If This Old House Could Talk

While going through one of Dad's notebooks filled with a variety of memorabilia, I came across some memories he had recorded of his childhood home, told from the perspective of the house itself. Some of this information has already been recorded, but I always get excited when I find something in his own handwriting, such as the floor plan below.

1806 E. 5th Street

Either late 1925 or early 1926 I was occupied by the family Butler – Jesse Llewellyn, Mable Elsa, Louis Edward and Charles Lee. On September 7, 1927 Jesse Eldon joined the family. Mr. Butler was a fireman on the Missouri Pacific Railroad.

My neighbor for many years, the Berrys – 1806 East 5th – owned two lots between us. The Berrys were very old – one man, his wife, and a sister. They needed help with their yard and in the house. Mr. and Mrs. Butler took over the care of their lawn and helped them with transportation to doctors, to the grocery store, etc. Mr. Butler planted a large garden on their lot and shared vegetables with them. The Berrys willed their property to the Butlers, and they were taken care of until they all passed away in a few years.

The large garden (two lots) provided vegetables for eating and also for canning for use during the winter. When the vegetables were ripe, the canning project was a major event concerning the entire family. Eventually they filled the shelves in the basement. This preservation of food was essential because Mr. Butler's work with the railroad was sporadic, and he was laid off or many months each year until the late ‘30’s. He would find other employment – but would always return to the railroad when they called him back to work.

Floor plan sketched by Dad on notebook paper

When I was built, I had two bedrooms on the east side of my structure with a bathroom in between. The west side was a kitchen and a living room with the front door leading out of the living room onto a porch covered by the roof extending about 10 feet. The porch was the full width of the front of the house.

We added a back porch which added a bedroom on the east side, a hallway to the back door, and on the west side a stairway down to the basement which was only to the hot air furnace which was installed at this time with a coal stoker and a coal bin.

The three boys had been sleeping on one bed and were getting bigger – so Lou was moved to the new bedroom.

May 26, 1934 another boy was added to my house. Soon thereafter the parents’ bedroom was extended north and took half of the porch space providing room for a crib, etc.

North bedroom addition - left side of house

Mr. Butler agreed with a man who asked to do the work of extending the bedroom. They agreed on a price which included that the man would provide the materials. He came back and asked to be paid first so he would have the money to buy the materials. He got the money and was never seen again. So Mr. Butler had to finish it himself as the man had removed the north wall of the bedroom so it was exposed to the outside!