It is time to catch up an a variety of topics including the latest projects and other goings-on.
Project work included the installation of Pam’s wall mural mentioned in my last post. With the addition of a few more pieces of wall art and some incidental furniture (future antique shop trips?), the parlor bedroom remodel is finished. It has been a long road to get it done.
Melody/”Melly,” our youngest cat, has found that the cut-out figures Pam added to the borders in the parlor bedroom are fun to play with. At least one or two are on the floor every morning. I guess Melly needs the challenge.
Another activity included a return trip from the HVAC guys. They checked the level of refrigerant in the new central air system and fixed a water leak that had been uncovered during the AC project. A corroded pipe had developed a small drip that was affecting one of the heating ducts. The old pipe was pulled out and new plastic pipe was installed. Oh the joys of living in an old house.
A recent shopping trip saw us coming home with another pair of rhubarb plants. These have been added to the original we received a few weeks ago. The new pair appear to be a different variety than the first so it will be interesting to see how the mix works out for the pies Pam is planning to make over the winter months.
Sunflower and morning glory seeds, planted a few weeks ago, have germinated. Watermelon seeds have also started to germinate but the pumpkin seeds Pam planted have not sprouted. She bought a new packet of seeds and has re-planted pumpkins, hoping for pumpkins by this fall.
Cruising around the rest of the yard is a voyage of discovery. Previous owners of the property had planted various plant species over the years and we don’t recognize many of them. Our plan is to let everything bloom, try to identify what each is, and then decide if the plants should be relocated or left as is.
For example, this week we discovered a fern plant in the front flower bed. Pam loves ferns so we were pleased to see this one beginning to unfurl. A large plant – likely a peony – has begun to develop flower buds. A shrub near the sidewalk intersection has very small buds beginning to appear; we don’t have a clue yet as to what it will look like when fully flowered out.
Three plants look like a type of lily, and there may be just a pair of iris stalks beginning to raise out of a day lily bed. An allium (we think) is beginning to bloom in the east flower bed. We have never had any allium in any place we have lived before. The grape hyacinth plants have been dug up and I learned they are a bulb plant. These will go into the east flower bed this fall (joining the tulips).
Pam is already beginning to develop ideas for fall planting. Next year we would like daisies, for example, and possibly some hollyhocks. Another tree or two could be planted to good advantage. Pam is trying to nurse some blue flax, brought from Colorado during our move, and see if they could be added to one of the beds – if they make it.
We really need to get some painting and porch rail repairs underway. While painting the entire house will have to wait for a while, we hope to get going on the front, east, and south porches in the next few weeks.
Here is how the house looked as of Sunday, May 24th:
My slide scanning project continues, as it will for the next several months or more. I have created a new Gallery titled “Family Album” to showcase these scans. Right now it is a pretty basic collection and I need to add more detail, such as dates and places, to the captions. If you view this album, check back from time to time as there will be quite a few additions and changes as I go along. (You can also view the new collection from my Galleries page.)
That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!
Pam’s Two Cents
As it is Memorial Day weekend, this might be the appropriate time to discuss what I’ve discovered about previous (early) owners of 702 Main Street in Elma, IA. One past resident was a WW II vet.
According to the Howard County Abstract Office, Edward D. Kelly purchased our property in 1894, and the first tax year recorded with a residence ($1,500 mortgage) was 1895. Mr. Kelly sold the property to Hannah Tierney in 1903; Hannah owned the house until 1940.
Hannah has an interesting story, what I know of it. Hannah and her husband Denis lived outside of Elma initially, on a farm, with their two daughters Gertrude and Evelyn. Hannah purchased 702 Main Street in 1903 for $2,500. Denis died (unknown cause) in 1904. It’s not clear why Hannah is listed in county records as purchaser of 702 Main in 1903, rather than Denis; that part of the story is currently missing. Both daughters attended college in Dubuque. Evelyn became a teacher and led an interesting life away from Elma (first Idaho, then east coast).
Gertrude married local dentist Frederick Stute in 1907, and Fred moved into 702 Main with his new bride. Fred lived with Gert and his mother-in-law and the two raised their family, in Hannah’s home, until Hannah died in 1940. The home then passed to the daughters equally; Gertrude bought out Evelyn and kept the home titled in her name thereafter. Fred died in 1949; Gert lived at 702 Main until the home was sold in 1970 (Gert had been moved to the Kahl Home for the Aged in Davenport).
From the 100-year history book of the Town of Elma, I learned that Fred and Gert had four children, three of whom survived into childhood: Frederick Wallace (the WW II vet), Lorraine, and Francis. These are the kiddos who grew up at 702 Main Street. F. Wallace and Lorraine are buried in the Calvary (Catholic) cemetery in Elma, near their parents and grandparents. (Francis became a research chemist for Kimberly Clark and lived in Neenah, WI [where I’m guessing he is likely buried].)
Elma locals still refer to 702 Main Street as the Stute house, and the assumption around town is that Fred owned the house. The 100-year Town of Elma history book mistakenly reports Fred Stute purchased the home upon the death of his mother-in-law, when in fact it was titled to his wife all along. I would think female home ownership from 1903-1970, transferred from mother to daughter, was somewhat unusual.
The house has stories – I imagine moving in with one’s mother-in-law and raising kids in a multigenerational home had some “interesting” moments. I sure wish a journal had been written to record some of the activities from 1903-1970. Particularly what the house looked like originally and some record of home renovations over the years – wouldn’t that be nice?
Kiddo F. Wallace, the WW II vet, is remembered this Memorial Day at Elma’s Calvary Cemetery.
Happy Trails.