Our home was built in 1906. We have lived here 31 years, recently completing a multi-year renovation, as I wrote about in “Restored.” As we brought our ole girl back to life, we couldn’t help but wonder about her inhabitants throughout the years. In the 86 years prior to us taking stewardship, who walked through the front door after a long day of work, who rested their head in the room that we now do the same?
My husband and I went to our county courthouse where the Recorder of Deeds office is located. A very kind, knowledgeable woman showed us how to use their computerized database, then Mister Rain began working his way back, as I recorded the names with their corresponding dates as he discovered them. With each sale, we held our breath until he found the previous buyer. As the decades fell away, another purchaser revealed, we welcomed them into the association, persons who experienced their most private moments within the walls of the address we have all called home.
One woman became a widow while living here, we were able to find out that her husband died in the local hospital where I was born. I imagined her returning to the house without her spouse. What must she have felt? Then, a surge of happiness to learn that she remarried, continuing to live here another 41 years. She is our longest resident, at a total of 53 years. Will I exceed her record?
Finally, we were able to find the original occupant in 1906. We are the 12th family to laugh and cry here. I made a document I called a “House Key”, framed it, then hung it in our entryway. I purposely never call any of us “owners” of this house, the reason clear from the quote by Gladys Taber. It is our honor to belong to this home, and in a way, to all who came before. We are a community that has never met, tied together by brick and mortar, and so very much more.
#sisterrain #alittlesightalotofheart #legallyblindwriter #gooddeeds
