Friday, July 29, 2011

Oklahoma Road Trip, Part 3


Oklahoma Road Trip, Part 1 here

Oklahoma Road Trip, Part 2 here

Thanks to some genealogy kindness, we were granted an invitation to visit the current owner of the house my great-grandfather had built for his family.

The owner came out to greet us and we had a long conversation on the porch. She later admitted she was feeling us out before she decided whether or not she should let us in the house. Smart lady. We passed the test!

My dad and a friend of the house's current owner. 
This lady is doing some of the restoration work.

The house is undergoing restoration at a slow pace. The owner gets work done when she can afford to, thus it is in a perpetual cycle of construction inside. 

Here is some of the restoration work already completed:


This is the fireplace in my grandma's room. I know it was her room because I often heard about this fireplace in her room. It is the only bedroom with a fireplace.


Here is the driveway to the house. 


At the height of his medical career, my great-grandfather made his calls in a horse and buggy. I wondered if this driveway was the place he parked it, and how much he had to come and go through the years. Later on, the family purchased a Model A. When the doctor wasn't using it, his boys did. I sat at this point for a minute and tried to imagine the daily life of this family.


The picture above is one of my favorites. That's my dad, touching the house and staring off to the left. He did this a lot during our visit. The whole "let's go see your mom's childhood home" thing happened unexpectedly and quickly. He really enjoyed this visit, spending a lot of time shaking his head in disbelief that he was actually in his mother's childhood home. This was definitely one of the highlights of the trip.


Oklahoma Road Trip, Part 4
.


5 comments:

  1. What a wonderful experience that must have been. Great photos of that lovely house being restored.

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a treat for all of you to see that house. Someday I'm going to get brave and contact the people who currently live in my great great grandparents' house that was built in 1873.

    ReplyDelete
  3. So neat, Amy! And what a wonderful house!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I see your dad put on his dress shirt for this event. I wish I could have been there. Did he tell her we would buy the house if she wants to sell.

    ReplyDelete
  5. The owner is trying to get it on the National Register of Historic Places. It's an uphill battle.

    ReplyDelete