Part 2 - If the Walls Could Talk - Unlocking Your Home's Secrets
What secrets are hiding in your walls, just waiting to be uncovered?
What life-changing connections are waiting for you to make?
Perhaps you will have a connection with a person who has long since passed… simply because you are the current caretaker of their home.
In my last post (Part 1 of this intriguing chain of events), I shared my heart-warming connection with the builder and first owner of our new North Carolina home. Built in 1959, it was lovingly cared for by the original family for seven years. In 1966, Melba and family packed up and moved only to return 56 years later when a stranger (Yours Truly) tracked her down and invited her to come visit. It was the beginning of a wonderful friendship!
The second owner also left a relic or two behind to be discovered three and a half decades later.
A mysterious, hidden picture…
During the first few weeks after moving in, we methodically did a DEEP clean in each room. The house was unoccupied for several years and you can imagine how dust and little critters took over every surface!
In the living room, I removed a drawer to vacuum behind it and this mysterious, hidden picture appeared attached to the vacuum nozzle!
The card seemed to be in a style that was typical of the 1950s or 60s. On it was a stork “delivering” a baby. The child’s first and last names were handwritten on the front of the card along with a note that the baby was “1 day old”. Inside the card was a picture of a beautiful baby girl!
Because this child had a unique first and last name, I quickly found an address and phone number on whitepages.com. (Another people finder site I use is truepeoplesearch.com).
I was surprised to find that the mystery baby was actually born in the 1980s! She and I had a wonderful conversation and she confirmed that she is the granddaughter of the second owners of this house. The family lived here for 50 years!
She immediately launched into stories of her grandmother… an incredible woman named PEARL.
Now 35 years old, the granddaughter had never seen this picture but she guessed exactly where I found it. She remembered that Pearl always kept the family pictures in the drawer to the left of the fireplace. The drawer must have been so full that this precious picture fell behind and remained hidden for decades.
She was eager to get the picture but lived several hundred miles away. Good news! She has a sister who lives just a few miles away from me! More on that later… but first, I want to introduce you to Pearl.
One special lady…
Oh, how I wish I could have known Pearl! Before speaking with the two granddaughters, I learned so much about this amazing woman simply by reading her obituary and studying her pictures posted on FindaGrave. Her fun-loving, adventuresome personality shines brightly in this early picture of Pearl and her husband, Roy. Her obituary revealed so many personal traits which made me feel like Pearl and I were kindred spirits.
Pearl was born a coal-miner’s daughter in 1914 in West Virginia. She married the love of her life, Roy, in 1942 and they were happily married for 58 years. She was a feisty one! I can see her personality clearly in this picture… can’t you?
Brought up in a strict Primitive Baptist home, Pearl was forbidden to wear shorts or dance. That didn’t stop Pearl! She secretly played basketball in school and she was crazy for dancing the Charleston and other popular dances of the day.
Her motto? “My middle name is GO”. Pearl was always ready for adventures in travel, camping, target shooting, sewing and most of all… GARDENING.
Buried artifacts…
Pearl LOVED her garden! When we first laid eyes on this house, we saw what once was a beautiful garden that had fallen victim to years of neglect. We are slowly trying to bring Pearl’s Garden back to its former glory. (We even went as far as tilling and reshaping the entire yard and planting grass seed.)
Speaking of gardens… we found this perfectly preserved artifact buried in the backyard of the house. A pea-green vintage planter without a single chip or crack! It now resides on our patio and matches perfectly with our seat cushions. It was meant to be!
Message from beyond…
Pearl lived to be 101 years old, outliving her husband by 16 years. She drove until she was 95 and lived on her own at 97. She occupied our house for 50 years! I can definitely feel her spirit throughout this house, inside and out.
Speaking of spirits…
My husband Brian was doing some repairs in the bathroom when he called out to me, “What’s this pearl doing on the counter?”
I had NO clue what he was talking about.
“Look, there’s a pearl. Where did it come from?”
And sure enough, there it was… a pearl perfectly placed in the middle of the tile.
I immediately took a picture and texted both the granddaughters… “Ladies, I believe I received a message from Pearl and I think she is happy that we connected”.
So, where did the pearl come from?
The day before I had bought a piece of costume jewelry, a rhinestone and pearl pin. One of the pearls came unglued and fell off. That is now my favorite pin to wear. I have Pearl close to my heart.
Meeting Pearl’s granddaughter…
A couple of days before Pearl’s granddaughter was to come over to get the baby picture, she texted me several pictures of the house with Pearl and Roy’s family growing up in the 1960s through the 1980s. It was fun to see how the rooms were decorated and used for everyday use.
It was a treat to have someone who was so familiar with the house point out what was original and what had been an early update. She was amazed at how the kitchen and living room had been renovated to a more open floor plan.
It was wonderful to see in the early pictures from the 1960s the beautiful, mint green kitchen that Melba (the original owner) was telling us that she loved so much. The people we bought the house from painted the cabinets, Carolina Blue. Sorry, Melba!
We plan to incorporate permanent remembrances in the house of both of these families. We don’t really consider this our home… we are simply the caretakers of Melba’s and Pearl’s home. We are honored that these two families have trusted us with this responsibility and are now considered our friends.
UPCOMING ENGAGEMENT
I am thrilled to announce that I will be the guest speaker for Hickory’s Historic Harper House… a stunningly-beautiful Queen Anne Victorian home (1887).
For those in the Hickory area, please join us for a special Valentine’s Day breakfast and presentation of “A Soldier’s Love Story – Secrets Discovered”. It’s a FREE event!
Visit https://www.facebook.com/HarperHouseHHC for event details and pictures of this magnificent home.
May all your connections be happy ones!