Haunted Houses are Historic

At work I get teased a bit about my passion for preservation and historic homes. It’s playful stuff. Like anytime I take a vacation day, the assumption is I’m going to chain myself to a building. It’s amazing how much funnier that joke gets every time I hear it (not!).

So it was no surprise when I came in to work this Halloween and saw this:

I thought it was hilarious.

Input for Preservation Month Requested

Each May communities across the country celebrate preservation and history. It’s a national effort, led by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

The New Albany Historic Preservation Commission and local preservation partners have been organizers of many events in the past few years.

*Walking Tours
*Workshops for Window Repair, Painting, Masonry Repair, Researching Historic Homes, etc.
*Public Forums for discussing issues in our historic neighborhoods
*Nationally recognized speakers discussing preservation related topics

Planning for these events is a year round job and it really heats up in November. Now is your chance to provide input and suggestions.

Are there topics you’d like addressed? Issues in our historic neighborhoods you’d like to discuss in a public forum? A particular workshop you’d like repeated or a new one to add?

Post your comment here or email me directly at the address listed in my profile.

Does this house look familiar to you?

A friend sent this to me about a year ago wondering if I knew the location of this home. The photograph was purchased in an Antique shop near New Albany.

It sure looks like it could be New Albany to me. But I've not been able to locate it. Email me or post a comment if you can identify.

Installment 14: Long hot Summer and long hot Fall

This has been quite a gap in postings. When I last reported in, I talked about how fun painting can be. After painting five days in a row, it wasn’t so much fun anymore.

I’m a really slow painter and freely admit to driving myself a little bonkers. But I’m usually pleased with the result. The front of the home (porch, columns, foundation, entire façade) is done. If all goes well it will be 10 to 12 years before it needs painting again. The exception is the concrete porch floor – which will probably get a touch up every couple years.

At the end of a long hot summer I can reflect about significant events and plan for the future. Roof and box gutters are done. The verdict is still out on their ability to repel water since it only rains once every five weeks now. It’s going to take some hard rain for me to gain confidence.

Roughly one third of the house remains untouched – in the original condition it was in when the vinyl came off two years ago. The entire south side of the home needs some final prep work and then the finish coat of paint. Just about all the windows require some TLC. So there’s still plenty of work to do.

I’ll also admit to feeling a just a tiny bit of listlessness and even occasional annoyance as the summer has ended. The listlessness is the result of being tired. The annoyance is the result of my poor organizational skills. For example – over the span of two years I’ve purchased four tape measurers. Every time I need one it seems the tape measurer black hole has swallowed it up.

The need for one usually results in the search, which can range from five minutes to thirty minutes if I’m feeling really stubborn. It usually starts in the garage, where any sensible person would store their tools. I check in boxes, on shelves, under the lawnmower, etc.

Can’t find it in the garage? Did I take it inside the house for some reason? The search turns to kitchen drawers, the basement, the attic, etc.

Sometimes the search is successful. On four occurrences the search has failed and I’ve made the short trip to ACE and/or Home Depot and just bought another one.

There’s a reason for this painful routine. It’s all in how my work day normally ends. I get tired and all I want to do is take a shower and drink a beer. Whatever I’m doing at that particular moment ends. All the stuff I’ve taken out of the garage during the day gets taken back in as few trips as possible. It gets dumped in the first empty spot I can find.

It’s a problem and I am working on it.