{"id":9544,"date":"2023-04-27T21:39:18","date_gmt":"2023-04-27T21:39:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/library\/?page_id=9544"},"modified":"2023-04-27T21:39:18","modified_gmt":"2023-04-27T21:39:18","slug":"mary-g-dossett-oral-history","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/library\/mary-g-dossett-oral-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Mary G. Dossett Oral History"},"content":{"rendered":"[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”default” column_direction=”default” column_direction_tablet=”default” column_direction_phone=”default” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” row_border_radius=”none” row_border_radius_applies=”bg” overlay_strength=”0.3″ gradient_direction=”left_to_right” shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”all” column_element_spacing=”default” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”1\/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” bg_image_animation=”none” border_type=”simple” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][divider line_type=”No Line”][vc_column_text]\n

Mary G. (Mimi) Dossett Oral History<\/span><\/h1>\n[\/vc_column_text][divider line_type=”No Line”][page_submenu alignment=”center” sticky=”true” bg_color=”#008542″ link_color=”#ffffff”][page_link link_url=”https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/library\/manuscripts-and-guides\/” title=”Manuscripts & Subject Guides<\/strong>” id=”1682631267870-5″ tab_id=”1682631267871-2″] [\/page_link][page_link link_url=”https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/library\/guides-to-the-collection-page\/” title=”Collections Portal<\/strong>” id=”1682631267880-1″ tab_id=”1682631267881-6″] [\/page_link][page_link title=”Visit<\/strong>” id=”1682631274867-1″ tab_id=”1682631274869-10″ link_url=”https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/library\/departments\/archives-museum\/visit\/”][\/page_link][page_link title=”Make a Request<\/strong>” id=”1682631275439-5″ tab_id=”1682631275440-8″ link_url=”https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/library\/departments\/archives-museum\/requests\/”][\/page_link][page_link title=”About Us<\/strong>” id=”1682631276156-2″ tab_id=”1682631276157-9″ link_url=”https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/library\/departments-archives-museum-about-us\/”][\/page_link][page_link title=”Yearbooks Online<\/strong>” id=”1682631276959-9″ tab_id=”1682631276959-10″ link_url=” https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/library\/departments\/archives-museum\/yearbooks-alumni-magazines-delta-state-histories\/”][\/page_link][\/page_submenu][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”default” column_direction=”default” column_direction_tablet=”default” column_direction_phone=”default” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” row_border_radius=”none” row_border_radius_applies=”bg” overlay_strength=”0.3″ gradient_direction=”left_to_right” shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”all” column_element_spacing=”default” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”1\/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” bg_image_animation=”none” border_type=”simple” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]Interview with Mary G. (Mimi) Dossett OH# 386<\/strong><\/p>\n

Interviewed by Emily Weaver and Dr. Cameron McMillen <\/strong><\/p>\n

Interview Date August 31, 2007<\/strong><\/p>\n

Transcribed by W. Ray <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

EW:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 This is Emily Weaver and I am with Dr. Cameron McMillen and we are interviewing Mrs. Mimi Dossett for the Historic Neighborhood Project.\u00a0 Mrs. Dossett, do you willingly participate in this oral history project?<\/p>\n

MD:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I do.<\/p>\n

EW:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Great.\u00a0 Alright Dr. McMillen, you may begin your questions.<\/p>\n

CM:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 How long have you lived in this house?<\/p>\n

MD:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019ve lived here for nine years.\u00a0 I\u2019ve lived in Cleveland for sixteen years and when my children were little I would walk by and visit LaValle House who was a member of our church.\u00a0 I\u2019ve always loved it just visiting here and so the first time I really saw the house was about sixteen years ago.<\/p>\n

CM:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Where did you live before you lived in this house?<\/p>\n

MD:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I lived on Fifth Avenue.\u00a0 On the corner of Fifth and Lamar in the house where \u2013 I can\u2019t remember who grew up there, but anyway it\u2019s got the white picket fence.\u00a0 And that house has some good history too.<\/p>\n

CM:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 And how did you end up buying this house or living in this house?<\/p>\n

MD:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Well, only one family had lived in this house prior to our family living here and that was the House family.\u00a0 The house was built by LaValle House\u2019s grandmother.\u00a0 He moved in when he was five in 1925.\u00a0 The house was built in 1912.\u00a0 And in the late \u201890\u2019s he had to move to a nursing home.\u00a0 So anyway, there were some considerations of the house being used for commercial purposes and the neighbors really didn\u2019t want it to happen.\u00a0 And luckily, we were just in the right place and the right time.\u00a0 And it takes a special person to love an old house like this because it is a lot of work.\u00a0 In an old house nothing works except its owners.\u00a0 And that\u2019s definitely true.\u00a0 We\u2019ve done a big project just about every year in the nine years we\u2019ve been here.<\/p>\n

CM:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Have there been structural changes to the house?<\/p>\n

MD:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 We have, from the kitchen back.\u00a0 And I can show you where that is when we walk around.\u00a0 The kitchen was just you know like all old houses, a small room basically used for \u2013 you know they had servants that came in and cooked for the family.\u00a0 They didn\u2019t really use the whole kitchen when it was built.\u00a0 And there was a little breakfast and an L-shaped back porch and we opened all that up and made it a more family oriented kitchen for modern use.\u00a0 Other than that really the house is virtually unchanged.\u00a0 There is a sleeping porch upstairs that we converted to a second bathroom.\u00a0 For the first seven years we lived here we had one bathroom upstairs and one bathroom downstairs.\u00a0 Both with footed tubs and wooden floors.\u00a0 So, my dad said he thought I was the only person in the world that would take the siding off my house before I added a shower.\u00a0 It is a very unusual organization to your priorities, but anyway, we did \u2013 LaValle\u2019s aluminum siding on the house which we did take off and we stored the original clapboard siding and then we added a master bedroom back off the kitchen and changed the kitchen structure.\u00a0 But other than that the rest of the walls are actually the same.\u00a0 Another interesting thing is that there was a house on this location prior to 1912.\u00a0 A Victorian house and it burned.\u00a0 But it burned very slowly for whatever reason \u2013 the family didn\u2019t explain this to me.\u00a0 They were able to get everything out of it including these two mantelpieces and so when Mrs. Clark rebuilt the house, she put the mantelpieces back in.\u00a0 So these are really Victorian, but they are original to the house.\u00a0 Anyway.<\/p>\n

EW:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Oh, how interesting.<\/p>\n

CM:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It\u2019s hard to imagine taking down the mantels while the house was on fire.<\/p>\n

MD:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I know it.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know if it just smoldered or what.\u00a0 But anyway, that\u2019s what the granddaughter told me.\u00a0 LaValle\u2019s sister.\u00a0 You can see that they don\u2019t look quite of the period that the rest of the house is.\u00a0 And I\u2019m sure they are just hammered on there.\u00a0 But anyway, that\u2019s interesting.<\/p>\n

CM:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Any (inaudible).\u00a0 Do all of them still work?<\/p>\n

MD:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 They do.\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 I mean I think they could work a little better if I worked on them.\u00a0 And actually I have taken the brass and I guess you know the little part that opens and closes them down on one of them. Cleaned and polished it and it has never gotten back up.\u00a0 But they work.\u00a0 And we have all these doors.\u00a0 We\u2019ve saved them \u2013 we just took them off to make them a little more open.<\/p>\n

CM:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 You gave us the documents that LaValle wrote trying to sell the house.\u00a0 Did you find out the house was for sale through that or because you knew them?<\/p>\n

MD:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 You know it\u2019s interesting. I always wanted to say to him, \u201cYou know if you ever want to sell this house I would love to buy it.\u201d\u00a0 And actually I learned a good lesson because I didn\u2019t want to hurt his feelings or suggest that he was getting old but I wish I had.\u00a0 And I\u2019m sure he wished I had.\u00a0 Because instead he hired his realtor cousin, Vera Davis, and for some reason she and I could not negotiate on the house and in the end several other people considered buying it and Louis Jackson\u2019s Accounting Firm bought it.\u00a0 And then they found out that the people didn\u2019t want it to be a commercial property and so I worked with him and bought it.\u00a0 So I guess all\u2019s well that ends well.\u00a0 But I would have preferred to have bought it directly from LaValle.<\/p>\n

CM:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Did he have a family that grew up in this house?<\/p>\n

MD:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 He didn\u2019t.\u00a0 Well his own siblings grew up.\u00a0 He moved here with his parents and LaValle was in the Navy and he contracted polio in Korea.\u00a0 So anyway, he was in a wheelchair.\u00a0 Ultimately he lived here with his elderly mother.\u00a0 And she had a very interesting position because she also worked at the courthouse as I do.\u00a0 She was head of the draft board for a very long time during World War II and I think straight through Korea.\u00a0 But anyway, if you didn\u2019t want to go to war you did.\u00a0 You needed to go talk with Mrs. House.\u00a0 Anyway, he contracted polio and was in a wheelchair and for\u00a0 a long time he lived downstairs with the dining room as his bedroom and she lived upstairs.\u00a0 And when she became ridden she moved down here and there was a hospital bed in this room and she had the living room as her bedroom and he had the dining room.\u00a0 And you know, I forgot the question\u2026<\/p>\n

CM:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Did he ever marry?<\/p>\n

MD:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 He didn\u2019t.\u00a0 I think he was a very young man when he got polio.\u00a0 And actually this little bathroom is really interesting, I want to show it to you all too.\u00a0 During the Depression they converted this closet to a bathroom and took in boarders.\u00a0 And Jimmy Sanders supposedly lived in this house for a brief time among other people.\u00a0 But when LaValle contracted polio the plumbers sort of made a makeshift handicapped polio in there and the toilet is (inaudible) and the tank is way up on the wall and then the toilet is twisted around a different way so LaValle could get his wheelchair in there.\u00a0 And it\u2019s just amazing to think that he was able to maneuver in that little tiny bathroom with his wheelchair.\u00a0 And then the bathtub is under the stairs.\u00a0 So it was sort of a unique situation.\u00a0 But they adapted things the best they could with a handicapped living in this house.\u00a0 There\u2019s a ramp off of the back which we removed.\u00a0 Which probably one of my little toddlers or young children probably ran straight out the back and off that.\u00a0 Because we are so used to running on (inaudible).\u00a0 Anyway, he never married and I\u2019m not exactly sure of the circumstances of why he and his parents lived with their grandmother.\u00a0 But I think people did that a little more often in those days and moved in together.<\/p>\n

CM:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 And what about these two rooms.\u00a0 It\u2019s natural.\u00a0 Is it natural throughout the house or did somebody paint it?<\/p>\n

MD:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I painted a lot of it.\u00a0 And actually there\u2019s a closet upstairs if you open it up it has not been exposed to the elements.\u00a0 It is stained but it was a much lighter color. And over the years as they re-shellacked, it just turned black.\u00a0 And so room by room, we eventually painted a lot of it just because it was too dark.\u00a0 This is original to the house.\u00a0 And really LaValle, as I said he is amazing, he ran this house like a ship.\u00a0 He gave it wonderful care even though he was in a wheelchair.\u00a0 An electrician told me the story one time them installing an attic fan up in the attic.\u00a0 And they said that they carried him up in the wheelchair to sit in the attic and he watched while they installed the electric fan to make sure that \u2013 the attic fan to make sure they did it correctly.\u00a0 At when they went to lunch he didn\u2019t want (inaudible) I\u2019m sure, he didn\u2019t want them to carry him all the way down the stairs so they left him up there until 1:00.\u00a0 And the electricians said that they just worried to death living a man in a wheelchair up on the third floor in 110 degree weather and went and ate lunch.\u00a0 But they did it anyway.\u00a0 Everything was just as well taken care of as he could afford.\u00a0 And that was one of the great things about the house when we moved into it.\u00a0 It was so neat that nothing had ever been changed.\u00a0 There was, what we use as a laundry room is just a little tiny closet which they called the fruit closet.\u00a0 And I think they just got in there and did preserves and things. And everything is exactly (inaudible)<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s unusual.<\/p>\n

CM:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 What was his occupation when he came back here?<\/p>\n

MD:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Well when he lived in Memphis he was a librarian.\u00a0 And I don\u2019t think he ever worked.\u00a0 I think he moved back pretty much to take care of his mother.\u00a0 And Helen House was a big talker.\u00a0 Everybody said they would come by and visit her and she talked the whole time.\u00a0 And that LaValle could never really get a word in edgewise.\u00a0 But he didn\u2019t really work when he was here.<\/p>\n

CM:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Are they part of the family of the C.P. House that has the gas company?<\/p>\n

MD:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 They are cousins.\u00a0 And of course Mrs. House was a Clark.\u00a0 She was Helen Clark.\u00a0 And that\u2019s an old family from around here.\u00a0 And her husband, Mr. House, I don\u2019t know very much about him.\u00a0 I guess he was David LaValle House Sr.\u00a0 Rosemary Jacobs said that Charlie Jacobs had very fond memories of him taking the boys fishing.\u00a0 But I don\u2019t really know very much about him at all.\u00a0 And I don\u2019t really know what he did here.<\/p>\n

CM:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Are there any special architectural features about the house that you can tell us about?<\/p>\n

MD:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Well, you know these windows are very huge and unique and the ceilings as high as they are.\u00a0 And all the ceilings are still original plaster.\u00a0 All these walls are plaster too which you know (inaudible)\u00a0\u00a0 plaster walls that are a hundred years old don\u2019t look like this at all.\u00a0 There have been funerals and weddings here so\u2026<\/p>\n

CM:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 You said you have some pictures?<\/p>\n

MD:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Yes, I might have to dig for a little bit to look for them.\u00a0 But I will definitely track them down for you.<\/p>\n

EW:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Okay.<\/p>\n

CM:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Would you allow us to borrow them?<\/p>\n

MD:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 Sure.<\/p>\n

CM:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 That would be wonderful.<\/p>\n

MD:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I have a wonderful picture.\u00a0 I need to go find it I guess at the library but I wanted a copy of it anyway, of this house very early on.\u00a0 And that magnolia tree is not there.\u00a0 That big magnolia tree that\u2019s out there.\u00a0 And so anyway, I can borrow some of those pictures too.\u00a0 But yes, I\u2019ll get some good pictures together and actually, Mrs. Dossett has some wonderful pictures of the house next door.\u00a0 Because Bill\u2019s great aunt built that.\u00a0 Virginia Townsend.\u00a0 And she\u2019s got pictures of him in the house and stuff.\u00a0 But anyway, this house, we can walk around.\u00a0 I love the staircase.\u00a0 Art deco features.\u00a0 I love the old side panels.\u00a0 I love these glasses in the middle.\u00a0 And if you look up (inaudible) there\u2019s a bar right there that had evidently a great big heavy velvet curtain.\u00a0 So that\u2019s how the person that was bordered had some privacy.<\/p>\n

EW:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Oh, so that would have been one of the rooms?<\/p>\n

MD:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 That was the room.\u00a0\u00a0 That was the only room that they took boarders in.<\/p>\n

CM:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 We noticed the door as we came in.\u00a0 It\u2019s gorgeous.\u00a0 Is that an original door?<\/p>\n

MD:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It is.\u00a0 I had it refinished.\u00a0 It was painted.\u00a0 This is an original door too.<\/p>\n

EW:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 You mentioned weddings and funerals.\u00a0 Did you own the house or have you\u2026<\/p>\n

MD:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 No.\u00a0 Both of the girls \u2013 both of LaValle\u2019s sisters were married here.\u00a0 And everyone all had their funerals here.\u00a0 I think the coffin was laid out in this room in front of that mantle piece and the weddings took place there too.\u00a0 And that fireplace has got that iron fireplace cover, it\u2019s got some musicians, sort of a musical theme.\u00a0 And that was the music room.\u00a0 It had a grand piano in it and Mrs. House was a wonderful pianist.\u00a0 But when the kids were teenagers they danced and had big wild parties in this room.\u00a0 And one of her daughters said she thought that they had danced from here to Memphis right here in this living room.\u00a0 So they had a lot of fun people growing up here.<\/p>\n

EW:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I like this house.<\/p>\n

CM:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Did Bill\u2019s great aunt live there when LaValle lived here?<\/p>\n

DM:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 I think Mrs. Clark was here.\u00a0 Bill\u2019s father was 54 when he was born.\u00a0 And so it was Bill\u2019s father\u2019s aunt that lived there and he would spend the night a lot and be over.\u00a0 But he probably was closer to LaValle\u2019s age or maybe a little older.\u00a0 LaValle was young \u2013 even younger than him when he was here.\u00a0 So they all knew each other.<\/p>\n

EW:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 So was this house sitting empty?<\/p>\n

MD:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Well at the time LaValle moved to the nursing home they were trying to sell it.\u00a0 When it was sitting empty it had an alarm system and a lot of big old Victorian furniture in it.<\/p>\n

EW:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 What happened to the furniture?<\/p>\n

MD:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The family disbursed it.\u00a0 Yeah.\u00a0 LaValle I don\u2019t think he has much furniture because the siblings (inaudible) the daughter said.\u00a0 And both of LaValle\u2019s sister have children.<\/p>\n

CM:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The house across the street is commercial.\u00a0 Was it a commercial \u2013 was that law office there when you moved here?<\/p>\n

MD:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 It\u2019s been a law office for as long as I\u2019ve been here.\u00a0 And that house, it\u2019s a brick facade.\u00a0\u00a0 That\u2019s sort of brick siding which was something that was popular for a time.\u00a0 That house really is a wood frame house just like this one.\u00a0 It\u2019s just that you don\u2019t quite realize \u2013 if you look up at the top you can see that really that was just a wood frame house with a big front porch just like this one.\u00a0 Yeah, everything \u2013 the dental office was commercial and all these houses on this corner were all law firms when we moved her.\u00a0 Gerald Jacks office has now gone back to residential and we are really glad about it.<\/p>\n

CM:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Strange that if everything else around here was commercial that they didn\u2019t want this to be.<\/p>\n

MD:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I think it was mainly the Routeman\u2019s and the Adam\u2019s.\u00a0 And in order, and actually I happen to be on the Planning Commission and we are trying to get a little more sophisticated about that kind of thing.\u00a0 But the parking requirement for a structure this size are so large that they would have to basically concrete the whole yard, and still have trouble getting enough parking. And that was one of the objections.<\/p>\n

EW:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (inaudible) about turning the house..<\/p>\n

MD:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Right.\u00a0 And I\u2019m sure the zoning had been restructured since these buildings were in place.\u00a0 The parking requirements for this were much greater than those.<\/p>\n

EW:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It would have destroyed the look.<\/p>\n

MD:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Yeah.\u00a0 And really, I mean you know this is helpful information for your thing, especially in this day and age.\u00a0 It is very expensive to maintain old houses like this.\u00a0 Besides that every month practically there is a $300 plumbing problem.\u00a0 We pretty much have fixed a lot of it because we\u2019ve mostly rewired and replumbed the house and you know, redone the kitchen and the bathroom.\u00a0 But it is very hard.\u00a0 Especially if you are young enough to have the energy to want to do it, then you really don\u2019t have the money.\u00a0 And actually for us we were willing to live in it for seven years without a shower, which is unusual.\u00a0 But some of us don\u2019t have that interest and passion.\u00a0 But anyway we\u2019ve got it all pretty much done and we really love being here with it.\u00a0 Well worth it.<\/p>\n

EW:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Was this the first old house that you\u2019ve redone?<\/p>\n

MD:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 No, I grew up in an old Victorian home and then, really just being 6\u20191\u201d, I can never get used to lower ceilings, than the ones in the house I grew up in had fourteen foot ceilings.\u00a0 Anyway so I love tall ceilings.\u00a0 I lived on Fifth Avenue and that house was probably built in about 1930 \u2013 \u201933 maybe.\u00a0 The Sledge\u2019s, Mrs. Sledge grew up in that house on Fifth Avenue.\u00a0 So anyway, this is the old house I live in.<\/p>\n

CM:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 How tall are these ceilings?<\/p>\n

MD:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Eleven feet and ten inches.\u00a0 Just under twelve.<\/p>\n

CM:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (Inaudible)<\/p>\n

MD:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 You know I can\u2019t ever remember measuring the ones upstairs but they are probably almost as tall.\u00a0 Maybe they are eleven feet.\u00a0 Tall enough that it is really a pain to change the lights in the ceiling fan when they\u2026<\/p>\n

EW:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (Inaudible)<\/p>\n

MD:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Well to me it is very obvious that there used to be a light in the middle of this.<\/p>\n

CM:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 And the paper said there was a chandelier stored in the attic.\u00a0 There were two.\u00a0 One for the living room and one for the dining room.\u00a0 Is it that one or was it\u2026<\/p>\n

MD:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It is this one.\u00a0 It is right here in the hall.\u00a0 I put one in the upstairs hallway and one downstairs.\u00a0 I had refinished the one upstairs and not finished (inaudible) but I do have them.<\/p>\n

CM:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Has the neighborhood changed much in the nine years that you\u2019ve been here, or do you know stories about the neighborhood?<\/p>\n

MD:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It\u2019s a wonderful neighborhood.\u00a0 We love it. It has changed a little bit but not much. You know we still the enjoy things about the neighborhood that we enjoyed nine years ago.\u00a0 Particularly the Adam\u2019s.\u00a0 You know having our dentist\u2019s office and our decorator live across the street.\u00a0 She is not really a decorator but we always joke that if we use Dr. Adams for our doctor so if the neighborhood blew up there\u2019d be no records to identify any of the doctors.\u00a0 Cause all of our bills and medical ethics and things are right here.<\/p>\n

EW:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 And you get to walk to work.<\/p>\n

MD:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I walk to work.\u00a0 Bill walks to work a lot of the time.\u00a0 Especially at lunch.<\/p>\n

EW:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 That\u2019s great.\u00a0 You normally don\u2019t get to do those type of things either.<\/p>\n

MD:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I know.\u00a0 It really is great.\u00a0 And I guess I assume (inaudible)<\/p>\n

I\u2019d like to get them to pave the alley between here and the courthouse but I don\u2019t think that will happen.<\/p>\n

CM:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Do you know the name of the alley between here and the courthouse?<\/p>\n

MD:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I don\u2019t.\u00a0 Is there a name for it?<\/p>\n

CM:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 There isn\u2019t.\u00a0 And Julia, we talked to Julia Moore and she told us the name of the alley.\u00a0 Do you remember what she told us.<\/p>\n

EW:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 No.<\/p>\n

CM:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I can\u2019t think right now but anyway she told me that the alley behind Victoria, that part of it was called Echo Lane.\u00a0 And we\u2019ve heard different names but I was just wondering if it ..<\/p>\n

MD:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I don\u2019t know.\u00a0 But old houses (inaudible) when it is thundering and people in the bedroom are like (inaudible)<\/p>\n

CM:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 And I don\u2019t remember, I just know that\u2019s not what Julia said.<\/p>\n

MD:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 That\u2019s nice to know.\u00a0 I like to find out the name.\u00a0 I like Echo Lane.\u00a0 Well, I\u2019m trying to think. That\u2019s about all I think of.<\/p>\n

CM:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Do you have any other questions?<\/p>\n

EW:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Make we take the pictures and look at them?<\/p>\n

MD:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Sure.<\/p>\n

EW:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 We\u2019ll stop the recording now.<\/p>\n

Tape Ends<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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