My Grandparents had the Coolest House - 52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History

Richard & Margie Roos home circa 1930.

My grandparents had the coolest house. At least it was cool from the perspective of a little kid. Over the next three days I'll tell you three things about the house, and our adventures there, that made it so great.

First, there was the basement. It was never properly graded and so there was a slope to the floor. Dad's bedroom was down there and since there was a slight slope, if you got out of bed on one side, it was a bit of a drop to the floor! This was where I slept most of the time when we visited. I always made sure to get out of bed on the uphill side until I was older and taller. I loved this room because all of the cabinets and drawers were built into the wall and there were lots of them. They were full of old things like toy soldiers and marbles. Some of those very items have appeared from boxes this past year in our adventure of cleaning out Mom and Dad's house, where I grew up, and have brought back many fond memories.

In addition to Dad's room, there was a dark room for film developing (remember, I'm the 3rd generation of avid amateur photographers). There was a freezer and washing machine too. I don't remember if there was a drier but I do remember there being clothes lines that Grandma used to hang clothes to be dried in the winter.

There also was a door that led out the back of the house to the garage. I remember everyone using that door in the winter instead of the back door to the main floor of the house. That's probably because it was only a few steps from the garage to the basement door and then you were out of the snow and ice.

Finally, there was the back half of the basement that was Grandpa's workshop and storage. Since the floor sloped, the adults had to stoop a little when they got back to this corner. I remember the storage area being kind of dark and creepy. Come to think of it, all of these super old boxes of photos and other papers that I have inherited were probably stored there!

More tomorrow...

Adventure in my Grandparents' Bathroom

Amy Coffin's series, 52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History is a series of blogging prompts that "invite genealogists and others to record memories and insights about their own lives for future descendants."

© 2011, copyright Michelle Goodrum