A Very Special Event At The Cross House
Hippies.
They were once everywhere.
And in the early 1970s, two hippies, Phyllis and Louis rented the Octagon Bedroom. Louis proposed to Phyllis in the room.
Later, the couple moved to the expansive third floor and were, obviously, THE coolest hippies in the city. While living on the third floor, the couple conceived a baby. A brand new life, in the 1894 Cross House.
Now, if you will please join me as we…
…race through time.
It is now 2021. A while back Louis contacted me.
“In October, Phyllis and I will be having our 50th-anniversary. I’d like to surprise her by having it take place at the Cross House. Can we have the house for the weekend, and sleep in the Octagon Bedroom, where we got our start?”
The idea delighted me.
In the end though, it proved impossible to keep the secret.
And, last October, I opened the doors of the house to a beaming Phyllis and Louis.
On their wedding day.
And in 2021. Gorgeous couple!
Way when. Phyllis, Louis, and young Nathan.
And in 2021. I just love love love this.
Way when.
Left, Louis and Phyllis Copt wedding photo 1971. Right, honeymoon in Europe, 1972.
From left: Laurie McLane, Charles Higginson, and Pat Field looking at old wedding photos.
From left: Rich and Pat Field. Nathan Copt, Tom Mains, Tanner and Kylie Burenheide, Foreground, Jeff Illk.
From left: Gregg Ventello (Lawrence, Kansas), Britta and Nathan Copt (Golden, Colorado).
From left: Campbell Copt (son of Nathan and Britta), Nathan, Britta Copt, Jackie Stafford, Gregg Ventello, Laurie and Charles Higginson. Foreground Debbie Illk, Carol Mains, Kylie Burenheide.
Visiting the third floor. From left: Campbell Copt, Nathan Copt, Rich Field, Britta Copt, Louis Copt.
So, two hippies which started a life in the Cross House in 1971 returned five decades later to celebrate their lives.
The whole event just thrilled me.
Will y’all join me in a very big hug to Phyllis and Louis and Nathan and Britta and Campbell?
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What a fun celebration! Loved the photos from Phyllis and Louis’s 50th wedding anniversary!
The Cross House looking great!
Absolutely wonderful! Such a fantastic way to celebrate their 50th, Ross you did it again! Congrats to all.
Precious! Thanks for sharing!
Big hug! Congratulations on 50 years. Also: *waves to the Ihlk and Mains family.* I went to high school with a few of them.
How wonderful! Congratulations!
This is so awesome!! I hope the kids really appreciate the sentiments.
Happy 50th wedding anniversary, Phyllis and Louis. So nice to celebrate it at the Cross House.
Big hugs from Olathe, Ks. What a very special way to celebrate a very special anniversary with your family and friends right back in the beautiful home where it all started! Congratulations to all.
This is a beautiful story. It exemplifies why we love old houses. Not as antique domestic exhibits fossilized in amber, not as museum showplaces, but living documents that are the cradle, the nursery, the situs of generations’ hopes and dreams.
And Ross, you are the interlocutor, the old-house whisperer of no project too large, no skill that cannot be researched, mastered or intelligently out-sourced, and of the bright possibilities of the most woebegone ruin.
Your writing and descriptive skills (overlooking the occasional f-bomb) are on par with your restoration abilities, and form a large part of how inspirational, educational and enjoyable this blog is.
John,
What lovely observations. Thank you.
But, I must disagree about the word fuck. Sometimes, it really is the ideal word.
BIG hug!
Ross and John: and a very versatile word: noun, verb, adjective, exclamation, complete thought, emotion.
Yeah, when I let a f-bomb fly, it is well past time for someone to just really get past being a jerk and move into team mode.
And like you, I get into trouble with it.
That was the best way to celebrate 50 years! Phyllis is my little sister and she and Louie are the sweetest couple and also a unique couple.
I remember their wonderful apartment and so happy you are renovating this historical house it looks beautiful.
It’s very nice to meet you, Lois!
Thank you, Big Sister, for “being there” for me and for sharing your love of all animals and nature’s astonishment! Love you!
I look forward to seeing all of your restoration on this unique home. I love hearing stories of the families that have lived in this house . I also look forward to meeting you, Ross.
You also have been a cheerleader for me in more ways than you know. Encouraging me as I navigate through this beautiful and difficult life. Love you !
It’s so lovely to see those spaces filled with all those people with “good vibes”! Thank you Ross for hosting and sharing with us!
This is fantastic—and I’m especially glad to see some views of the expansive foyer that we don’t often get to see! It adds so much perspective to the overall size and flow of the first floor.
Such a heartwarming story of a very special relationship between two people and a house that shared their lives.
So fun to see the pictures of happy people celebrating in the Cross House like a normal family home.
I agree with Brian, it it’s a real treat to see the spaces from a broader perspective, with the guests giving a real sense of the space. My eye was drawn immediately to the thrilling sight of the telephone closet alcove restoration from this view.
Congratulations and wishes for every happiness Phyllis and Louis!
And wow, Cross House looks great with people it and is obviously a fabulous party venue!
The before and after photos are just wonderful. What a wonderful thing it is for them to be able to come back and celebrate their 50th anniversary in a house that meant so much to them. I’m sure they appreciate all of the work you have done to not only save the Cross House but to bring it back to life.
I was fortunate to have spent time on the third floor with Phyllis, Louie, and Nathan. As a teenager, I babysat Nathan when he was a baby. And also spent many lunch hours eating sandwiches (fresh-sliced deli meat from Cannon’s Meat Market) with Phyllis while working at their picture frame and art shop – Framewoods. Circa early to mid 1970’s.
I didn’t know that. And I remember Framewoods and Cannon’s. Very fun memories.
Debbie, you lit up our lives at 526 Union, and helped The Frameworks succeed.
Thanks for bringing your light with deliciousness at our 50th anniversary in these COVID days. You and great- niece, Tara, helped make more sweet memories at 526 Union.
What a lovely post with great photos. Lovely to see the house full of life!!
Happy New Year Ross and blog readers, and Happy Anniversary to Louis and Phyllis. The photos are wonderful. Seeing the house filled with people who lived lives there alongside their photos made it all the more touching, and as others have said, Ross your words and style bring all of this to life in a fantastic way.
Looking forward to continuing baby steps at the Cross House this year.
Colin
Happy New Year, Ross! The comments here warm my heart.
As you know, the octagon room you restored for our 50th wedding anniversary celebration was where we spent our FIRST year in the Cross House. I was so excited, I didn’t sleep a wink. And it wasn’t the ghost squirrel that kept me awake, Ross. It was the restored stained glass windows in that room. They kept drawing me back to those days in the early ’70s. It was as if the windows held the stories of who I was then. The light from the windows sketched long forgotten visions of my life there with Louie at my side as my muse and best friend. Thanks to all of my family and friends of Ross, who blogged here to wish us a happy anniversary.
A huge shout out to you, Ross, the house-whisperer, for continuing your masterful, inspirational work on bringing the Cross House and now the Carriage House, too, back to life. Thank you, Ross!
And now you’ve inspired me to write stories of my life at 546 Union!
I meant 526 Union!
Oh. I see.