty of room to make this update.
One of the interesting things about living in a house that was a rental for so many years is the stories I get from the numerous people who have lived here, and I know many people who lived here. I guess most interesting to me is the fact that before the beige vinyl siding was added the house was painted pink with board-and-batten siding. It was referred to around the neighborhood as “the pink house.” I think if “Granny” could see the house today she would be pleased.
Annie B. says
Absolutely delightful story, Averyl. Congrats on being the new owner of a real charmer. And that aqua cracked ice dinette…oh, my! (What a fabulous backdrop for your Cathay plates.) Love that dizzy kitchen lino, too. Here’s to many years of mid mod happiness in a home with history!
Tut says
Love that thermometer. Hamilton-Beach shake mixer green.
Elaine says
I loved the story, how wonderful for them and for you, and all of us, too. I have a little story too.
Our house was owned by a builder who built this and several other houses in our neighborhood in the early 60s. Not too long after we moved in, he showed up unannounced with a daughter and a woman who turned out to be his new girlfriend. He wanted to show off his work. As they went through the house, they exclaimed over the original hand built vanity cabinets in two of the bathrooms. The daughter stood at the kitchen counter looking out the window and talked about growing up in the neighborhood as she imagined whipping up a cake on the Nutone in-counter food processor. The builder wanted to know why we had changed the kitchen, as he had hand built all those cabinets too. We didn’t change the kitchen, which came with a relatively conservative update after a kitchen fire in 1981. I really regret the loss of those hand built cabinets! He also wanted to know why we had carpeted the family room, which was that way when we bought it. He said we had a walnut stained oak floor under there, and they always had a big braided rug over it. My husband wanted to keep the carpet, but several years later, it was getting kind of ratty (very light color), so one day while he was at work, I started ripping it out. It is, indeed, a gorgeous floor and he likes it very much. The builder answered several of our questions about the house and his daughter talked about the neighborhood as it was when she lived there, so it was a rich visit.
maddy says
Hey, that’s very cool! Thanks for sharing your story.