As sometimes happens when you are sitting next to a stranger for a period of time a conversation begins. Recently a woman asked me if I was from Rutland. I said that I was and then she told me that she had lived in Proctor all of her life.
I followed by commenting that not only had I lived in Rutland all of my life but after 80 years l still live in the same house I grew up in. She told me that she couldn’t match that record as she had lived in four different houses in Proctor during her life time.
She said, “I bet your parents would be surprised to see how their house looks now. There have probably been a lot of changes.”
There actually have not been as many changes as one would expect. I usually need a good reason to make a change in just about all aspects of my life.
When my parents bought the house in 1944 one of the most appealing things to my father was the back porch. For a city street with houses quite close together one doesn’t expect to look out on the mountains. But that is exactly what you see from our back porch. It was strictly a screened porch until the mid-’80s when my husband, Peter, and I had sliding windows installed. Now air comes in through screens in the summer and in the winter we enjoy the glass windows. Since the porch faces south the sun provides a place to read and have lunch on a winter day. My father would have loved it!
The kitchen floor no longer has linoleum on it. The original hardwood underneath was sanded and stained. It looks so much more natural and in keeping with a house built in the early 1930s. I bet my mother would love the microwave oven for re-heating various dishes. What used to take at least 20 minutes in the stove’s oven now takes about 2 minutes. She would be impressed!
The living room fireplace that was never used because it needed a proper liner to burn wood has been converted to a gas fireplace. We love it and no wood needs to be hauled in by a couple of “seniors.” The log insert looks like the real thing and winter days are cozy and warm in the living room.
The TV in the living room is no longer a piece of furniture like the first one that arrived in our house in 1954. It’s a flat screen TV on a cabinet with a remote control that was only a dream back then. My parents would be amazed that you can change channels, control volume and view a guide without leaving your chair.
The windows throughout the house no longer have to be changed out from glass to screens as the seasons change. My parents would really be amazed that the same windows stay in place all year and you just tilt them for cleaning.
In the one and only bathroom the original tub has been replaced by a walk-in shower. The sink, counter and custom made cabinet are new as well as the flooring. It’s the only room in the house that doesn’t have a trace of yesteryear.
My bedroom from childhood is now a “shared space” for an office area and a place to hang clothes. Old houses had very little closet space so my handy husband installed wooden rods on three walls. Now I have plenty of room for clothes that won’t fit in my closet.
An armoire built by my husband holds many of his clothes. Where there’s a will, there’s a way and now both of us have a place to hang all of our clothes.
On the outside the clothesline was taken down in 2000 to make way for our in-ground pool. That was taken out a couple of years ago and the area is back to being just a lawn. I created raspberry patches and added blueberry bushes which my parents would have enjoyed. However, they would be disappointed that the lilac bush which they put in when they bought the house was destroyed several years ago during a winter ice storm.
I think they would be pleased with the landscape and flower gardens that have gradually appeared as my interest in gardening grew. My father was more of a gardener than my mother so he would appreciate the hard work that goes into maintaining all those spaces. It’s a labor of love.
The picket fence that my father built for our side lawn eventually rotted and he would now find a cedar “board on board” fence in its place. I think he would like the natural wood.
Time doesn’t stand still so I wonder what I would find if I could see our house 80 years down the road. I can’t even imagine things getting any more modern than they are now.
