I have been stripping wallpaper in my bedroom with the help of Jasmine and Karly. Stripping wallpaper isn’t the most fun job in the world but it can be satisfying. To see big sheets of the paper just roll off of the wall after they have been soaked in water is a very satisfying. Looking back at what you have accomplished feels pretty good, too. And sometimes you find a treasure underneath all of that paper. Sometimes you find a bit of history has been preserved underneath 2 layers of paper for the last 67 years. That’s exactly what we found. The wall had been signed by the 2 gals that had put that bottom layer of paper on.
This is in pen while the others are in pencil. I wonder why Mabel did that.
I knew Mabel. Although I didn’t know at first that Mabel Haas was also the Mabel Snodgrass that I knew. I knew her as a 90-something lady that had a tendency to fall asleep in church and lived with a niece that had stolen Mabel’s husband. This woman was made of strong stuff! She passed away a few years ago. She was tall and not very attractive. Perhaps that what led her to marry later than was normal for her generation. I really don’t know her story but it makes me wish that I had taken the time to get to know it.
I did not know Alberta. However, after quizzing some ladies of the older generation at church I found that she was a niece that helped Mabel with the papering. They were guessing that she was probably in her teens when she helped paper my bedroom. I wonder if she enjoyed papering. Did she do it for some cash or was she just helping out her aunt? Maybe she had to do it and hated spending her time cooped up inside. Alberta is still living but not in this area. I would like to get her address and send her a letter along with a picture of the signatures.
Our house is nearing 100 years old and I am sure that there is more history in this house than we are aware of. I have often wondered about the man that built this house. I know his name was Buddy Ewing. I know some of his relatives. I know that most of them remember playing on the steps as kids. I know that his first wife died and he remarried. I just wish that I could have actually met him and asked him some questions. Of course, making up stories about the folks that have lived and worked in this house is pretty fun.
