The walls creaked and moaned when I lived there. The sturdy timbers expanded and contracted according to the temperature. With no “artificial” heating and cooling, they were at the mercy of the environment. Standing stately and proudly by the side of the road, the old house has seen many generations enter and leave the front door. And such a fine old front door it is – beveled floor length glass that gives a view of the long front hall with heavy walnut wood surrounding the glass.
The doctor’s family lived in it first. An old country doctor, he was one who went to visit his patients in a buggy, knew them by their first name, and took care of them from the time they were born until they died. The herb garden at the side of the house provided many of the remedies he prescribed for his patients. The remains of it exist to this day, producing the same remedies – if someone just knew what to do with them.
What fun it must have been watching that old house being built. It was the finest, biggest, best built in the community. In those days, the community had its own high school, a general store, post office, and a party-line informing the people of important happenings among themselves. The old party-line telephone still hung on the front hall wall, bearing witness to days long past!
Big rambling rooms, each with a fireplace of its own for warmth, allowed the family to enjoy living inside. Lots of windows, big windows were included. Bay windows, beveled glass windows, plate glass picture windows, and diamond shaped windows added interest to the rooms. There was only one bathroom, and having one at all, for its day, was unusual. It had a big four-legged bathtub and a frosted glass window. There were mirrors over the mantels, marble hearths, a walk-in pantry, a butlers’ pantry, built-in china cabinets, fancy chandeliers - but no closets. Big over-sized armoires were used in those days so there was no need for built-in clothes storage.
Broad pine boards, finished to a high gloss provided flooring – even in the kitchen. Plastered walls extended into ten foot ceilings; summer days rarely got hot inside the house because of those high ceilings and cross ventilation.
Summer in the old house was fun when it was first built. Built in the edge of virgin trees, it was the perfect setting for a walk through the woods. Rabbits, squirrels, deer, opossums, and hundreds of different kinds of birds were common. Cool breezes caught by open windows, wide eaves, and a front porch, a side porch, a back porch – all worked together to produce a Southern atmosphere, a Southern summer never to be forgotten by anyone who ever lived within the walls of the old house.
The doctor built his office about twenty-five steps from the front door; the same sturdy timbers were used. Shelves for storing the big brown bottles of medicines were made from single twelve inch boards of heart pine. An examining room with plenty of light and fresh air was constructed in grooved boards, naturally finished.
The doctor and his wife lived to be old. Their children moved away, and the old office became a storage building. The grand old house geared down, taking a respite from noisy, growing children, but retaining it dignity and esteem. The generation passed on, and the old house opened its doors to other growing children, to other generations. They came – and they went. The house was bought at times by people with high hopes and dreams of returning it to its grandeur – but they came and they left. It needed money and time, and expertise – but none of the owners seemed to have it, so –they got by, but never restored the old house to its original beauty. It was no less home for its owners; it no less housed joy and happiness for its inhabitants; but still the house itself seemed to cry for help to all who saw it.
Then finally, people came and saw the potential in the old house; they loved what they saw and decided to do something about it. They went to work, and it again sits proudly – restored and stately - by the side of the road, proclaiming to all who see it the history it has experienced. I am glad someone loves it now.
I once lived in the old house. It holds lots of memories for me. I learned the value of hard work and the joy of helping on the farm along-side my Daddy. I went to middle school and high school while there; I started dating; I left for college and came home for breaks and summer vacation there; I got married and left, returning for Christmas or Easter or birthdays. The major events of my young life occurred in the old house. It is a permanent part of me. I’m so glad it’s still there!
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