SewLibra:
I looked up my paternal grandparents old house, built in 1915, and was surprised it's for sale! Was able to download pics. 408 S. Florida, Columbus, KS, 1,777 sq. ft. not including the attic bedroom. I loved that house, so many memories.
SewLibra:
This is my photo of the house in 1953 with my aunt, uncle and cousin. It was white but I think it looks much better painted in colors as it is now.
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Front porch. Grandma had flowers on it back in the 1950s and 1960s but I don't remember if there were chairs. I can tell the house next door is not the same stone house that was there before.
SewLibra:
The carport was not there, just a gravel driveway and chain link double gate to enter the backyard. Also there is a handicap ramp someone built on the other side of the carport. I wonder how many owners since my grandparents passed?
SewLibra:
The backyard used to have a large dog pen where that greenhouse is. There is a small cellar that my dad and grandpa used to clean fish in, and now the entrance to that is through this greenhouse. Lot size is 6,970 sq. ft.
SewLibra:
They are calling this a "stone shed" but back in the day it was the cutest little cottage with kitchenette, bedroom and bathroom. My grandparents used to rent it out now and then if a single person needed a place to stay temporarily.
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Close up of the greenhouse that someone built along the way. My grandma had flower and vegetable gardens in the back but not a greenhouse.
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Where the red chair is used to be a small outbuilding my grandparents built as a personal library. Grandpa was a doctor and had tons of books! The library caught on fire one day and most was lost, but I have a couple of small medical books that made it.
SewLibra:
The living room was not used as a great room, no dining table. I remember the layout of their furniture. There was a lot of it to accommodate extended family visits. There was carpet in this room but I love that the hardwood floors are now visible!
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Grandma Marietta. You can see the kitchen behind her. This might be even before I was born because I remember a coffee table in front of her chair.
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Grandpa "Doc Fuller" with my sister circa 1948 or 1949. His chair was where the dining table is in the current pics. I have no idea what's going on with the all the plants in the window though. This is a few years before I was born.
SewLibra:
Grandma with my sister circa 1948-1949 sitting in Grandpa's chair. I'm not seeing those plants on the window. I wonder what that was? I do remember a cuckoo clock on the wall behind this chair.
SewLibra:
I'm thrilled to see the original French doors to this bedroom are still there! My parents slept there when we visited, but a couple of times when it was just me I slept in it. A huge Jack and Jill walk-in closet is between this room and another room.
SewLibra:
My big sister holding me in front of those French doors. Look at that TV! You can also see the patterned carpet that was in the living room. Wish the photo wasn't in such bad shape and that I didn't look so dumb! Haha!
SewLibra:
Another view of the previous bedroom. I remember the set-up as a kid was the head of the bed was against the wall to the right, and grandma had the room very light and pretty! There was a dresser as well and a radio I listened to.
SewLibra:
There is a step up and another step down from the living room to get to the room beyond. There is no real door there, but grandma had another guest bed in it and a curtain for privacy. The stairway is in that room.
SewLibra:
Completely different kitchen! A wall has been removed, new floor, and a portable island added. The windows are gone! Appliances have been updated of course, and even a dishwasher.
SewLibra:
This is the kitchen I remember. That's my mom and grandma doing dishes. On the left of the table (not shown) were built-in cabinets for dishes, silverware, linens etc. Everyone ate at the kitchen table.
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Me in the 60s drinking orange juice at the kitchen table. The room behind me was grandma and grandpa's bedroom. You can barely see the wall phone, but you can see the phone book hanging below it.
SewLibra:
This is the room by the kitchen that grandma and grandpa used as their bedroom. They are advertising it as an office and that's a great place for it. I don't remember if there is even a closet there.
SewLibra:
This is a disappointment. It's a sunroom off the kitchen that had the washer, dryer, freezer and pretty plants. Grandma kept the whole house immaculately clean and bright and now this area looks like merely storage or a mud room.
SewLibra:
Here they have opened up a wall and expanded the bathroom quite a bit, and put the laundry inside. I see a shower I think. There was only one bathroom and it was tiny with a tub and no shower.
SewLibra:
Not sure if this is the same bathroom, different angle. They advertise two bathrooms. If this is the second bathroom I can't figure out where it is exactly.
SewLibra:
This must be the room where the stairway is that used to be a guest room. It also had grandma's vanity in it as it was right by the big walk-in closet. The ad doesn't show that closet at all but I have to think it's still there.
SewLibra:
The stairway to the large finished attic. My sister and I liked to stay up there. When she was a teen she would hang out the window and smoke. Ha!
SewLibra:
The stairs look better. They were dark wood and no carpet. Once my older sister was taunting me, really made me mad, so on her way down I scratched her arm with my fingernails. My uncle heard the whole thing and I ended up not getting in trouble. Whew!
SewLibra:
As far back as I can remember, and I'm almost 70, this collage grandma made was on the wall at the bottom of the stairs. I don't know how I ended up with it, but glad I did. It's full of pics of my dad and his siblings.
SewLibra:
This is the attic bedroom. Can't say I love the color or shiny paint. Used to be pretty and bright with two beds, one on either side of the other window, and matching dresser and bedstand. It was a welcoming place to sleep and play as a kid.