These are my Paternal Grandparents.
I never met them, they died years before I was born.
This is the house in Connecticut that my Grandfather built bit by bit for a summer cottage for their family.
Last Sunday, we (me, hubby, sister, girls and Dad) went up there.
I had not been since I was a kid.
Doesn’t seem too bad from the front.
But, unfortunately, this is the back.
Although my Dad spent years trying to maintain it, after a certain point it reached a point of no return.
Many many years ago, he rented it to someone who pretty much wrecked the place.
He had him legally removed since he wouldn’t leave on his own, but several more times he came back and stripped the place of anything he could.
Now, the town is requiring my Father to take it down because of understandable liability reasons.
So we came with work gloves, tools and a trailer to take home as much as we could.
Look at the wood used for these walls.
It is cough drop crates taken apart.
Those came home with us.
This is one of three door my Grandfather built.
One was destroyed by water damage, one is in pretty good shape, but this one is still stunning and it is hard to believe it was built in the early 40’s.
This is my Dad showing us the spring that my Grandfather built, by hand without equipment. That cement was all hand mixed and poured and part of a complete water system he created that is surprisingly pretty much still intact.
To hear him talking about all of it with such pride was priceless.
The woods and the stream on the property are so lovely.
The girls came ready to work, but in the end they did exactly what I had hoped and exactly what I used to do when I was child there.
They climbed on logs, explored the woods, climbed the banks and even built a boat out debris to float down the creek.
They were dirty, disheveled and happy as can be.
This is the porch that my Dad helped build.
So much of the house was beyond salvage but this wall is one that we went for since the wood was so beautiful.
Imagine my incredible delight as we began pulling off the boards to find that many of them still had the printing from old crates on them.
Turns out my Grandfather built this house piece by piece. He worked for a newsstand company. When one was knocked down, he would take the wood and bring it here.
He would trade cigarettes for crates at the old A&P grocery store.
He would pull the crates apart, even saving and re-using the nails, and used them for the wood on the walls.
It was like he left us a gift.
My sister and I had such anticipation with each board we pulled off to see what would be on the other side.
And, maybe this explains my “junking sensibilities”.
Maybe it is something genetic, who knows?
One of the reasons I love “old” stuff is because the stories and the history behind them, in my opinion, make them even more interesting.
Add sentimental value to it and it is even better.
The ceiling of the porch was stunning, but in order to get any of it, the whole porch roof would have had to come down and everything was too unstable.
To have taken any of it home, although my Dad and hubby sure tried, would have just been beyond our abilities and just too dangerous.
So, a picture of the beautiful texture is what I took away instead.
As the day started to close, I found myself feeling sad. It seemed kind of silly, I haven’t been here since I was kid and I never even met my Grandparents.
But it is still my history, and it is certainly my Dad’s history. He spent his childhood summers here.
As we were leaving I asked him if he was sad.
He said at this point he is so looking forward to the relief of the burden of worrying about something happening there. After all of these years, he is finally ready to let it go. The house will be knocked down in the next few weeks and he will put the land on the market.
The good news is that the neighbors came down while we were there and they may be interested in buying the property.
In the end, we left with a lot.
Some “stuff” that will made into new “treasures” for our family.
But, mostly great memories of a day with our Dad, a better understanding of our family history and new memories of a house that had been so long neglected.
Oh yeah, and as you can see, height does not run in my family!
Thanks for reading!
Oh my what a wonderful treasure you have found. Each piece, each board, tells a story of days gone by. Such an awesome treasure and wonderful memories to share. Do you think you’ll ever build a cottage on that property?
I love the pieces of crates…what are you going to create with them? I am sure you will find some fantastic to do with them!
It’s great that your Dad can relive the moments with you and that you have great family memories to pass down to your children and their children and so on.
Hug your family and cherish the memories!
Hugs,
Natalie
just remembered to tell you I saw at a antique store this weekend…they took a cedar shake shingle and around the center of it they tied a piece of rusty wire and a piece of scrim and then tied on a small skinny taper candle. Hope you can picture it in your mind.
You could also remove the shake shingles and do a small wall in your home or frame them in a large picture frame as a wall statement.
Hugs,
Natalie
You practically made me cry. What a great story and a wonderful day you had!
What a wonderful story, thank you for sharing with us.
It so reminded me of my family’s little lake cabin where we spent our summers and had the best times of our lives. Unfortunately we had to sell the cabin and land after my dad passed away and it broke my heart to find out the new owners were going to tear it down to build a big house. We also had a lovely rock wall garden where we buried all of our pets, I felt like we were abandoning them. I still can’t bring myself to even visit that particular lake.
The wood and old crate box pieces are amazing and you can really make something special !! What a lovely post full of memories!
What treasures you uncovered as you took each board down. I’m glad you were able to salvage some so you can re-use them. I’m also glad you got to take some photos of the beautiful cabin before it is gone.
Wow ! What a great adventure for your children and memories are always fun to go back and relive . So sad it has fallin in , but I too would be saving pieces from it as your grandfather did to build it . What history it has . Love this !
Deb
Neat story! Where in Ct?
A treasured childhood memory , now a treasured time spent with your beloved family! Grandpa would be proud that his house that was built with love was taken down with love ! xo
This is your best story yet! Love it. But love you more!
What an amazing story, and what priceless pieces of it you are taking home with you:)
That is so great that you got to do that! I can imagine that it was pretty bittersweet for your family. My grandpa and his dad built his house and he lived in it until he passed. There are things in that house that I wish I would have taken and I pray that the owners that have lived in it didn’t destroy them. But I am left with wonderful memories that no one can destroy.
Loved this post my friend.
xoxox
Such a sweet story. I miss my Grandparents so much. I miss their house and even their smells. I know exactly how special ” little found treasures” mean to someone. Thank you for sharing.
This post is so touching to me. My mom owns my great-grandparents’ home they built by hand (a wonderful old craftsman style 2-story)–it’s untouched, needs some TLC–which it totally doable, and I ~love~ it! So much history, like your grandparent’s home. I’m glad your father enjoyed it, and tried to save it. And I’m so glad you saved what you could from it. Old homes and objects, especially those with sentimental value, are definitely worth saving!
What wonderful memories. Sometimes when I go to visit my parents, I wonder off the beaten path by the place that my grandparents used to live. It is nothing now, like it was then, but the memories are there, wishing I had some treasures from their old place like you have found there. What a wonderful way to spend your time w/ family.
What a nice post!
I have tears in my eyes reading your story………..this story made my heart feel glad, so beautiful to know how you will be able to preserve the memories…and the work your grandfather put into making his house…………I just know that your grandparents would be so proud of what you are doing and they are smiling down on you………….
Thanks so much for sharing these family memories with us. I can feel the care and pride your granddad took in building his house. I am so glad you were able to rescue parts of it and give them a new home.
WHAT A AMZAING FIND.