We were surprised by how many of you wanted to know about our house’s original owners — we started getting emails and comments asking if we’d ever heard from them. We were curious too. Did they know their old home was online for the world to see? How much had changed during their decades there that we didn’t even realize? Did they mind us painting their brick and covering their paneling? Then, a few weeks ago, we got an answer. The original owners who lived here for nearly forty-five years contacted us after finding our blog through a friend, and they had wonderfully detailed memories to share.
One surprising discovery from our earlier post about quirky vintage finds under the kitchen cabinets was a sheet of paper with a childhood drawing. That drawing turned out to be from the woman who reached out — she made it when she was five years old. Now grown and married, she took the time to write to us and fill in many details about the house’s past. Here’s the first note she sent:
Hey youngsters! That’s the house I grew up in! My mother lived there from the mid 50’s when it was built until 2000 and sold it to come and live with my family. I love the things you have done with it, it is so much brighter and younger! That old dining room next to the kitchen was my bedroom at one time. I hope you are very happy in your new home. -Lisa
We’d suspected the room we inherited as a dining room had once been a third bedroom, so Lisa’s confirmation felt gratifying — especially since we did eventually convert it back to a bedroom during our kitchen remodel. It was surreal talking to someone who grew up here in the 1950s and 60s. We also asked about a rumored tennis court in the backyard and other details of the house’s earlier layout. Lisa’s second letter answered many of our questions:
My parents moved from 29th Street in Richmond City when they had me. I was their second child. I had a brother who was three years older than me. They bought your house when I was born in 1957 for $13,000 dollars. All of the ranchers in that neighborhood had a carport on the end of the house. My father enclosed the carport and did all of the brickwork himself to create the room that you now call the den.
And yes, my mother actually picked that ugly green toilet you inherited in the half bathroom!
My father believed he was one of the original DIY-ers. The basement and sunroom were his biggest projects. One summer he would take my brother and me down to Canal Street each morning to pick up a day laborer, and together they dug every day with shovels. I remember being frightened by the men who would crowd around to be chosen each morning. They dug that entire basement with shovels. He did all the block work himself, too, and built the sunroom above it. The sunroom originally had screens all around it; it was much later that they bought patio doors and enclosed it.
I think my mother misses that sunroom the most. Here are photos of my parents, Floyd and Mary, with my brother Bruce and me, Lisa. These photos were taken around 1960.
The Christmas photo above was taken in what is now your dining area. The window behind the tree looked out onto the screened porch, which was later bricked in to form the den (so there is no longer a window there and you have hung your white shelves on that wall).
Here is a photo of my brother and me in front of the living room fireplace…
that you have lightened up with paint…
And yes, we actually had a clay tennis court in the back between the house and the woods! It didn’t last long since my brother and I weren’t truly passionate about tennis. My mother turned that whole area into her “park” afterward. The garage has always touched me in a sad way — my father had it built around 1980 because he’d always wanted one. About the time it was finished he became ill with a disease that eventually took his life. I always wished he could have retired and enjoyed that garage. I actually loved the den with the fireplace the most. Although I really like the way you have transformed it with paint, it was very cozy in winter when the fireplace was burning and it was snowing outside. And on the subject of snow, if you ever get any, your street is the absolute best sledding hill around. – Lisa
Hearing from Lisa and learning these details about our home was one of the best surprises we’ve had since moving in. Knowing there was once a backyard tennis court and that Lisa’s father literally built our den, sunroom, and basement with his own hands — often with the help of day laborers — brings the house’s history to life. We’re deeply grateful Lisa reached out and shared these memories. It’s clear Casa Petersik has seen many DIY adventures and family moments long before we arrived with our paintbrushes and hammers.