Strange coincidences about my Grandmas' houses - very strange

[Kathleen in VA]

Both my grandma's lived in very small houses in Northern Virginia - one in N. Arlington and one in Falls Church. These houses had almost identical floor plans, just flipped. 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, tiny kitchen, tiny dining room, tiny living room, fireplace in LR, screened in porch and a maple-paneled basement.

 

When they each moved into their houses (one in the 1930s and one in the 1940s) they lived on dirt roads "out in the country," lol. Even their lots were similar in size, shape and landscaping. During their lifetimes both of their streets became major cut-throughs between two major roads. Both houses sat about one block off the main road and over the years became within easy walking distance to public bus transportation. They are equidistant (about 3 miles) from the East Falls Church Metro station now, too - only in opposite directions.

 

Both women died in the 1990s and their houses were sold.

 

I just did a google maps search for each house and zoomed in on them while in satellite mode. Now both houses have huge additions on the back ends of the houses - each addition is approximately the same shape and size.

 

In No. Virginia it is typical for buyers to buy old houses like my grandmas' and just bulldoze them in order to put up a McMansion. It is not near as usual for folks to keep the older part of the house and just add on.

 

I know both of them always longed for a bigger house - always dreamed of adding on someday, bless their hearts. Anyway, I think these ladies would find it humorous that both of their houses have the desired addition and have managed to remained nearly identical. I wonder if they had anything to do with it.;)

[MariannNOVA]

Both my grandma's lived in very small houses in Northern Virginia - one in N. Arlington and one in Falls Church. These houses had almost identical floor plans, just flipped. 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, tiny kitchen, tiny dining room, tiny living room, fireplace in LR, screened in porch and a maple-paneled basement.

 

When they each moved into their houses (one in the 1930s and one in the 1940s) they lived on dirt roads "out in the country," lol. Even their lots were similar in size, shape and landscaping. During their lifetimes both of their streets became major cut-throughs between two major roads. Both houses sat about one block off the main road and over the years became within easy walking distance to public bus transportation. They are equidistant (about 3 miles) from the East Falls Church Metro station now, too - only in opposite directions.

 

Both women died in the 1990s and their houses were sold.

 

I just did a google maps search for each house and zoomed in on them while in satellite mode. Now both houses have huge additions on the back ends of the houses - each addition is approximately the same shape and size.

 

In No. Virginia it is typical for buyers to buy old houses like my grandmas' and just bulldoze them in order to put up a McMansion. It is not near as usual for folks to keep the older part of the house and just add on.

 

I know both of them always longed for a bigger house - always dreamed of adding on someday, bless their hearts. Anyway, I think these ladies would find it humorous that both of their houses have the desired addition and have managed to remained nearly identical. I wonder if they had anything to do with it.;)

 

AWWWWWWWWW -- I loved reading that. I know just the type of home that you are speaking about -- and when I see gorgeous additions on them, I SO want to get inside and see how they did it! IF we had any brains, that is what we would do here -- but, no, we are going to sell and build new someplace else.

[Ibbygirl]

Wow! That is wild. What are the odds I wonder?

[Kathleen in VA]

AWWWWWWWWW -- I loved reading that. I know just the type of home that you are speaking about -- and when I see gorgeous additions on them, I SO want to get inside and see how they did it! IF we had any brains, that is what we would do here -- but, no, we are going to sell and build new someplace else.

 

Thanks, Mariann. I wasn't sure if it was of any interest to anyone but 'lil ol' me.:D There's lots more to the story - the interweaving of their lives through the years. I always thought everybody's paternal and maternal grandparents were good friends - it was a shock to learn otherwise. These ladies, Anne and Zelda, when they were widows, took a cross-country trip to Yellowstone Park and back. I would love to have been a fly on a window in that car!! Anyway, it seems like they must still be hanging around each other and having a grand time of it!

[Ibbygirl]

Thanks, Mariann. I wasn't sure if it was of any interest to anyone but 'lil ol' me.:D There's lots more to the story - the interweaving of their lives through the years. I always thought everybody's paternal and maternal grandparents were good friends - it was a shock to learn otherwise. These ladies, Anne and Zelda, when they were widows, took a cross-country trip to Yellowstone Park and back. I would love to have been a fly on a window in that car!! Anyway, it seems like they must still be hanging around each other and having a grand time of it!

sweet.:001_wub:

[Kathleen in VA]

Wow! That is wild. What are the odds I wonder?

 

Even when it was just them in their tiny houses, I thought it was kind of odd that they'd be so similar, what with the layout of the house and yard as well as the evolution of the community and the roads and all. Now with those additions it's starting to freak me out a bit.:D

[Ibbygirl]

Even when it was just them in their tiny houses, I thought it was kind of odd that they'd be so similar, what with the layout of the house and yard as well as the evolution of the community and the roads and all. Now with those additions it's starting to freak me out a bit.:D

 

I can imagine!

[Sahamamama]

My family and I also live in a tiny, little house (in central New Jersey), much as you described your grandmothers living in so long ago -- two bedrooms, one small bathroom, one tiny kitchen (no room for a table), and a dining/living room (this was originally two very small rooms, but was converted to one room by the time we moved in). Our house style is a bungalow, which was popular through mail order catalogs in the early to mid-1900s. Do you know if your grandparents purchased their plans through mail order?

 

http://architecture.about.com/cs/buildingplans/a/searsplans.htm

 

From what I understand, it was possible to order a plan in either orientation, so one house plan could be "flipped," and built "backwards" to another house using the same plan. All these plans had names -- The Vinemont, The Verndale, The Josephine, The Clyde -- and so on.

 

http://architecture.about.com/library/bl-bungalowplan-index.htm

 

We know that our house was built by the original and only owner, Joe S. (until we moved in). We think it was built in 1929 or 1930. It had no shower (just a tub), no dryer hookup (but LOTS of clothesline ;)), and a "French sink" (meaning, the sink pipe drained into a pit of rocks underneath the driveway).

 

When we moved in here, we had been living in a one-bedroom apartment, with a toddler, pregnant with twins -- and the people upstairs played basketball all night. We bought at the height of the "bubble," and our house is now worth about $50,000 less than what we paid for it four years ago (and we owe more than it's worth). AND our mortgage company will NOT put through our loan remodification. Sigh.

 

My dad and husband put in the dryer gas line. It was funny. My dad went all over the township looking for PSE&G trucks (our gas company), and every time he spotted one, he'd pull over and talk to the gas men about our dryer line. :D He'd pull out his little homemade blueprint and show it to them, check measurements, ask questions, get advice. He was such a trooper about the whole project.

 

When it came time to put in the line, he marked the gas line in the basement, told my husband (who had never held a hacksaw in his life) to "cut here and here," then said, "Well, I have to go to Home Depot to get a part. I sure hope you and the house are here when I get back." :lol: My husband still tells THAT father-in-law story to everybody.

 

We redid the bathroom a few years later. The walls were literally caving in. I was afraid my husband might fall through the floor one morning while, um, using the facilities. Enough said. The sink drain pipe has recently be re-routed, because the rock pit was full. :tongue_smilie:Need I say more about that?

 

Our next project (in the spring) will be to do something about the retaining wall that is caving in towards our very narrow driveway. It's getting hard to park these days. I'm going to try to repaint the garage doors, too.

 

Your story about your grandmothers gives me hope and courage. It reminds me that women can live different lives... and that we don't all get big, beautiful houses. My family and I may never "get out" of this place, but we call it home. It is so tiny. There is no room for the girls to romp and play. There is so little room for anything, really. I could give you a tour of the whole house in two minutes, there is that little to see.

 

But your grandmothers' lives still speak to me. Did they raise strong families in those tiny, little homes? Did they keep everything neat and clean? Did they have a positive outlook on life, enjoying what good came their way? With God's help, I can do those things.

 

I wonder about women like your grandmothers, who lived and worked and raised families in little homes. I'd like to have that kind of character and perspective. I need it! Especially in winter, when the walls close in on this place. I'll get my mansion in heaven, I think. Thanks for your story. :)

Edited January 11, 2011 by Sahamamama

[Sparkle]

What a cool story. I love how their names are even A and Z :)

[Chris in VA]

That was a lovely post, Sahamamama. Really.

[EKS]

I love this on so many levels. Thanks for sharing it!

[Faithr]

I grew up in Falls Church. I can just picture those houses you're describing. Our next door neighbor growing up had a small two bedroom cape cod. They had 9 kids. They would put the leaf in their table and it stuck out into their little living room so every one could sit and eat. The girls slept in one bedroom, the parents in the other and the 7 boys lived in the attic in one barracks style room. They had an unfinished basement that they made more habitable by putting down a rug and some furniture. The teens hung out down there. In the summer they lived on their screen porch that was off this little galley kitchen.

 

The mom was the sweetest woman and her house was always as neat as a pin. One thing that made it easier back then, I think, is that the neighborhood was crawling with kids and most moms stayed home. So the kids weren't always underfoot, they were running around the neighborhood. The other thing was that the library was about 6 blocks away. So the older kids did their homework there often.

[Mrs Mungo]

What a sweet story. :):grouphug:

[Kathleen in VA]

My family and I also live in a tiny, little house (in central New Jersey), much as you described your grandmothers living in so long ago -- two bedrooms, one small bathroom, one tiny kitchen (no room for a table), and a dining/living room (this was originally two very small rooms, but was converted to one room by the time we moved in). Our house style is a bungalow, which was popular through mail order catalogs in the early to mid-1900s. Do you know if your grandparents purchased their plans through mail order?

 

http://architecture.about.com/cs/buildingplans/a/searsplans.htm

 

From what I understand, it was possible to order a plan in either orientation, so one house plan could be "flipped," and built "backwards" to another house using the same plan. All these plans had names -- The Vinemont, The Verndale, The Josephine, The Clyde -- and so on.

 

http://architecture.about.com/library/bl-bungalowplan-index.htm

 

We know that our house was built by the original and only owner, Joe S. (until we moved in). We think it was built in 1929 or 1930. It had no shower (just a tub), no dryer hookup (but LOTS of clothesline ;)), and a "French sink" (meaning, the sink pipe drained into a pit of rocks underneath the driveway).

 

When we moved in here, we had been living in a one-bedroom apartment, with a toddler, pregnant with twins -- and the people upstairs played basketball all night. We bought at the height of the "bubble," and our house is now worth about $50,000 less than what we paid for it four years ago (and we owe more than it's worth). AND our mortgage company will NOT put through our loan remodification. Sigh.

 

My dad and husband put in the dryer gas line. It was funny. My dad went all over the township looking for PSE&G trucks (our gas company), and every time he spotted one, he'd pull over and talk to the gas men about our dryer line. :D He'd pull out his little homemade blueprint and show it to them, check measurements, ask questions, get advice. He was such a trooper about the whole project.

 

When it came time to put in the line, he marked the gas line in the basement, told my husband (who had never held a hacksaw in his life) to "cut here and here," then said, "Well, I have to go to Home Depot to get a part. I sure hope you and the house are here when I get back." :lol: My husband still tells THAT father-in-law story to everybody.

 

We redid the bathroom a few years later. The walls were literally caving in. I was afraid my husband might fall through the floor one morning while, um, using the facilities. Enough said. The sink drain pipe has recently be re-routed, because the rock pit was full. :tongue_smilie:Need I say more about that?

 

Our next project (in the spring) will be to do something about the retaining wall that is caving in towards our very narrow driveway. It's getting hard to park these days. I'm going to try to repaint the garage doors, too.

 

Your story about your grandmothers gives me hope and courage. It reminds me that women can live different lives... and that we don't all get big, beautiful houses. My family and I may never "get out" of this place, but we call it home. It is so tiny. There is no room for the girls to romp and play. There is so little room for anything, really. I could give you a tour of the whole house in two minutes, there is that little to see.

 

But your grandmothers' lives still speak to me. Did they raise strong families in those tiny, little homes? Did they keep everything neat and clean? Did they have a positive outlook on life, enjoying what good came their way? With God's help, I can do those things.

 

I wonder about women like your grandmothers, who lived and worked and raised families in little homes. I'd like to have that kind of character and perspective. I need it! Especially in winter, when the walls close in on this place. I'll get my mansion in heaven, I think. Thanks for your story. :)

 

Well, I know they did not buy house plans from Sears. Here's a link to my mom's mother's house the way it looks now. The addition is not visible so this gives you an idea of what it looked like even while she lived in it. Inside picture a the first floor with a tiny living room, a smaller dining room and a kitchen about the size of the average bathroom. If you opened the oven, you could not open the refrigerator. If you opened either the oven or the fridge, you could not walk through the kitchen to the back door. The stairs led to 2 small bedrooms and a small bathroom. The closets were eensy. They were like very small townhouses but sitting on city lots.

 

My mom was a twin and they had two older brothers. When the moved to this house the oldest brother had already moved out and joined the Navy, so my mom and her sister shared one of the bedrooms and their brother slept in the basement. I honestly don't know how my grandma put up with that kitchen. I cannot imagine making Thanksgiving dinner in there - unbelievable!!

 

My dad had an older brother - ten years older - so by the time they had moved to this house he was off on his own. That made the living arrangement fairly easy, but that kitchen still was a nightmare. And to think they made most every dish from scratch back then - it boggles the mind.

 

I live in a tiny house too - 1000sf, no basement. However, my house is laid out in a much more open way than my grandmothers'. The kitchen is not big, but it is open and you can walk through it easily - even when the oven, fridge and dishwasher are all open, lol. Still we are pretty squished. I do not have the problems of an older home though so I feel for you there. This house was built in 1989 so it's only now starting to show some age.

 

I'm glad you were encouraged. I think about them very often and wonder how they managed - even with small families - to function in those tight spaces.

[Kathleen in VA]

I grew up in Falls Church. I can just picture those houses you're describing. Our next door neighbor growing up had a small two bedroom cape cod. They had 9 kids. They would put the leaf in their table and it stuck out into their little living room so every one could sit and eat. The girls slept in one bedroom, the parents in the other and the 7 boys lived in the attic in one barracks style room. They had an unfinished basement that they made more habitable by putting down a rug and some furniture. The teens hung out down there. In the summer they lived on their screen porch that was off this little galley kitchen.

 

The mom was the sweetest woman and her house was always as neat as a pin. One thing that made it easier back then, I think, is that the neighborhood was crawling with kids and most moms stayed home. So the kids weren't always underfoot, they were running around the neighborhood. The other thing was that the library was about 6 blocks away. So the older kids did their homework there often.

 

I moved to Falls Church in 1973 and I worked at that library when I was a senior in high school. Nifty.

 

I know a lot of folks think Falls Church City has lots of huge beautiful homes (and it does), but lots of the kids I went to school with lived in those tiny cape cod houses, too. I lived in the apartments directly behind the Giant Food store on W. Broad St./Haycock Ave. They are condos now and the whole neighborhood is much nicer than when I lived there. Still - it was a blessing to live in the city.