Visitors!
A few weeks ago, Dianna contacted me. As a Christmas gift to her 14-year-old son, Justin, she wanted to know if he could come by the house for the 2-hour tour package.
“He loves the house and has read every post!”
This made my heart soar. For, I thought Cody was the only young person left on the planet interested in old things.
“I’d love to meet Justin!”
And today, although Dianna could not make it, Justin (R) and his dad, Kelly, seemed to greatly enjoy the spirited tour. (They removed their masks for the image.)
When the tour was over, Justin showed me images of the fabulous 1880s furniture he has been collecting.
I kept asking him: “And you’re…14?”
And he kept nodding yes.
I looked to dad, and said (with a big smile): “you know your son isn’t…ahh…normal, right? And I mean that as a compliment!”
Kelly looked to Justin, his smile broad, with much tenderness in his eyes, and nodded assent.
My eyes watered up. Now, this was a great dad!
As they departed, I thought: As long as SOME young people appreciate the past, the future might be OK.
I also invited them back. “But bring Mom. And I’ll waive the tour fee.”
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This is so lovely. I love how he appreciates history. I’ll bet he repairs instead of replaces. When you love vintage and antique furniture and other items you learn to love the crazing, the cracks, the chips, the worn thread or the faint stain.
I just paid $200 to replace a vintage chair from the 40s that belong to my 92 year old Mother’s uncle. It was in his beauty shop. My nephew (now deceased) stood on it to try to fix the light in a ceiling fan and broke the seat. He and his worthless brother then told my Mom it was “broken” and she said to throw it away, so they did. I only found out about it after it was gone. Morons. The seat could be replaced with plywood and it could be reupholstered. I just did that to a vanity bench my Dad broke. But noooo. Their’s is the disposable generation where you just throw old broken things away and buy something new. I could have fixed it for free but instead paid $200 to replace it with as close to a match as I could get. My 92 year old Mom didn’t notice the difference but I know. The back is too high, the seat too big and it is too wide. But eventually the brother’s stupid act will be forgotten and the chair will eventually be remembered as my Mom’s Uncle’s chair.
I with Justin was my nephew. I would leave him my 1922 house in my will and all of the vintage furniture and lighting it contain because I know he would appreciate and treasure it.
I hope he finds the house of his dreams for all of his furniture.
I bought my first antique when I was 15. It was a glorious 4’x4′ birds-eye maple mirror that came out of a barber shop. Probably around 1900. Covered in all sorts of red and white paint. Paid $10! It had been dumped in a shed behind the barber shop when they remodeled decades before. My first dates with my future wife involved sitting on the driveway using dental tools to get the paint out of the egg and dart molding. We eventually paired it with a great old ebonized sideboard and it has had a prominent place in our home every since. My one regret?? I didn’t buy the other 2 matching mirrors in that old shed! Live and learn.
Justin, if you read this, I say “Way to go!” Old things and places are very special, don’t let anyone tell you different. And I agree; there are some young people out there who do care! Our 11 year old granddaughter loves our old (1886) house, and all of the heirlooms in it; she can tell visitors that this chair belonged to Aunt Frieda, this was Grandma Myrtle’s bedroom suite, this table was great-grandma Lizzie’s, etc…and even though most of these people were gone long before she was born, she has listened to my stories about them so much that she feels as if she knew them. I am not sure yet how we will manage to leave the house and most of it’s contents to her without the other grandchildren feeling slighted, but it is so important to me that she should possess these tangible memories and stories, and not feel the loss I felt when elderly family members’ prized possessions were scattered to the winds after they were gone.
A couple of weeks ago, my four year old grand daughter said
“Gramma, when you pass, can I have your house?”
“I think you’ll have to fight your Aunt Christina for it”
“Oh, well, when you pass, can I have your watch?” (It’s a wind-up from the 40’s, my grandmother’s watch)
“Yes, Sweetie, you can have my watch”
I’m SO lucky! My kids both have a great appreciation for antiques (and my house) and their kids are well on their way as well!
Love this story. Justin is a treasure, and I’m happy his parents know it.
And Ross is a treasure, too. (Cody, three.)
Happy New Year to you all!
The Cross House is blessed with treasures: Ross, Cody, and now Justin, who I’m sure will be back again and again.
I know the Cross House and its carriage house will have a Happy New Year, just because of its treasures.
Ross! Younger people that appreciate older architecture definitely exist! The more media attention it gets, and the more people are exposed to it, the more some people come to love it. I’m 20, renting a 1910’s apartment, and friends who admitted never having cared to critically look at some of the original details in the place admitted…
that they actually find them cool on closer inspection, after hearing me point them out. Thanks for keeping this blog, it’s stuff like this that gets people interested. Seeing other people put care and time into restoration and rejuvenation.
I think the awareness level has increased because of the many shows on TV that now center on restoration. No longer remodeling or renovation but actual restoration. Brett Waterman comes immediately to mind. I think we are developing a generation that cringes at those shows that find beautiful antiques at the swap meet or flea market and then proceed to cut them up, paint them and destroy them to “up-cycle” them. No more destroying beautiful vintage pieces to make them “shabby chic.”
My parent’s have their original all wood mahogany kitchen cabinets up in the “hobby room” and I was looking at them the other day. Swapping out the cheap hinges and pulls would really make them shine and I think the wood and finish could be easily matched. If I was ever able to do any remodeling on my parent’s house (it would require the permission of my sister and brother) I would take out the broken laminate over pressboard pieces of garbage cabinets they had installed in the 80s and put the original cabinets back, reconfigured and added to. I’m the only one in the family that feels this way. My other two siblings are all new is better so it would be a fight to convince them of the changes I would make because the three of us would share the ownership of the house and would have to agree on any changes. But everything I would do would increase the property values as the house is very dated.
My sister has furniture from the 40s because she is cheap and it was free from a dead relative.
I have a house full of vintage furniture by choice, a few pieces I have had to restore the finish. (I love shellac.) I went out looking for it and I buy plenty of vintage stuff. I have watches you wind because I can’t stand replacing batteries every few months and you never notice the battery is dead until after you’ve left the house. I have vintage jewelry and vintage clothes. My Mother hates the stuff because she grew up with it. I think it is timeless.
What a sweet 14 year old and remarkable!
I too, thought Cody was the only young person who liked old things— haha
Fun post!
That’s wonderful. I have a nephew that’s rescued an old house (not as old as yours) and had it moved to the home place my now deceased father grew up that my brother owns. He is going to refinish the woodwork and won’t let anyone remove it except himself! He cares about it deeply. There are some younger ones that care. Thanks for the uplifting post. 🙂
Thanks Ross for the great tour and thanks everyone for the nice comments. I really enjoyed the tour and I really liked Mrs. Cross’s sewing room and bedroom. I hope someday to come back, it is a really great house!
I hope you have a great New Years and a fantastic 2022 Ross.
And it was a delight meeting you, Justin! Please keep in touch via this blog thingy!
It’s wonderful that there are young people that appreciate old houses and antique furniture. I wish my kids did. They like a few things, but I guess we dragged them to too many antique shops and flea markets when they were younger. I wonder what will happen to our furniture and glassware after we are gone. I hope someone will take care of them. Thanks Ross for writing this blog and getting people interested. Happy New Year to all.
I just finished reading the past 3 years worth of your blog. It was like a novel I couldn’t put down. Last night I was up until midnight reading it. I can’t wait to hopefully tour when I come to visit my mom who still lives there in Emporia. I live in Texas.
I love everything you’ve done. I’d love to own a beautiful old house someday when hubby decides to retire.
Nice to meet you, Dawn! Say hello you your mom for me!
Just found this blog Ross and can’t stop reading. Finished 2014 and most of 2015 just fascinating. I had followed the house progress when Robert and Debra Rodak had the houses but had lost track.
Nice to meet you, Carol!
I’m not so young anymore (28), but I deeply care about old things. I spend so much time on Old House Dreams that it’s on the interest line of my resume. I’m going to have a tough time getting the kind of home I’m interested in in San Diego, which bums me out a bit.
I’m in San Diego and they can be had depending on where you’re willing to live and what period of house you’ll accept. Not much in the way of Victorians, there are a few and pretty pricey but you can find some Craftsmans still. Not those desirable expensive neighborhoods but if you’re willing to accept one that isn’t quite as big and fancy they are all over. It may need some work but you’re young still. I bought my 1922 house when I was 33 and did some work myself. Finding one that hasn’t been bastardized too much might take a while. When I was house hunting I saw copper pipes attached to galvanized, plaster walls sagging away from the lathe, aluminum windows, stucco over clapboard, trim that was removed or painted over and all sorts of “updates” that were dated and inappropriate. We don’t have much in the way of salvage resources locally either but L.A. isn’t that far of a drive. If you’re willing to live east or south of the city or in Lemon Grove, La Mesa, National City or Chula Vista you can find something. Mine isn’t a Craftsman but it is pretty centrally located just south of Hoover High, was in fairly good shape with most of it’s original features. The light fixtures were gone and it had horrible carpeting and vinyl but was easily restored. I do have 60% of the parcel, a good sized front and back yard and a detached 2-car garage off the alley but no fireplace. I got most of what I was looking for. If you are persistent and willing to make a few compromises and widen your search area you can find something. But I wouldn’t buy now. The market is too inflated and I see a correction coming.
Interesting timing for this post. This afternoon I was looking through another old house site and folks were bemoaning the fact that young folks today just don’t appreciate anything old. Well, the younger folks bombarded them bemoaning the “Boomers” that paint everything white and gray and remove anything of value only to replace with Home Depot cabinetry and ugly carpet in the name of “restoration”, rather than admit they want the old house look from the street, but modern HGTV on the inside. I laughed my ass off. Justin is a very astute young man and I’m very encouraged that there are lot’s of younger folks (20’s and 30’s) who appreciate the old stuff and are standing up against the middle agers who think they have to keep up with the current TV style. PS: I would love to see the pictures of Justin’s furniture collection. Glad he got to tour the Cross house. I will be back as well one of these days!
Ah, Justin is blessed to have such supportive parents. What a lovely gift from mom Dianna, dad Kelly and Cross House owner Ross.