Torch, Fall/Winter 2010

14 TORCH | Fall–Winter 2010 SCOTT HUCK | CEDARVILLE UNIVERSITY H ouses are powerful symbols. New houses suggest security, success, stability, and prosperity. Abandoned houses, or those in disrepair, indicate fragility, failure, transience, and poverty. When we moved to the South Fountain Avenue historic district of Springfield, Ohio, most of the houses — including ours — suggested the latter. Restoring a Home In 1997, we purchased a house in a mixed-race, low-income neighborhood. This decision was more than four years in the making as we read, talked, and prayed about what our family could do to alleviate poverty in our community. The first crucial step, we learned from the experience of others in the Christian Community Development Association, is relocation — moving to where poor people live. Like many urban neighborhoods, Springfield experienced its own version of “white flight” in the 1960s. A racially motivated stabbing at the local high school, one block away, prompted many longtime residents to leave the street in search of safer communities. Years of neglect took their toll on these once- charming homes. Two things were immediately obvious to anyone driving the street — old houses and poor people. The history and the character of the large, Victorian house interested us. Some of its flaws were obvious — the grand front porch had nearly separated from the face of the building. But craftsman touches like the 12-foot ceilings, newel post on the staircase, slate tiles, and elegant woodwork signaled that we had found a diamond in the rough. The day we signed the papers, the city informed us that the three-story brick carriage house on the property was condemned and would have to be torn down, a detail the seller had neglected to mention. We knew that restoring the house would be a long-term commitment, but it was admittedly deflating that our first significant investment involved tearing something down. Responding to Neighbors In our neighborhood, we learned dilapidated houses and disordered lives often coincide.