Alabamy Bound

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Manalto
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Re: Alabamy Bound

Post by Manalto »

On my last day in Alabama, the director of the historic commission called to tell me that she loved the color of the door and, echoing what Lily said, mentioned the suitability of that green for the Craftsman style (in my case, with a big dollop of Colonial Revival). I invited her to come and see the inside (it was finally clean and organized) since I had only communicated with her by phone until that point. In half an hour she was there. As the town librarian, she is a wealth of historical information about the industries that were there 100 years ago. She told me that many of the houses were built with showers only (i.e., no tubs) so that a worker wouldn't dawdle, and about a practice of workers taking shifts in the same bed - one slept while the other worked - including a term that I've forgotten. (I was told about this same practice at the Wing Luke Museum in Seattle.) My house, being two stories, would have belonged to a manager. (La-dee-da!)

She raved about there being so many original details, especially the windows, kitchen sink and fireplace "surrounds" - the ornamental metal frames to the fireplace openings. She gasped when I lifted the carpet in the dining room and revealed a patch of flawless hardwood floor. I already felt good about having bought the house (after the typical pang of buyer's remorse) but the stamp of approval from someone who knows intimate details about the houses in that town didn't hurt.

I'm back in Connecticut now, so "Alabamy Bound" goes on hiatus until December. In the meantime, I hope to learn all I can about restoring windows. I'll contribute to the gardening section if I think it can be helpful.

PS - I think I left the ceiling fan on in the kitchen...

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Gothichome
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Re: Alabamy Bound

Post by Gothichome »

It'll keep the air from getting state Manalto. Getting the local historical folks on side can't hurt.

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Manalto
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Re: Alabamy Bound

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Here's a long overdue update on Thornwood, my sprawling estate on the Gulf Coast of Alabama. (So named because of the pernicious tangle of Smilax weeds that cost me half a gallon of blood.)

Window restoration had to be postponed because the December visit was accompanied by uncharacteristic cold. (One neighbor said that during a normal winter she rarely needed more than a sweater.) The gas space heaters were inadequate for the leaky old house, so I slept in my coat more than one night. I did manage to get a nice 14' sabal palm installed (pictured below with some of my dinky landscape plants), some weed trees removed, strip paint and have a lovely week with the flu. A couple of friends came to visit over Christmas but to say I wasn't very good company is an understatement.

Image085 by James McInnis, on Flickr

While up here in Connecticut, I have the luxury of time, so I've managed to accumulate some items I'd like to have in the house. The choices are considerably better here in the densely-populated Northeast, as are the prices. I got a Mission-style oak set that won't overwhelm the smallish parlor: settee, rocking chair and armchair that have upholstered seats and wooden backs. The wood needs refinishing and the glossy vinyl 60s-mod "fabric" will be gone once the joke wears off. I like my 1947 GE refrigerator that's already down there (after all, I did get three of them) but was seduced by an excellent price on this little charmer:

Image20180224_101704_HDR by James McInnis, on Flickr

The seller's brother bought the fridge (a 1934 GE Monitor Top model CK) 35 years ago to keep beer cool and never got around to it, so it has sat up on wood blocks since. It has 11" legs but he removed them and put them in a box for some reason, so they are in pristine condition. (From a seller on eBay I got reproduction rubber feet to protect the floor.) I have the shelves, which polished up nicely, and a peculiar little tool bearing the GE logo that was wedged into the monitor top that I think has something to do with the ice trays.

Image20180224_112133 by James McInnis, on Flickr

It still needs to be cleaned up and get a new gasket. I'm thinking the 1947 fridge for the pantry and the monitor top for the kitchen. It has a groovy foot pedal to open the door when your hands are full. It runs just fine, freezes ice cubes and keeps a good temperature.

The pièce de résistance, however, is my new stove, a 1928 Glenwood 'Ourway'. It was the flagship model of the Glenwood stove company and considered the best stove there was until the Depression hit and quality suffered. I found the stove on Craigslist and jumped through a few hoops to get it (they had rebuilt the hatchway and it would no longer fit, so it had to be taken apart). David Erickson in Littleton, Mass. did the restoration. His assistant said that, in the 30 years he's been restoring stoves, he hadn't seen one in such good cosmetic condition. The restoration is dazzling (new nickel plate just glows) and safely tucked away in my trailer, so "after" photos are not possible for a while, but here's a "before" where it was held prisoner in a Boston basement:

ImageGlenwood Ourway in Everett5 by James McInnis, on Flickr


I'm making plans to head back down to Alabama in a few weeks. In the meantime, a local carpenter has a checklist of things he's been doing at the house that require skills he has and I don't. (25 years in an apartment - call the super if there's a problem) A small leak had developed in the one-story section of the house in the back, so a closer look at the metal roof determined that replacement is overdue. The eaves extend about 4' out from the house and are supposed to have exposed rafter tails but were encased in vinyl. I was unable, with my rickety ladder, to get up that high. In order to get an idea of the condition of the wood underneath, the carpenter went up yesterday and pulled down some of vinyl exposing, to his surprise, a fair amount of deeply-charred wood. We knew there was some fire damage in the upstairs hall but our amateur forensics determined that someone had set a space heater there that caused a small fire, doing damage in a small radius. It's looking a lot worse than that now. He's going back today to pull down more vinyl to see the extent of the damage. I'm bracing myself for the news.

On my upcoming visit, I hope to devote most of my time to window restoration. The weather will be warm enough and I hope to have the fire-damage resolved by then.
Last edited by Manalto on Fri Apr 06, 2018 7:24 pm, edited 3 times in total.

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awomanwithahammer
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Re: Alabamy Bound

Post by awomanwithahammer »

James, I was wondering how things were going with you. You've been almost as quiet as Lily!

Those are some great finds. Are they electric or gas? I keep finding wood cookstoves on our local CL from the 30s, even into the 40s and 50s. Many parts of this area didn't get electricity until the TVA came into existence.

I've been working away on my window restoration, and am nearly halfway finished. I'm hoping the second half goes much more quickly than the first half as I've learned a lot and gotten faster at it. I've put everything else aside to work on them full time and get them knocked out.

I hope there's good news on the fire damage.
Bonnie

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Manalto
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Re: Alabamy Bound

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It's a gas range. A wood cookstove would be disastrous in muggy Alabama but, before gas came out (1910s?) and well after, I imagine, they continued to use them in all but the more affluent areas. The manifold across the front is where the gas goes to the burners, controlled by those four porcelain valves. By the way, there are collars on the valves that make them child-proof, a feature David said he had only seen once or twice. They are, however, a bit of a hassle to operate (lift the collar before you can turn the valve). I'll live with them a while; they're easy enough to remove.

The fridge is electric. The compressor generates some heat, so placing it on top of the cabinet makes sense, rather than under (where all of them have been since WWII) where it heats up the box and makes it work harder. I'm told that, because of its efficiency, it uses about as much electricity as a 25-watt incandescent bulb.

Thanks for your good wishes about the fire damage. In a 100-year-old house you expect some surprises under the roof, especially since it's obvious that the owners resorted to short-cut repairs in other parts of the house, but my heart sunk when I heard about the charring.

I'm sure I'll be picking your brain about window restoration.

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MJ1987
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Re: Alabamy Bound

Post by MJ1987 »

Manalto wrote:
While up here in Connecticut, I have the luxury of time, so I've managed to accumulate some items I'd like to have in the house. The choices are considerably better here in the densely-populated Northeast, as are the prices. I got a Mission-style oak set that won't overwhelm the smallish parlor: settee, rocking chair and armchair that have upholstered seats and wooden backs. The wood needs refinishing and the glossy vinyl 60s-mod "fabric" will be gone once the joke wears off. I like my 1947 GE refrigerator that's already down there (after all, I did get three of them) but was seduced by an excellent price on this little stove..."


Curious about where you picked all this stuff up. Is the AL house a second home? Here in the NE, antiques are really plentiful. It's really difficult sometimes to resist some of the stuff that makes its way out of the basements and attics.

Since you're in CT, have you checked out the Elephant's Trunk flea market? If not, it's a must, especially when the weather gets nicer. There's a LOT of vendors and sometimes the stuff is very cheap and/or reasonable.
Matt


I built a chimney for a comrade old;
I did the service not for hope or hire:
And then I travelled on in winter’s cold,
Yet all the day I glowed before the fire.


-Edwin Markham

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Manalto
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Re: Alabamy Bound

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The stove and fridge were on Craigslist. I've resigned myself to the fact that, if you find something good, you'd better expect to drive a distance to get it rather than wait for another one to show up closer to home. I think old Glenwoods (the 'Ourway' is rather a rare find) and monitor-tops are becoming fewer, so I drove to Boston for the stove and Schenectady for the refrigerator. (Coincidentally, the GE factory was in Schenectady.) The oak parlor set belonged to a friend's 98 year-old grandmother in Cedar Grove, NJ who, by the way, is a shrewd negotiator. She insisted the furniture is Stickley (which she labeled, to my delight, as "Sickly" and which it's not, of course) - and let's just say she didn't give it away.

Yes, I've been to Elephant's Trunk, although it's been a few years. I was surprised to see in one of your posts that you traveled up from Westwood. Have they reopened for the season? At this point, I think my trailer is at capacity (as is my garage), so I'll have to be careful about accumulating.

You know the term "starter home"? Well, I've designated the house in Alabama my "finisher home." I'm still teaching here in Connecticut and have been going down during semester breaks (I got the place last May) and hope to be there for the summer. I have a couple of other obligations in Connecticut but will move permanently to Alabama once that's no longer the case.

The fire-damage update is some bad news and some good news. Charring of the eaves extends halfway up the south side of the house and wraps around the back (east side of the sleeping porch) with damage to the beadboard overhang as well. The damage does not continue around to the north side of the sleeping porch; this part of the house (I think it's called an "el") is only one room wide. Fortunately, the rafter tails are extensions, so repair doesn't involve replacement of the entire rafter from the peak.

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Lily left the valley
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Re: Alabamy Bound

Post by Lily left the valley »

I like the story behind Thornwood. Great tongue in cheek name that still sounds quite stately.

Wonderful appliance finds, as usual for you. Looking forward to seeing the Sickley set too. ;-)

I love your notion of a "finisher home". I may steal that, as it's pretty much what Beebe is for us.

When your kitchen/pantry/et al area is done, I think it will be absolutely amazing in both function and form from what I know of all the thought and time you've been putting into it.

The rest of your home, I think will be equally grand, but those areas are the ones I'm more familiar with the pieces you've been gathering and plans you've been developing with indoor spaces.

:popcorn:
--Proud member of the Industrious Cheapskate Club
--Currently pondering ways to encourage thoughtful restovation and discourage mindless renovation.

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MJ1987
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Re: Alabamy Bound

Post by MJ1987 »

Manalto wrote:The stove and fridge were on Craigslist. I've resigned myself to the fact that, if you find something good, you'd better expect to drive a distance to get it rather than wait for another one to show up closer to home. I think old Glenwoods (the 'Ourway' is rather a rare find) and monitor-tops are becoming fewer, so I drove to Boston for the stove and Schenectady for the refrigerator. (Coincidentally, the GE factory was in Schenectady.) The oak parlor set belonged to a friend's 98 year-old grandmother in Cedar Grove, NJ who, by the way, is a shrewd negotiator. She insisted the furniture is Stickley (which she labeled, to my delight, as "Sickly" and which it's not, of course) - and let's just say she didn't give it away.

Yes, I've been to Elephant's Trunk, although it's been a few years. I was surprised to see in one of your posts that you traveled up from Westwood. Have they reopened for the season? At this point, I think my trailer is at capacity (as is my garage), so I'll have to be careful about accumulating.

You know the term "starter home"? Well, I've designated the house in Alabama my "finisher home." I'm still teaching here in Connecticut and have been going down during semester breaks (I got the place last May) and hope to be there for the summer. I have a couple of other obligations in Connecticut but will move permanently to Alabama once that's no longer the case.

The fire-damage update is some bad news and some good news. Charring of the eaves extends halfway up the south side of the house and wraps around the back (east side of the sleeping porch) with damage to the beadboard overhang as well. The damage does not continue around to the north side of the sleeping porch; this part of the house (I think it's called an "el") is only one room wide. Fortunately, the rafter tails are extensions, so repair doesn't involve replacement of the entire rafter from the peak.


Good stuff. The Craigslist finds are always exciting. I've spent the last couple years searching for appliances and a variety of other items. I tend not to drive too far, since I got my fill looking for trucks. My brother and I searched for vintage pickups from MD to NY, all but one was fruitless. "Sight unseen" is a bit scary and I feel like the same can be true of appliances. Now I look for them at estate sales. Basements are usually chock full of stoves, fridges, etc. Getting them up a flight of stairs or out Bilco doors is the biggest challenge. Your stuff looks awesome--well worth the effort!

Elephant's trunk is only about an hour north, going 70MPH at 6am. We get there around 7am and pay the $2 to get in. I can't tell you how much I've found there--and perhaps more importantly, some of the people I've met. Networking up there can really be important. The field opened the week before Easter, but it's been cold enough to keep many vendors away. Looking forward to the first warm Trunk, but that probably won't be for a while. Maybe we could meet up there down the road. Also, feel free to let me know if you're looking for anything and I'll keep an eye out!
Matt


I built a chimney for a comrade old;
I did the service not for hope or hire:
And then I travelled on in winter’s cold,
Yet all the day I glowed before the fire.


-Edwin Markham

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Manalto
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Re: Alabamy Bound

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Thanks, Matt, and I will do the same. PM me if you plan to go up to ET some weekend before the middle of May and I'll try to go too. One advantage of this forum is that we can keep an eye out for what others might be able to use - or just like. Members here have sent me links for listings that they think I might find useful, which I really appreciate. The disadvantage to this kind of networking, of course, is usually distance, when considering things too big to mail. As far as I know, you and Lily are the closest members to me, and both of you are about 2 hours away.

I just realized, looking over one of the posts above, that I referred to the GE monitor top as a stove. It's a refrigerator, of course. All the fridge you'll ever need!

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