Thursday, August 09, 2007

A NEW HOUSE

I have been a bad blogger. I can't keep up with the posting and the reading of other blogs. I want to, I just seem to be swamped. So if I haven't visited you for a while, it is not from lack of interest, it is lack of time. That and the heat. Our AC went out in this zone of the house, the zone where I sew and where my computer is. It is 100 degrees outside and about 90 degrees in here. I took my sewing machine upstairs to the dining room. We have coolness up there! I have been getting some sewing done, so I am pleased about that! OK, OK, pictures to come!


This is what a starter home looked like in 1950.
I posted this picture on my Dad's blog to go along with a story he was telling. It is a snapshot of our first house in a suburb of Buffalo, New York. I grew up in this house. NOBODY had air conditioning back then!

When I was 4 years old, back in 1950, my family moved from a one bedroom apartment to this newly constructed house in a newly constructed neighborhood. America was rebounding after WWII and my Dad got a GI loan to buy a new house. The house had two small bedrooms on the main floor, along with a bathroom, kitchen, and living room. There was a full basement with a washing machine. Mom hung all our clothes outside on a clothesline. The second floor was unfinished. My Dad finished the upstairs and made two big bedrooms with a small bathroom in the center. He had to raise the roof in the back of the house to do that. He also added a garage on the side, and a vestibule on the front. This was done over several years. My Mom always had ideas and my Dad fulfilled her every dream. She had him knock a hole in the wall between the kitchen and the living room so there was a big window pass-through. Then bar stools were added to the LR side. This really helped open up those two small rooms. See where the front door is in the photo? Mom had Dad knock a hole in the wall next to that door that went into the bedroom. That gave two entries into the room that became the dining room. Our little house changed dramatically over the years.

My Mom was quite a gardener. She and my Dad created a wonderful yard for us to play in. The picture is of my sister and me playing dolls. I was quite a tom boy, so this didn't happen too often. I would have rather been playing baseball in the street with the boys. I would like the photo better if we were sitting on a quilt, but I am pretty sure that it was an army blanket. Everyone had spare army blankets in those days. Sturdy wool things they were too.
That little willow tree started out as a branch from a tree in my grandmother's yard. It grew to be enormous. I went back there to visit a few years ago and one of our neighbors still lived in the house next door. He was cursing that tree for all the branches it lost in every rain storm. We loved it though, as kids. We could climb it and hide in the low hanging branches. Back in those days, when it was hot, people spent as much time outside as they could. Inside was not cooler. Dad put in a patio and got a grill and he cooked outside almost every night. (I wonder if he remembers it that way?) My Dad made the best hamburgers!

8 comments:

Judy said...

Marcie, we lived in a tiny house until the 5th grade and all we had was a window unit in the kitchen because it was too hot to cook in and mom needs to be happy! It kept the den cool but I wonder how we slept? When we ran out of room my Dad and his friend closed in the garage and made a room for my brothers and we had a tiny "garage" in the back for the washer/dryer. 6 kids in a 3 bedroom house!

Kim said...

Last week at my Jo's Little Women Club meeting, we were talking about keeping journals to write our life stories and memories in. I told the group that I had a blog, and that's what I did, to some extent. Then we talked about journals that had been passed down by parents and grandparents, and I told them about your dad's blog--I saw a couple people write down the name of his blog. I love hearing these stories about "the old days"--I think they touch many of us and recall our own memories! Thanks for sharing!

Gypsy Quilter said...

Good morning Marcie,

Sure hope your AC is fixed soon and you can enjoy your own space again. I still own one of those wool blankets. I think we used it to make tents with the couch cushions.

Mrs. Goodneedle said...

Love this post, it brought back so many wonderful memories of my own childhood and our ever-changing starter home (without a/c), too! Thanks.

Libby said...

What great memories of your growing up years . . . reminds me of picnics on old wool blankets with the best potato salad and yummy sandwiches *s*

Quilts And Pieces said...

What wonderful memories and story! We had 2 willow trees like that in our yard growing up and oh I remember having to pick up all those branches that fell off all hte time before we cut grass!

Susan said...

At my grandmother's house, in El Paso, we would wrap up in wet sheets and sleep on the porch! What lovely memories you have.

QuiltingFitzy said...

Funny tidbit...

I read your Dad's blog really early this morning. I didn't get to yours until late this afternoon. I saw that picture of the house and thought, "OMG, someone stole his picture!"

D'OH!