Daddy built the house in the winter and spring of 1948, the year Sister Fleta was born in January. He said the frame warped after he got it up because he had to stop and put in a spring corp. In Arkansas, spring brings rain. The frame got wet and warped. Mama said Grandpa Melton Powell got a crick in his neck each day because he sat by the house and looked up at the workers all day. She also said the opening for the stove pipe in the chimney was the wrong size because Grandpa said the opening was the exact same size as a wheel hub which Daddy used as a pattern for the opening. The results were close but not exact.
As I remember the story goes that most of the boards used were cut from the Rock Quarry and hauled to a sawmill to be cut into lumber. There is no plywood used in this old house. I think the joists, studs, footers, and headers and other framework were all oak. The subfloor was oak boards. All the flooring was hardwood. The walls were made of solid tongue and groove hardwood.
Our family, Willis, Hazel, Patsy, Richard, Clayton and Fleta moved into the house in May of 1948.
I know this because the date was written on the ceiling of the porch at one time. Some careless person, i.e. a person who could care less, painted over the writing years ago.
Here is a list of improvements Sister Helen made to the our homeplace:
Painted entire house inside and out.
Cleaned, cleared the yard of dead limbs, junk poultry pins, junk rabbit cages, junk pool deck pieces.
Fenced the yard.
Unsealed all the windows that were painted shut. Some were nailed shut.
Unsealed back door that was nailed shut.
New furniture throughout the house. There was only and old cook stove and refrigerator in the house when she moved in, no furniture at all.
Added cabinets over washer/dryer, the painted them white.
Painted kitchen cabinets white
New kitchen flooring
New beautiful kitchen sink
New wonderful kitchen faucet
New used dish washer
New used cook range [she has replaced the kitchen range more than once, now has a beautifully useful Jenn-Air Range bought used at a bargain price.]
New used fridge bought at a bargain and with Brother’s help ran water line to fridge for the ice maker.
New used dryer, bought at a bargain
New used washer, bought at a bargain
New deep freeze
New bath shower head
New used water heater bought at a bargain and installed by brother.
New used front door bought at a bargain
New door handle
New ceiling fans
New heating stove, but I think this was a gift from Sister Betty.
New porch swing, another gift from Sister Betty.
A new, really new, water tight tin roof with a little help from a few guys.
And most recently, all by herself, removed old dirty living room carpet, cleaned, sanded, and refinished the newly revealed beautiful hardwood flooring that Daddy put down 73 years ago.
