LEARN MORE

Saturday, December 20, 2014

GETTIN' READY #20 -- A NEW HOME FOR CHRISTMAS


Ina's home, 1910



Sunday, Dec. 20, 1896 – on this date at Gilbert:
Sunshine today – the first for several days. We went to see the Dobsons. The first Sunday for Jack and Ina in their own house.
~M. L. Dickson

The above diary entry was written by my great-grandfather, noting that his daughter Ina and her husband Jack, my grandparents, were spending their first Sunday in their own house. “Their own house” – what joy! After having spent the first five years of their marriage living in homes provided on rented land, sometimes even sharing cramped quarters with others, having their own home was a dream come true.
Ina's home, c. 1916

They must have felt especially hopeful on this Christmas of 1896. I imagine that my grandparents expected to give this new life their all. No one can see into the future, but in retrospect I know that life brought them joys and sorrows, just like everyone else. But mostly, it was good. Yes, it was good. KW

2 comments:

  1. Looks like several additions were made over the years? The top picture is wonderful. Your grandparents worked together to create a home and a family.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes, there were several additions to the old house. It had a second story, a one-room loft where the children slept, but it was mighty small. If Ina hadn't worked to achieve her dream of a solid farmhouse, that little cabin would have been her home for the rest of her life.

    Ina always wanted something better, and who's to say that's wrong?

    ReplyDelete