26 Comments
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Cath Giesbrecht's avatar

Not every house makes this kind of impression -- thank you for sharing this one!

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Jami's avatar

This is so great ! You capture so many memory’s .

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Carole McCulloch's avatar

Kirsi thank you for this beautifully written memoir of a house! A ‘one place study’ extraordinaire!

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Jill Swenson's avatar

What a great piece! I love this story of the little house and the people who lived in it.

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Kirsi Dahl's avatar

Jill, thank you. I'd never done research on non-ancestors before. It was kind of fun. Especially tracking down the grand-niece of the Vanderbeek's who happened to have the photo of that couple from the 1950s standing in the yard with the beautiful flowers!

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Jill Swenson's avatar

That photo captures the Vanderbeek's pride and joy in their adorable house. Great research.

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Lisa Maguire's avatar

What a beautiful history of a house. I agree with Helene that houses figure in our family history like people with their own stories. And what a sweet little house!!

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Kirsi Dahl's avatar

Thanks Lisa. I think because the house is a little cutie is one of the reasons it sticks with me too. :)

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Jeni's avatar

Love this, Kirsi!

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Helene @ Letters…'s avatar

Love this and how you’ve written it. Although houses aren’t technically ‘ancestors’, they still tell stories. If walls could talk…

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Kirsi Dahl's avatar

Thank you, Helene. When I talk about this house, people often ask why I have such emotion for it and I explain that even though we didn’t live there very long, it’s the place of my earliest memories, and I think that’s special.

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Julie Londino-Green's avatar

Beautiful! Such great memories of our early years.

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Sadie Nelson's avatar

I LOVE house histories. And a Minnesota one, at that! Beautifully written ❤️ (also, I have to share that I live in a Magnolia Ave house now, but in St Paul Park!)

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Kirsi Dahl's avatar

Oh my! What a fun share!

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Paula Delesha's avatar

So sweet. Great stories. I'm sorry you didn't get to hug your friend goodbye 😔

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Lynda Heines's avatar

Love this! I'm working on the story of my childhood house. Unfortunately, it's changed quite a bit! But the memories I still have! Thanks again.

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Kirsi Dahl's avatar

I look forward to reading! It is so interesting to me to consider which memories have stuck with us all these years.

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Lynda Heines's avatar

I love you researched the previous owners. I am doing that too and even have a little story about the girl that lived here before we moved in. I'm thinking mine will need to be in two parts - then and now.

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Kirsi Dahl's avatar

Oohh, that sounds like a good plan. Good luck as you finish your research and work on your story!

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Paul Burrill's avatar

Wow, great story of a house and the families that lived there.

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Barbara at Projectkin's avatar

This is such a delight. I listened to it last night while cooking and it has stayed with me. Reminding me of the questions I’ve always had about the previous residents of our home 🏠 … 1200 sq ft, and nearly 100 years old when we moved here in 1991. 🥹

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Kirsi Dahl's avatar

Thank you, Barbara. This is the first time I've researched a home and the first time I've researched families other than my own. The experience was FULL of rabbit holes that I had to carefully evade in order to stay on track. It wasn't easy and there are many questions I have about the other families! aaahhhh...

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Barbara at Projectkin's avatar

lol, 😆 occupational hazard.

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Paul Chiddicks's avatar

Another really beautiful post Kirsi, once again you have found a truly unique way of sharing a family history story, I love it!

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Kirsi Dahl's avatar

Thank you, Paul. I had been wanting to learn more about the house for a while and was glad when the original permit records became available online (for a very small fee) which made it easier to get started. But, like any story, I needed to dig deep and wide before I could 'suss out the story. A good experience.

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Paul Chiddicks's avatar

I have never carried out any research into a house history myself, but I find it extremely interesting. I did carry out a detailed piece of research into my local pub which was built around 1860, which was fascinating.

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