Friday, September 30, 2011

My Childhood Home to be Abandoned

         The house I lived in from ages eight to seventeen is about to be abandoned. Even though I only lived in the house for such a short time it has many family memories tied up in it.
photo by Richard Liimatainen

          My Dad bought the land the house is on in 1935. There was a small poorly constructed house on the property when he bought it. For a young single guy the house was just fine. He didn't live in it in the winter as he went out working. The little shack was about 16' x 28'. By 1946 Dad had four little kids so this house little house was not at all suitable for a growing family and he had to do something pretty fast.

          He found another quarter section that had a house on it that was larger and fairly well built. The house had an attic that was not finished but was big enough to be made into bedrooms.The plan was to move the house to his yard and then sell the quarter section.

          The house was moved and set on a cement foundation. An addition was made to the house. My Dad had very little money so he found used lumber and altered the house. His neighbors gave him much assistance and expertise to complete the house. So he ended up with a very comfortable house that was more than adequate for his growing family . He put in central heating and it was wired for electricity. We were very happy to have a new house.

        By the time Dad finished the house economic conditions had improved and he didn't have to sell the quarter section he got the house from.

       My Dad was probably as proud of the hip roof barn he built as he was of his house. The hip roof barn was a status symbol. However by 1955 these barns were no longer essential as other methods of housing animals had been devised.

       Many happy times happened in this house. There were also extremely sad times such as when my sister died in 1953.


        Mom and Dad lived in this house until about 1973. They had been spending the winters in another location. About that time one of my brothers began his farming career and moved into the house. My brother had to do some maintenance over the years. He replaced the roof. added a garage and built the veranda at the front. There were also interior alterations particularly in the kitchen.

      Now it's time for my brother to move to a better location. There is nobody who will move into the house and keep it going.

      So the house has been occupied by my family for almost 65 years and sadly the end has come to it's usefulness .