As seen in 1907

We knew that in 1907 a family named Reusskamp moved into our house. They bought it from the Glenns who, according to what we have been told, built it in 1904. Today, a reclusive neighbor whom we had previously not met approached us and offered us a glance into the past. He brought over a large box full of memorabilia largely representative of our house. The following images were taken of the original photos by myself in the light of our dining room. I could have waited until tomorrow in better light or I could have waited until I scanned but didn't because of my sheer excitement to share them with you.


I had wanted to see an original photo of this house and it is our intention to return the house to it's original condition - including the beautiful porch.

Look what is not there and who is

The roof seems to be missing a little something
and I know someone who had to take a day off to deal with it.

I wonder where the missing stuff could be?

Oh, yeah, there it is. It fell to the ground.

The chimney is also gone, it was about to topple over. The brick under where C is standing is also about to go but he says it will be stable once decking is on the roof above it.

Roofers showed up at 5:30 this morning. Most of the roof is off at this point. Now, comes the major repair before the new one can be put back on.

Continued Work

Yesterday was rained out part way through the day but the sun has returned today and so have the workers. The roof is about half way cleaned off and it is expected to be finished today. So, I headed up there with the camera to take some pictures.

This is the back part of the house over the master bathroom and the laundry room. The chimney goes down into our bedroom and then into the dining room on the 1st floor. The other part of the roof that you can see covers my craft room.

This picture a closer shot of the chimney to the dining room. You can see years of patch jobs that were basically just crap. Alot of the other patches have already been removed so that we can do the job right this time.


This is the roof above our window in our bedroom. It's in a bad state and will be completely repaired.


This is the roof by the other chimney that goes through my craft room and down into the living room on the 1st floor. Actually, all of the roof is in this sort of shape around the entire edge. Many boards will have to be replaced.


All of the boards under the current roofing material are original, you can see the current roof below. Under the tiles are two layers of very old asphalt tiles and then the wood.


And, you can see the bridge that crosses the Mississippi from our house. This house next to use used to be the rental property for our house. The two properties were one but were sold separately in the 1980s.

Well, they just delivered all of the new shingles for the house so things are really getting going now. The dogs are going crazy, I guess there must be guys in the front yard. It could be a long afternoon! I'll keep updating as new things develop.

The day we have been waiting for

It is scheduled to be done by Friday. If you are local, feel free to drive by and take a look!

Status Update: In progress

It seems just about everything about this house is in progress.
Laundry room: in progress - awaiting trim
Master Batheroom: not started - awaiting shower and floor repairs - toilet paper holder back in place
roof: in progress - awaiting estimates - initial estimate outrageous
boy's room: in progress - awaiting ceiling to be painted, wall around door to be plastered, staircase to be painted, curtains to be purchased and hung
boy's bathroom: in progress - awaiting repairs to plumbing on new tub, toilet paper holder
master bedroom: in progress - new bed purchased and delivered, awaiting other new furniture and decorations to be hung
craft room: in progress - awaiting walls to be painted, items to be organized, decorations to be hung
guest room: in progress - awaiting roof to be repaired in order to paint and refinish floors
staircase: not started - awaiting removal of wallpapered and painted panelling
living room: not started - awaiting paint choice
dining room: not started - awaiting roof repair before painting, curtains in progress
office: in progress - carpet removed, awaiting tile, mold removal, new curtains
small bath: in progress - antique tub placed, awaiting paint
kitchen: in progress - awaiting roof repair so that walls an ceiling can be repaired and painted, trim work in progress as well, needs new sink, kitchen table - in progress!!
backyard: in progress - began removal of rogue plants put in place by aged single female who formerly owned the property. neighbor filled in death pit with dirt and rock. weeds somewhat under control, poop out of control.
back porch: in progress - wood was cleaned (dirty again) and waterproof sealant purchased. screens still need replacing, fan needs fixing, speakers need fixing, bbq qould be nice.
front porch: in progress - most of the terrible bushes have been removed including the unsightly stumps, planter being built and new plants to be chosen, new paint to cement porch and there are talks of new brick walkway/staircase and railings. See below:


won't it be nice when there's only little things left on the list?