The House at 522 Crawford

The other day I put up a picture of a house just up the street from this house. It was built in 1890 which makes it 110 years old. It was built by my great-grandfather, George A, Underwood. That is his picture on the right. He was a tall man and built the house with very tall ceilings and 8 ft tall doors on the main floor. There was a front parlor, a bedroom, large dining/sitting room and kitchen when I knew the house.
He was my grandmother's father and had at least five children. (Jo may have to correct me on this.) He was also a Mason and was first Master of Arcadia Lodge in 1881. (I was Master in 1980 just 99 years later.) The night I was installed as Master of the Lodge my aunt Jean gave me his Past Master's jewel. It is probably my most prized possession (along with a petit point which my sister made for me) They are followed by two chairs which were family pieces which belonged to relatives of the Underwood family and were refinished by my Uncle Dave. One has carved lions heads. I remember the chairs from the parlor in the front of this house.
When I was a teen-ager my aunt who was my grandfather's sister in law hired me to mow and trim the lawn. It is a corner lot and steep and I twisted my ankle on that damn hillside numerous times. But I learned to love the house. By the time I was born the house was owned by my great-uncle Lew Cole. He and my aunt Kate Mike (Called that because her maiden name was McMichaels (sp?) to differentiate her from Uncle Lew's sister Kate. Uncle Lew put the brick facade on the house. I remember watching him do that
You see we lived with my grandparents and Schools then did not have lunch programs so I walked from Beardshear School to their home for lunch each day. (My Aunt Kate Mike made the best corn bread with honey that I have ever eaten.) We ate in the kitchen which was large enough to hold an office for my uncle's business. Uncle Lew was very nice to me and I loved them both. Aunt Kate used to hum "I had a dream" and I never knew her to lose her temper or say anything bad about any one.
There was a rather steep staircase to the upstairs which was rented to the Larson's Loren Larsen was a few years older than me and put up with my hero worship. I used to go there every Wednesday night for supper also and would go upstairs to pester him. I remember listening to the radio dramas with him. The staircase on the outside enable them to get to their place without having to go through the downstairs.
The garage was build in 1890 with the house and after you parked you could go through the basement to get to a stair which opened into the kitchen. I remember a large bag of hard candy in there. Uncle Lew was diabetic and he used it to regulate his blood sugar. (I think) In the picture above you can see the upstairs sleeping porch and the door to the back porch which was the entrance I used. It was a good place to make sure your shoes were clean. And, while it was used as storage, it was always neat and orderly. Aunt Kate Mike kept a neat home. I also was privileged to visit my grandfather's sisters who lived together on 13th street every Saturday night while mother would go out with her friends. Uncle Lew and Aunt Kate Mike would come up for supper and then take us all for a ride. Sometimes we would wait in the car while he got his hairscut at the little barbershop near the Campus. I remember when I finally grew tall enough to reach from one door to the other across the back seat.
This is the wall I remember watching him put up the brick. He was up pretty high when I watched him
This house is directly East of 522 Crawford. It is a duplex which belongs to my aunt Jo. It was built inside a barn which used to sit there. I used to play in the barn and it is a wonder I survived it. I have been told the story of almost falling from the second story and one time I climbed to the top of a ladder which leaned up against the house. My aunt Kate Mike had to coax me down. We lived just down the street in the little house below until my parents were divorced. I think I may have been about four when we moved.
I have gone on long enough about a few childhood memories. Hope you enjoyed them. Thanks for stopping by. Hugs, j

Addendum: I got this e-mail from Ginny

I met with voc. rehab. to fill out forms and be put on the waiting list, the gal Bobbie ? (will have to look on the paper) used to live a few houses north of the "Cole" house on Crawford when she was a child (she is 55 now). I told her that the house was where my great uncle Lou Cole lived and I knew his wife as Kate Mike because of my great-aunt Kate Cole. All because she asked me if I had grown up in Ames. She remembered there being a place with horses near by and a barn. She also went to Beardshere (sp). I remmember picking up sticks while you mowed and how the house was always cool in the summer and the dish of mints there along with the bathroom which I remember as being different somehow toilet wise. Also remember the cat there. Thanks for sharing. I always feel peaceful when I remember the house.

The cat was named Tom and it was one of those grey tabby cats and it was a big one. I remember it used to sit on my Aunt's lap and it did purr. Probably the first cat I was familiar with.

The bathroom was different. The bathroom was long and narrow and it had a fixture that was both toilet and bathtub all in one. There may have been a shower also. I just remember that I had never seen one like it before. I thought it was cool. I have the dish which had the mints in it and unfortunately it has to be put away because the cat I live with (Cassie) likes to knock things off the table/counter/table or anyplace she can get to them.

One more thing. You will notice that the roof is flat. After my Aunt died I was helping my grandfather with getting things ready for the estate sale and I went up on top of the roof. It was really nice to see the view. I thought that if I had lived there I might have gone up there to sun bathe (probably naked).