731 East High Street

731 East High Street is a grand house with a colorful history. It was built in the late 1800s and was one of the first houses on this block. The house has 12 foot ceilings, 7 foot windows, hard wood floors and plaster walls that are about a foot thick. It's two stories, with 7 rooms on each floor, not counting the basement. During prohibition, it was probably a speakeasy because of the dance floor and convenient cubbies in the basement. Sometime in the fifties or sixties it was divided up into apartments.

We came into possession of it in 1991 for a pittance. Of course, it was on the "bad" side of town and had been vacant for a couple of years after a fire inside the front door. It was nothing a little paint wouldn't fix up. So, that's what we did. Well, Dad did most of the work, but my youth was definitely taken advantage of and put to hard labor! Imagine me, if you will, up on about 18 feet of scaffolding in our main entryway holding up a piece of sheetrock with my shoulders, while Dad nails it to the ceiling.

Last July, there was another fire. The first and second fires were both set by tenants, which probably contributed to Dad and Terri's decision to make it a one-family home once again. Around September of last year, I lost track of the changes they said they were making during the remodel. So, coming home this time was almost like coming home to a completely different house. It's a beautiful, happy house.

You may have noticed that you can't see most of the house for the trees. That's all Dad. He loves to garden and will soon run out of yard! There's only about a quarter of what we started with left. The rest is taken up with hostas, Jap maples, roses, evergreen bushes, day lilies, wisteria and many other flowers I can't keep track of. (I'll post more pictures of his garden later.) Amongst Dad's wild vegetation, there's two decks, three patios, two hammocks, and a gazebo complete with goldfish pond.

Of an evening, one of my favorite things is to sit on the deck off the (yarn!) spinning room (which used to be my room), enjoy the warm evening air (no sweater required) and watch the fireflies come out. This evening, I helped Dad finish putting the sides on that deck. The hard labor just never stops! ;-)