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Pink Bathrooms: Extinction Looms
Remember the very first commandment of old house renovation? Thou shalt not destroy good old work. That's it. More than 35% of the garbage at America's landfills is construction-related waste. That's a phenomenal amount of debris. What's worse is this: The replacement...
Boardwalk Empire and Sears Kit Homes
The last few weeks, I've been watching Boardwalk Empire (HBO), set in 1920s Atlantic City. It's centered around the real life story of prohibition-era gangster Enoch Johnson, who's known as Enoch ("Nucky") Thompson on the show. From the start, one of my favorite...
Before Calling the Fire Department, I Cleaned The House…
Early this morning, I detected an acrid smell in my bedroom, and it was the distinctive smell of an electrical fire. Admittedly, I have a hypersensitive sniffer, and the smell was intense - to me. I walked throughout the house looking for its source. I walked outside,...
Ladies, Where Are Your Names (and Stories)?
While little is known about the men who worked at Penniman, even less is known about the women of Penniman, and yet, the majority of the workforce at DuPont's 37th munitions plant were women. Loading TNT powder into 75mm and 155mm shells was a nasty bit of business,...
The People of Penniman: Personal Papers?
There's no doubt in my mind that a "Pennimanite" left behind a personal reminiscence or journal or unpublished manuscript or something, telling about his war-time experiences at Penniman, Virginia. The problem is finding these people, and then finding their...
Is That You, Dr. Cottrell?
Last month, Steven Beauter was kind enough to share an incredible vintage photo album with me, which featured more than a dozen pictures from 1918-era Penniman, Virginia, a "ghost city" six miles from Williamsburg. There are several unidentified folks within the pages...
Nope, It’s Not a Sears Magnolia…
In the last 20 years, I've probably received more than 200 emails and inquiries from folks who think they've found a Sears Magnolia. In the last 20 years, I've found four Magnolias as a result of these emails and inquiries. That means that 2% of the time, these...
Pulchritudinous Poquoson and Its Kit Homes
Several months ago, I went looking for a GriefShare group to join, and chose one in Poquoson (Virginia). The primary reason was this: I didn't know anyone in Poquoson, so if I had a panic attack or started crying or acted like a fool, I could surreptitiously slip out...
Penniman: We Have Alleyne’s Last Name!
After that last blog, Milton, Mark and David (three faithful researchers that have been with me since the start of this project) went to work to find Alleyne's last name. This morning, I found an email from Mark Hardin, explaining that he'd found Alleyne. Her full...
The People of Penniman – We Have Pictures!
Now we just need some names. Thanks to Steven Beauter, a sharp-eyed and devoted historian and lover of history, we have pictures of the people of Penniman. A few years ago, Steven purchased an early 20th century photo album that he'd found on eBay. More recently, he...
Love, Prayers and “Standard Bilt” Sears Homes
Yesterday started out tough but ended up on a lovely note. There were several decisions to make, hard things to do, and then, after breakfast, I discovered a jagged edge on my bottom front tooth. It had been feeling a little odd for about a month, but I'd ignored it....
“This Old House Has Good Bones” – Please DON’T.
If you want to have a meaningful conversation with an architectural historian, never ever never let this phrase pass your lips: "This house has good bones." It's nonsensical, and frankly, I'm not sure what it's even intended to express. Sometimes, when I'm trapped in...
When Real Estate Photos Make Me Laugh Out Loud…
As someone who spends a fair amount of time looking online at real estate listings and photos, I can tell you, some of these photos are real doozies. My favorite site, for ease of use, is Zillow. There are other websites that I frequent, but many of them are so heavy...
Post #1000 – The Sears Magnolia in New Martinsville, WV
Last week, I traveled to New Martinsville, West Virginia to see what was purported to be the 9th Magnolia. Prior to this, there were only eight known Magnolias in the country. The Magnolia was the crème de la crème of Sears Homes, with countless accoutrements and fine...
Another “Sears House” Featured on HGTV, Part II
In my prior blog, I mentioned that HGTV's House Hunters featured a "kit house" that was in Nashville. A Facebook friend and fellow Sears House lover shared some additional information on the program, enabling me to figure out what exactly HGVT was talking about. Let...
Another “Sears House” Featured on HGTV?
An update! It's not a "Sears kit house," but a Penniman house. Kind of. 😀 And "Sears House" is in quotes, because we all know, 99% of the time (or maybe 100%), these horrible TV shows get it wrong. And they are horrible. One of the first rules of old house ownership...
Flipping Insane…
Back in the day, "Flipper" was a television show, featuring a bottle-nose dolphin. Flipper was, in fact, a lot like Lassie with fins. I remember crowding around the television with the fam to watch Flipper on Saturday nights. (As I tell my daughter, ours was the last...
Hey – You There – How’d You Get Here?
In the beginning, I joined Facebook under protest and only with the stated purpose of creating a stronger internet presence for me and my books and my career. Subsequently, I've found that if I write a blog and do NOT post a link on Facebook, this site gets...
The Open Floor Plan and the Downfall of Society
Last February, as Robert, Pat and I sat together in Robert's Sears Home, he said, "The open floor plan will probably be considered one of the most heinous atrocities ever committed against American architecture." A man after my own heart. When historians write about...
Here’s Your Chance to Give Rose Some Advice: The City or the Country?
For months, I've been looking to buy a house - somewhere. It's my hope to stay in the area (Hampton Roads) but get far away from Norfolk. I've been looking in Zuni, Windsor, Suffolk, Smithfield and areas nearby. Thus far, I've not found anything that sent me. Ever...
C’mon Realtors…You Can Do Better
For the last few weeks, I've been on the hunt for a house in a quiet place with a little bit of land. I've been working with a true real estate professional, Tracie Gaskins, who is not only a queen among real estate agents, but an angel let down from heaven. When you...
That Rascally Haskell
Today, despite all the publicity about recycling, we're still a very wasteful society, and even more so when it comes to housing. More than 35% of all debris at modern landfills is construction debris. HGTV is the worst offender, encouraging millions to rip out and...
The Bungalow in the York River
Bunny Trails: They're one of the best parts of doing historical research. And while researching Penniman, Virginia, I read newspaper accounts from Pennimanites, talking about a house "sitting on stilts" in the York River. And while systematically reading through every...
Christmas in Carlinville (Illinois)
In an effort to be "anywhere but here," I traveled to Illinois for the holidays and spent them in Carlinville, Illinois, home of a large collection of Sears Homes, built by Standard Oil. It was a treat to find the Town Square all lit up for the holidays.
Book Orders Delayed
If you place a book order through this site, please expect a 4-6 week delivery time due to a personal tragedy. Thanks.
Richard Nixon’s Childhood Home in Yorba Linda, California
Every now and then, I get a call about someone famous who grew up in a Sears kit home. In 2009, I was contacted by a big-deal rock star (through his representative). This musician wanted to know if the house he'd grown up in was a Sears kit house! That was a lot of...
“Barn Builders” Blunders Badly
Last week, my buddy Milton saw an episode of "Barn Builders" (DIY TV, Season 2, Episode 9), which featured a short bit on a Sears Home. According to the episode guide that accompanied the program, "the guys restore an 1856 log cabin." The log cabin sat on a spacious...
Thanks to Jim, We Found Sears Modern Home #158
Twice in the last several months, I've done a blog on a Sears House that I'd never seen, but had hoped to see, and both times, readers have found those houses! The first one was the Sears Monterey, which Jennifer successfully found and identified in Pennsylvania. And...
Where’s Rosie?
That might be the question on my friends' lips, as I've well nigh disappeared from polite society for the last several weeks. I didn't realize how long I'd been "under the radar" until last night, when I glanced at an entry in my personal journal and saw that I went...
A Penniman Bungalow – in Larchmont!
Larchmont is a prestigious neighborhood in Norfolk, filled with stately Colonial Revivals, Cape Cods, Dutch Colonials and Neo-Tudors from the 1920s and 30s. As far as older neighborhoods go, Larchmont is one of Hampton Roads' most expensive communities, and prices...
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