852 Stone Road

Last weekend was a very busy weekend for Bill and me. Besides Andy and Mary's anniversary party, a 50 year grammar school luncheon, a birthday party for Andy and Art, we stopped at 852 Stone Road, the house I grew up in. The present owners bought the house from our family in 2002 after our mother passed away. They added an attached garage to the back of the house and took down the old garage. They also added a side porch and door. It looks great and I believe my parents would be very pleased to see the house being taken care of so well.

We were very pleased to be invited in to see the house. The kitchen is still the same as it was in the 50's. They plan to rennovate it. Upstairs they removed a wall between two bedrooms. The rooms have all been painted and are nicely decorated. I had left a copy of my father's autobiography for them when they bought the house. She said she appreciated it and told me that Mr. Whitman had stopped to see the house. After visiting the house he wrote a 3 page autobiogrhy about living there. He also sent them the above photos of his family. She let me borrow both the autobiography and the photos. He was drafted in 1941 and his father sold the house in 1945 while he was in the army. While living there they had a barn with 3 cows, pigs, a horse and chickens. Seven adult children lived in the home and there were three weddings in the living room. He wrote that his family loved 852 Stone Road. They were a gregarious family, very happy and hard working. They lived a Christ centered life. In fact, two of his sisters married ministers.

Our family also loved the house. That evening I learned that Mary Kay and her brother knew the Whitmans. Their parents had been friends with them. So now I am also a former resident of 852 Stone Road and I am glad.