Another day, another house

The house pictured below may not be as outwardly impressive as the one shown here, but it has its own stories and its own special value. First a few words about the people depicted, then a little more about the house.

The two adults on the right side of the photograph are, of course, Grandpa and Grandma. The others in the group are completely unknown. Dad tells me that the Franz men always wore hats like this, so it seems logical to conclude that these are members of Grandma’s family. If anyone knows who they might be, please speak up!

Two final questions related to the people pictured: (1) Is it possible that any of the girls not wearing coats are Grandpa and Grandma’a kids? (I cannot tell, but the taller girl on the far left sure looks a lot like Matilda.) (2) Why does the photograph not include all (or any) of Grandpa and Grandma’s kids?

Now on to the house in the background: the house on Grandpa and Grandma’s Lushton farm. We are looking at the west side of the house, so the left side of the photograph is to the north. The trellis that Grandpa built is clearly visible behind the man with the plaid-looking jacket. Behind that, with the chimney, is an extension where the original kitchen was located. I am told that at some point (1940s?) Grandpa either tore down and rebuilt or remodeled that section to include several bedrooms. The kitchen (I think) was moved into the main part of the house.

If this photograph was taken slightly before the one here, then we might date it to 1940 or so. At that time the house did not have electricity (that came in 1946) or running water (that was later supplied from the windmill [or a well?] to the north, but I do not know when). All water needed for cooking or washing or bathing was hauled in by bucket every day of every week.

The siding in this photo is clearly wood. Within five to ten years after this that wood was replaced (or covered) with slate siding, which lasts much longer and does not need to be painted (if I remember correctly) but is a pain to work with during installation.

At the time of this picture there was no more than a crawl space under the house, but sometime after Grandpa and helpers excavated a full basement by hand and built in four rooms, including a shower. Grandpa also replaced the sandstone “foundation” with concrete foundation walls and worked on the inside of the house, completely rebuilding the stairway to the second floor.

If anyone who lived in this house remembers enough to sketch out a floor plan of one or both stories of the original with kitchen or the remodeled version with bedrooms added or even the basement, I will be happy to convert the sketches to a form that can be displayed online.

This house may look a little rough in this photo, maybe like it belongs in the Grapes of Wrath (a great movie), but its value cannot be questioned: this is the house where our family was born and grew and became, in large part, who we are today. Thankfully, the house still stands in Lushton; a house this valuable needs to be preserved for a long, long time.