Riverside

 

Wendy’s memories of 1967 were much more vivid (at age 7) than my mom’s were (she was 17). They arrived late at night during a lightning storm.  They were planning on staying in the camper trailer they had brought with them, but due to the weather the extended relatives living there insisted they come inside for the night.  There was only electricity in the living room (during that trip my grandpa helped extend the electricity into the kitchen) so they had to use lanterns to make their way around the house.  For some reason, three of the sisters ended up in one room, while Wendy was all by herself in the next room.  She was so scared (the most scared she can remember being now that 50 years have passed) that her dad had to come sleep with her.  But then, when she woke up the sun was shining.  She looked out at the most awesome playground she had never even imagined.  There was a barn, fields in all directions.  There was a cupula (a small structure that stuck up out of the roof with windows) with old toys she could play with.  She just played and played and played and had the best time.

 Wendy brought along a framed picture she had of Riverside.

Here is the picture from 1967

And now 50 years later

 Here’s the whole house

With the ring of trees right out front

Inside they had a bigger version of Wendy’s picture!

The living room was now a reception area

We took the stairs up to visit the cupola

And up even more steps

The view of the barn from the top

We had a photo shoot up there

Wendy and Annie

Going back down

It was so cool to see the trees through the window behind the bell in real life.  It didn’t quite make a very interesting photo, though.

The view from the other side of the bell

Going down

The fireplaces

The kitchen where Grandpa (Dad) installed the electricity

Exchanging old stories for new with a current teacher.   The teachers we spoke with seemed to really appreciate the history of the house.

Student work.  Apparently Americans are stereotyped as being Fat and Patriotic.

Inside the new barn

A picture of the house with the old barn

A mural about Riverside painted on the side of the barn

With a closeup of the horse for Wendy

I can’t remember what this was called– the grain shed?  Annie thought it would make a great Tiny House.

The kids were doing chores

What a great way to teach them to keep the place nice!

It was so cool to see the kids running around independently– like they were trusted to be doing what they were supposed to be doing. But mostly it was awesome to walk through these rooms as my aunt remembered what it was like to be here when she was a little kid.