Happy New Years!

December 31, 2010

My wish for the new year: to be able to live in this house (and to not buy any more money pits). We'll see if that happens. So, Alok has been working on ripping out ceilings. Last night, he came home a bit early after leaving the front door open and having a bat come in and swoop down around his head. He got back to work today cleaning up the plaster:


The alien


The massive amounts of plaster he cleared out

Here is how the house looks now:

Foyer (apparently, that pipe was hooked to a radiator in the master bedroom. Since we've unhooked that, Alok said it swung down at his head like he was in Indian Jones when he took out the wall)


Foyer


Above the front door


Staircase. This plaster also needs to come down


Foyer again


Living room.... BTW notice the lack of all of the plaster on the carpet in the pics


Living room ceiling


Living room.... that dining room ahead is next


Living room


Old gas line for lighting, running by old wiring


Dirty Alok

We also found some new things in the walls. Here they are:


Bottle of bitters from Brown Drugs


Old cigarette pack


Old glove


Old shoe (I guess I could drop the "old..." that is obvious)


Envelope for the following letter


It is dated June 4th, 1888 and is from Russell Stevens to the Weems, stating he is sorry that he could not meet with them and Miss Brawner

Thanks to the folks at the Gardner Museum in Quincy, we now have more information on our house. Unfortunately, there isn't too much, but here is the history of ownership:

1896- Jesse E. Weems, Manager Pure Ice Company
1921- Silas J. Hauworth and wife Sara P., Vice-President of Noll-Hauworth
1928- Wm. Edwin Brown and wife Florence, President and Manager of Brown Drugs
1930- Still the Browns and also J.W. Edgan
1980s- Kaufmans

I also have a few articles from the 1990's when the Kaufman's owned the house. That will come later.

Have a Happy New Years!

Jessica