Day 30: Family Memories, Letters, Yearbooks and Googly-eyes

[Jennifer1773]

When we first walked into our cottage fifteen years ago, we saw a dilapidated older 1940s home that had been neglected for years--a leaking roof, dated paneling, torn up linoleum, failed plumbing, and an inoperable heating system. But then we saw the Googly Eyes glued to the rock fireplace and the names carved into uncured cement on the front walkway by a child’s fingers. We felt an overwhelming good vibe and a peaceful, cheerful spirit that transcended the visible wrinkles. We sat on the porch overlooking a multitude of mature trees and greenspace within the middle of town and enjoyed the sights and sounds of an unofficial bird sanctuary. 

We knew we had stumbled upon something worth saving and worked to restore the home. Our extended family enjoyed the cottage over the years as both a primary residence and vacation home until we pursued short term rentals through Airbnb in 2019. Benefits of Airbnb include both sharing the home with other families and supporting the home for our own family. 

When my youngest daughter Abby arrived home for spring break 2020 of her senior year in college, we were just beginning to realize the impact of COVID 19 on our lives. Two weeks later my high school closed to in person instruction and I was sent home to connect with my students online. A week later my eldest daughter Erika and her fiance Joe found themselves in the midst of a COVID 19 hotspot and uncertain wedding plans. AirBnb cancellations were rolling in. 

I was excited to share our AirBnb cottage with Erika and Joe as a place for them to escape the big city and work from “home.” Abby was finishing her senior year online and soon joined her sister at the cottage where they then enjoyed over two months of sisterly bonding and family time. The sisters hiked and cooked together, and celebrated multiple milestones--college graduation, a microwedding, and the purchase of a first home. They also spent time exploring the cottage and in the process discovered another family’s story woven into letters, yearbooks, and concrete.

Chad and his family lived in the cottage two generations ago. He had left his mark on the home in the cement on the front path. As my girls explored the house during quarantine, they stumbled on an old dusty chest in the basement filled with yearbooks and letters to a boy named Chad. The letters were sent to young Chad as he spent months in the hospital—sweet letters from schoolmates and family written in beautiful cursive were carefully stored alongside black and white junior high school yearbooks. Erika told me that she was amazed to find many familiar faces in those yearbooks. The black and white portraits, while appearing to be those of her former classmates, depicted their parents and grandparents decades before. The girls said that, when ruffling through the pages, they felt truly connected to our small town through this slice of history that had been hiding below the house. The most notable find was a letter written by Chad’s grandmother to his mother, which detailed all of the love she had for the kids living with her and the time she took caring for them. 

The girls were touched by the story, and wanting to know more, began to investigate online. They quickly found that Chad was related to a high school classmate of Abby’s and after getting in touch, took great joy in returning the family mementos to their rightful owners. 

The girls still talk fondly about their detective work and their quarantine days at Brevard Cottage. The milestones reached and the memories made during this strange chunk of time brought all of us closer to each other and closer to understanding the true importance of our happy little cottage.

Today, our current guests asked to extend their reservation because their two young daughters were enjoying their stay so much! They are making memories and “never want to leave.” Thus continues the long tradition of family memories at our Airbnb. I look forward to the years to come!

[Jennifer1773]

Dear @Helen427  , a big thanks for drawing me and other "lurkers" into the CC Month of Celebration! I have enjoyed sharing and hearing from you all.

Yes, we are all about saving what is salvageable at Brevard Cottage! The date carved into the footpath with Chad’s name was 1974. Concrete aggregate was composed of small river rock from local creeks.

You have now given me a homework assignment about my own town that is an interesting pursuit! Yes, Brevard, North Carolina in Transylvania County is named after Dr. Ephraim Brevard who was educated at Princeton University and was a surgeon who fought in the Revolutionary War (~1776). According to his supervisor, Brevard "thought clearly, felt deeply, wrote well, resisted bravely, and died a martyr (at the age of 37 in 1781) to that liberty none loved better and few understood so well." Although Brevard, NC was not created until 1861, the county council reached back in time to acknowledge and celebrate Ephraim Brevard and his philosophy and contributions.

Brevard County, Florida is located about 600 miles south of Brevard, NC and is named after Theodore Washington Brevard, who served as Florida Comptroller from 1854 to 1860. Brevard County, Florida is home to citrus fruits and avocados while our Brevard, North Carolina (Transylvania County) is home to apples, tolerant peach varieties, strawberries and blackberries/blueberries. 

I’ll be back in touch regarding the ship Ephraim Brevard and the Whiskey Telegraph soon! Excited to learn and share. Happy Holidays!! Jennifer

[Helen427]

@Jennifer1773 

It's such a pleasure to sit back and enjoy all this years Month Of Celebration contributors contributions and I'm delighted you became more than a lurker, as others have to.

To those who are new or like Jennifer I hope you join in later this year as Christmas and December is less than 12 months away 🙂

There's so much we can learn from the place and street names in our world, who navigated and contributes to our communities and how those people made the most of available resources that they had at the time.

Is this your Brevard college in this link to Martian invasion??

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/EP19381102.2.58

I recall hearing the Whiskey story once upon a time at the Pub!!

[Jennifer1773]

Wow @Helen427 you have a knack for finding really interesting bits of history about my town! Neither my husband nor I had ever heard of the Whiskey Telegraph previously, but he loves the idea! We are both teachers and appreciate when folks think outside the box to solve problems :). You might be interested in knowing that our county has a long love-hate relationship with alcohol. Parts of the county were legally "dry" up until a close vote 6 years ago--although moonshine has been distilled and run through this county for well over a century by many of my students' ancestors. Today we have around a dozen local breweries that help support a growing tourism industry.

Brance Tinsley, father of well-known writer and performer Jim Bob Tinsley, who photographed him with his still at Boren Mill Shoals. Courtesy of the Rowell Bosse N.C. Room.

Your War of the Worlds find was also new to me--five of our local college students fainted after hearing the radio broadcast in 1938 thinking it was news and not fiction! The college was only four years old at the time and then a two year junior college. It has become a big asset to our community over the years, featuring excellent education, music and environmental programs. 

Helen, you have now inspired me to start a scrapbook of these articles and others celebrating the history of our community. I am sure guests at our cottage would love to read this history and more!

[Jin653]

checking

[Sarah977]

When I bought my house in Canada in 1982 (sold in 2010) it needed extensive renovations. It was about 85 years old, was sitting on rotted wood foundations, needed plumbing and electrical upgrading, not to mention most of the inside needing cosmetic changes. The downstairs was divided up into a small galley type kitchen, the living room, a tiny bathroom,  bedroom and a living room, with a dark staircase to the upstairs, where there were 3 more bedrooms.

So we took out a lot of the walls downstairs and changed it to open concept, except for the bedroom. When we removed some of the walls, we found old newspapers had been used for insulation and some were in quite good shape. There was a local paper that was still in operation and it was fun to read the ads for local businesses, some of which were still thriving. And the prices- a few cents for something that would cost $20 today. There was also a large old broken soup tureen under the stairs behind a wall- I imagined someone's child accidentally breaking it and hiding the pieces.

When I lived in the house, my kids started marking their height on a wooden column from the time they were little, as did many of their friends and children of my friends. When I was sprucing up the house to put on the market in 2010, the daughter of one of my best friends, who was then about 20 years old came over to help out one day. At one point, she noticed the column with the height marks and was so surprised and thrilled to see her height mark from when she had been 3 years old there.

And co-incidentally, I had met her mom a few years after I bought that house- I hired her as a babysitter and we went on to become good friends. The first time she came to babysit, she saw that the house was the same one that belonged to her aunt and uncle, who had sold it to the person I bought it from. She remembered coming over to play with her cousins when she was young and remembered some of the inside house features that I had preserved, like the hardwood floor that her uncle had done a creative design with the wood pieces on.

@Jennifer1773

[Jennifer1773]

@Sarah977  I am constantly amazed at the global nature of the CC and how people from all over the world can have stories that resonate! Just in this thread we have heard from hosts from northern, southern, eastern and western hemispheres--amazing! I totally relate to the story of your Canadian home and am now looking at a door jam in my kitchen (made from bleacher wood from the renovation of our local Brevard College gym) that is marked with the heights of my girls and their friends. The younger, but taller Abby established a "line of respect" that her sister and I cannot quite reach, but she just passes :).  If we ever move from this home, we will be taking that board with us! One day I would love to hear about your move to Mexico--bet there are some great stories there...

[Bronwyn38]

@Jennifer1773 what a beautiful tale! How amazing that your daughters ended up being able to reunite the year books etc with their rightful owners... they were obviously valued, having been stored away for safe-keeping.. I hope the family they were returned to will treasure them always, as I would. Family history is very special. And wonderful for you that you had this lovely home to shelter your daughters in at such a critical moment in time. Wishing you and your family a truly joyous 2021!