Questions and Answers

 


When we purchased our house in the Poconos, we had a LOT of questions.  Some of which were answered by the previous owners, but some not.  There is history to this house and we wanted to learn more about it.  Which is why, I (doing my "Nancy Drew sleuthing"), went and did some research to find contact information on the "original" owners.  Well sort of original.  There's a story.  Just like there are lots of stories in this house.

I was lucky enough to track down the email of the woman who with her husband had owned this house LONG before the people we bought it from did.  (I thought I found an email for her husband, but that didn't work out; her email did.)  We've had some sporadic back and forth via email.  (Not enough for this "nosey Nancy").  I learned a bit, but I wanted to know more.  So when she said that she and her husband would be in the area in the fall, I IMMEDIATELY invited them to come by.  (His sister lives nearby).  And Saturday was the day!

I was excited and a little nervous.  After all this was their house originally (sort of; more to come).  As one does for company, I cleaned and tidied up a bit beforehand.  I wanted them to feel "at home" in what was once their home.  I think we nailed it because our visit turned out to be 2+ hours long and a promise to return next autumn.

So, what did we learn?  We knew that originally on this property there was a log cabin. (Supposedly a Sears A-frame log cabin.)


   A small log cabin (is there such a thing as a large one?) that was probably a weekend get-away type home.   No one seems sure who originally owned it or when it was built (the records I have I think are incorrect), but across the street (sort of) was the family home of the man who eventually purchased this house with his wife.  His sister and her husband bought the cabin and lived here for a number of years.  When they needed something larger, the sold it to him and his wife.  They lived in this log cabin for a while. (Not sure how long.)  Eventually they decided to add on to the cabin, or that's what I thought.  What I believe actually happened was that they started to build ANOTHER house right next door to it, but somewhere along the line, it was decided that the two houses should be merged into one At least that's what I think happened...there are photos which seem to back this up and we were so appreciative of the photos that they brought and we were able to scan. 

(I know they have more photos and I'm hoping that they'll share some of those in the future.)  As the years went by, they added and improved and improved and added.  The result?  This wonderful (and somewhat mysterious) house that we now live in.

We sort of walked through the house so they could see what we had done.  They actually thought our living room area looked much like what they had.  We found out that the "button" on the wall by the basement is actually a septic tank alarm and we hope to never hear it,  (But I suppose it's good to know that something's not right with the system before it becomes "messy.")  The hole in the door for the laundry room was for the cat.  The cat could go in and use the litter box, but the dog could not.  The closet in the loft was once a small bathroom. (Which makes sense since it was once used as a bedroom.) We learned that the detached garage was built before the attached one and it wasn't for a car, it was for a boat!  The pool house (which we use for storage since the pool was gone before we moved it) once had a toilet and sink.  (The sink is still there, but I don't think it functions.) And that the sprinkler system was put in (and it wasn't cheap, but what is), was briefly used, but the water bill went through the roof so they never used it again.  (We'll never use it either!)

Things that we didn't learn included why there is a noise by the doggie door in the family room (there's no electrical connection and they didn't know) and why there is a faux door hung on the back of the pantry (they didn't put it up).  The really big puzzle about the photo we found in the attic (https://bfthsboringblog.blogspot.com/2024/11/bfth-presents-exploration-and-mysteries.html) which will remain a mystery as no one has any clue what it's all about or where it came from. 

All in all, we did learn a lot about the house and have come to appreciate even more the work that went into it.  (Much of what was done by these owners.)  We've always felt that this is a special place and I think that now it's even more so.

Our new friends will be back again next fall.  (With plans to take the drill press that still resides in the garage.  How they're going to get it out, I'm not going to think about it.)  I'm sure I'll have even more questions before then.  Yes, I'm starting another list! (You knew that I would!)


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