Old Things, New Things

It's been a crazy month. I apologize for the long gap between posts.

One of the reasons was that we had a new laminate floor put down in the living room.

WHAT a PAIN! Mostly the removing of furniture and "things" we've accumulated since we were married. That and all the stuff we had to combine. People sure do acquire stuff.

Anyway, the installers had to remove the old carpet and padding first. The carpet was here before I bought the house. I was talked out of removing it before moving in. I should've done it anyway. It would have been a whole heck of a lot easier then. Oh well, live and learn, right?

This house was built in 1883, a nice cream city brick bungalow. The boards under the carpet are wide plank pine, a typical sub-floor choice. The floor was not in good enough shape to sand and refinish, so we went with Mountain Pine laminate, in a finish that was reflective of the time and era of the house. And it does look beautiful.

When they finished pulling up the carpet padding, we found two things. An old sheet of linoleum, in a hideous pattern, but what must have been all the rage back then.

It seemed to have a tar paper backing, black and flexible. We pulled it up in large chunks, very easily. It was not tacked down, but did sort of "stick" to the wood floor. I kept a 3 x 3 scrap, just to do a little research.

Under the linoleum, we found some really old newspaper pages. You could still read most of the ads, and a couple obituaries. It was from the obits that we figured out the age of the paper. The interesting part about the obit, below, is that the death occurred that morning. This was the afternoon edition. That could not happen now, unless you are a celebrity and have a public relations firm, oh, and a website.

The gentleman's birth was listed (1867), and his age (75). From that, we figured the paper was from 1942. Year of birth and age was not listed for any of the ladies...even in death a lady never revealed her age!

Here's an ad from Porter's of Racine furniture store, which is still selling fine furniture. Porter's opened in 1857. Not too many retailers can boast that kind of longevity!

Can you imagine buying the top-of-the-line range for $119.50!

There was another clue in the ad: "Note: You can still buy gas stoves. Providing you can meet the new government rules and regulations. You do not necessarily have to be a defense worker. Stop in for details."

Only defense workers were allowed to have gas stoves? What, did cooking with gas require a defense contract or special security clearance? Just kidding, I wonder what the new rules and regulations were at the time, as opposed to now when gas or electric ranges are a matter of choice.

Porter's of Racine does have a website and some of their history is featured. Go to: http://www.portersofracine.com/history01.htm for some historical tidbits. When you look at the ads and picture cards, you'll notice "Undertakers and Embalmers" under the name; back then furniture makers also provided caskets, and in the earliest days, mortuary services.

They don't do that anymore.

Anyway, this old house has a few stories in it; a Bone in the Basement; an old Axe in the Attic; bloody Garments in the Garage, sounds like a scary book series, doesn't it? With all that, I'm hoping there is NOT a Corpse in the Crawlspace, but I haven't had the nerve to explore it ... yet. However, I am up for Money in the Mousehole, or maybe Cash in the Coffee Can, a little Gold in the Garden, perhaps? Yeah, I know, I'm dreaming.....

Right now, I'm enjoying the new floor, and my husband is happy to have the big dust catcher gone.

It's our early Christmas present to us and to our future health!

Be well.....