Our Horatio Alger House

I do know that the directors appealed to my father reminding him that he was an up and coming business man in town, he had a growing family, and this was a house ofwhich he and his family. could be proud. It was a far better house than any we could ever hope to bujld and here it was at a bargain price. My father did not need much persuading. He had always resented our proud neighbors. When Blanche Smith called in her daughters from playing with my sisters, my father was convinced she felt his children were not good enough to play with hers. The desire to move into Blanche Smith's house, after she had left town in disgrace, was almost irresistible. Thebankwouldtake our old house on a trade in -- this more modesthouse-with-its-three– potential building lots -- currently being used as our cow pasture -- would be infinitely easier to sell than the Smith House. They would give us $6000 for our house and we would have to add $8,500. The bank was willing to give us a mortgage -- probably for the entire amount. Could we swing it? Did we want to take on that kind of debt? That $8500 was surely equal to $200,000 today. My older sister, a high school student, was adamantly opposed. She knew what a struggle it was even without a mortgage to persuade our father to give her money for new dresses, shoes and other things that high school girls so much want My junior high sister, Doris, was excited over the new house. She had been inside the house, once had even stayed there all night, and thought it was the finest house she had ever seen. My brother and I, ages 6 and 8, were too young to have opinions that counted. I can remember long and earnest discussions between my father and mother about the wisdom of the purchase. We went to visit my grandfather to see ifhe might be willing to give some help. He had married a younger woman after his wife died. While it was always understood that the farms would still go to the sons, it was also understand that the new wife would own a lifetime interest in them all. It would be a while longer now "until our ship came in." Grandfather did say that he would stand behind his son in this deal. But he made no offer of a low interest loan or any other specific help. I suspect my father feared that once he left the house, the new wife might well veto any effort, no matter how feeble, of his father to stand behind him. My father came away from the interview quite depressed. Sometime, in all these discussions, I believe it was my mother who reminded my father that the house had five large bedrooms and three room-sized dormers in the attic. There would be two bedrooms left over after my brother and I had taken one, my two sisters another, and our parents the third. In those days, it was expected that two students would be put into a double bed and, with those logistics, we could have ten roomers each year. At $2.00 per week per student for 40 weeks a year would make an annual total of $800 -- in only 11 years that would equal the total amount of cash we had to come up with. My mother promised that all roomer money would go towards the mortgage. My father had his own plans. Along with the house, there came a separate three acre lot behind the house. We could have three cows now and sell milk to the neighbors. The chicken house and chicken yard would enable us to sell eggs also. There was a large vegetable garden and that enabled us to sell asparagus in the springtime. A visiting aunt once remarked, "I've never been in a house to which so many people are bringing money. 11