52 Ancestors - #39 - Grandpa's Farm

My parents were “city folk.” My mother was born in the beautiful city of Vienna, Austria and emigrated to the New York City suburb of New Rochelle in 1938. My father, Alan Samuel, was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York before moving to New Rochelle where he met, then married my mother. (She actually did marry the “boy next door!”) Following a short stint in Japan, (Dad was in the Navy), they settled in the city of New Haven, Connecticut in 1958. In 1959, we moved to the suburban town of Hamden. By 1961, my parents separated. My father moved to New Haven, then in the mid-1960s he and his second wife emigrated to Toronto, Canada where he would spend the remaining years of his life.

Other than Mom loving her gardens and Dad digging a brook trench in the backyard of our Hamden home, I never thought of them as “outside people.” So, I was quite surprised when my father and his third wife purchased 50 acres of farmland in a little town about an hour away from Toronto.

Google satellite image of the farm, You get a sense of the length of the driveway from this photo.

I don’t know the exact circumstances of the purchase (somewhere in the early 70s, I think), but my father told me he had always wanted to own a farm, that he loved being able to “work the land.” O.K. I always thought of my father as an “academic.” In fact, the only “hands-on” thing I ever knew about him was a story my mother told me - he smashed a hole in the foundation of our house in order to create a window in the basement. They ended up having to purchase a custom-made window since he never measured the hole first!!

Anyway – back to the farm. In the beginning, Dad and Valerie only stayed on the farm during weekends and summers when Dad wasn’t teaching. Eventually, he retired to the farm full-time, hoping to make a go of the land by growing and selling Christmas trees. In 1987, he built a kennel and Valerie opened her business, Guelphline Kennels, where she bred and sold Labrador Retrievers. (We were the proud owners of one of her pups, who we named Magnum) 

Valerie captioned this July 1987 photo.
"Alan is building him and others a kennel-see how appreciative the pup is."

Dad and Valerie weren’t just creating a farm, they were also creating a family. Within a few years, they adopted a boy and two girls (names withheld for privacy reasons) who would become my 9^th, 10^th, and 11^th siblings.

So – that’s the back story. Let me share a few of my memories of visiting the farm, which I’m sure are quite different from those of siblings who lived on the farm full-time.

My first memory of visiting the farm was the summer of 1974. Things weren’t going well for Richard Nixon at the time. I have a vivid memory of my father trying to rig up some kind of antennae for the tiny TV so we could watch Nixon’s resignation on the news.

My next memory probably was the same summer. Valerie took me aside and informed me that should I ever find myself “accidentally pregnant”, she and my father would be happy to raise the child. I guess they really did want a family together!! I was just 19 at the time, by the way.

The log cabin was really quite rustic in the beginning. There was nothing really separating the sleeping areas from the bathing area upstairs and the first floor was basically an open space with a small kitchen on one wall.

The land was very overgrown. A long dirt driveway led (and still does – see satellite photo above) into the property from the main road. I have a vague (and frightening) memory of waking up in the bushes alongside the driveway. I had fallen asleep while driving the long trip from Connecticut and went off the road! On the right side of the driveway was (and still is, I believe) a rusty building that served as a pig barn. Just past the cabin was/is a large barn for storing equipment. Behind the barn was/is the pond. More about that later.

After living in very rustic (aka “barely livable”) conditions, Dad upgraded the cabin. He built the chimney for the fireplace himself (Oh! Just remembered – he did build a gorgeous rock wall after terracing our Hamden home’s backyard. See – that’s why we write these stories down. Looking back now, I guess he really was an “outside” boy.) Ambient heating was installed under the first-floor tiles to keep the room cozier in the winter. Most importantly, an addition was built that housed a brand-new kitchen and living room space and several bedrooms and bathrooms.

My memory is a little sketchy on timelines. (Total disclosure – it’s a little sketchy, period!) At one point, in the 70s, my mom and stepdad visited the farm. It was the one time we all were at the farm at the same time. (“We” included my brother who is the child of my mom and step-dad.)

1970-something. Left-to-Right: My Mom-Doris, my stepdad-Alife, my stepmother-Valerie, and my Dad-Alan

Left-to-Right: Dad, sister Betsy, Valerie, me, sister Kathy, sister Jeanne, Valerie's son. In fromt: brother Dean.

The pond in 1970-something

Fast forward to October 1986. That would be the next time I visited the farm. Our daughter, Caitlin was one-and-a-half years old. For the previous ten years or so I had only rare contact with Dad. (He did come to my wedding in 1983 with all his kids though!) Now that Dad was a grandfather, it seemed a good idea to try and build a relationship. I must admit he was ready for that! Probably a subject for a separate post, but Dad really enjoyed being Grandpa! 

Going up to Canadian Thanksgiving that year was a lot of fun! (Except for the pot-bellied pig who ate Caitlin’s cereal!) According to pictures, my sisters Betsy and Kathy were there as well! My favorite memory from the Thanksgiving meal was my father’s discovery of the pan of stuffing in the oven – as we were washing up the dishes after dinner!

Dad, flanked by Betsy on the left and Kathy on the right.

Scott in 1986! Perfectly dressed for farm life!! Isn't that a great picture?

In the summer of 1987, I made a return trip to the farm with Caitlin, accompanied by my sister, Kathy and my friend, Lois. Caitlin enjoyed the big red tub and had loads of fun with the kids.

1987 - Dad's three kids in between my sister Kathy on the right and myself and Caitlin on the right.
Nice view of the pond through the window.

1987 - Lois, me, and Kathy. Yup - That's a Green Party T-Shirt right there!!

We made a few return trips over the next few years especially after our second daughter, Meghan was born. The pond was always a fun spot. Until Dad told us there were leeches in the water. I’ve pretty much blocked out the day we emerged from our dip in the pond and discovered the “attachments” on our bodies!

The most memorable visit was in 2007. My father was turning 75 and he wanted to have all his children in one place at the same time. The farm was the perfect location. Everyone, with one exception, attended. (I’ll be writing about that event in a future post) Suffice to say, it was a somewhat healing experience. And the last time I saw my father at his home. He passed away just a year later on August 15, 2008, after a lengthy battle with pancreatic cancer.

2007

2007 - Family reunion for Dad's 75th birthday. It's so sad to see how many people have passed since this pictire was taken/

2007 - Grandpa and his most of his grandchildren!

Following my father’s death, there was concern about what would happen with the farm. His wife had passed away a few years earlier and the three children who called the farm their childhood home had differing opinions. In the end, the youngest daughter and her husband bought out her siblings and they now own the farm, which is now a protected area. As stated on the website of the Ontario Farmland Trust   “Made possible by the dedication and generosity of the late Mr. Alan Samuel and his wife, the late Valerie Stevens, as well as their children, the easement protects the property’s unique agricultural and natural features in perpetuity."

While we only visited a few times, I know our children have fond memories of their holidays at Grandpa’s farm. 

Be sure to check my previous post about my dad to view a gorgeous photo of the farm taken by my sister, photographer Kristen Samuel-Stevens.

Thanks to Amy Johnson Crow's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks blog challenge for this week's topic, "On the Farm."

52 Ancestors - Week #13 - The "Old Homestead"

In March 1959 we were living in a two-story garden apartment in New Haven. I had just turned 4. One sister was not quite 3 years-old and the other had just turned 1. My mother was exhausted from running up and down the stairs all day and insisted on moving to a new home – and it HAD to be a ranch-style.

The Casey Construction Company was showing off its line of homes at the newly built Hamden Plaza. In 1959, Hamden was just coming into its own as a town. Many people were eager to leave the urban metropolis of New Haven to raise their “baby-boomer” children in the suburbs.

Contstruction of home models. The A&P supermarket
can be seen across the street.
(Source of picture unknown)

The three home models. The sign for Gristede's grocery store
can be seen to the left. Later, that became Pegnataro's Supermarket.
(Source of picture unknown)

 After eliminating Woodbridge and Orange as potential choices my parents chose Lot #61 in Paradise Hills in Hamden, Connecticut for our future home. (My mother didn’t care for the “ritzy” Jewish congregations there – she preferred the reform congregation of Mishkan Israel in Hamden.)

Hamden is known for a few things: The Sleeping Giant Mountain, a Main Street in the middle of nowhere, no town green (unusual for a New England town), and its variously named neighborhoods. If you ask almost anyone in town, they can easily identify for you the locations of Spring Glen, Whitneyville (named for Eli Whitney), Highwood, West Woods, as well as others. Paradise Hills? Not so much!

Paradise Hills was so named for the “main” road forming the western boundary of the neighborhood. In 1959, there were only two ways in and out of the new subdivision – Four Rod Road, a twisty, hilly road running from Shepard Avenue, or Paradise Avenue which was straight but still pretty hilly. Years later, Howard Drive (the southern boundary) would be extended, connecting our little neighborhood to the main thoroughfare of Skiff Street.

On September 16, 1959, my parents, Alan and Doris Lichtenthal Samuel, signed the mortgage for our new home. Dad had just earned his Ph.D. at Yale a few months earlier. His tuition was paid for by his Naval service during the Korean War. His service also allowed him (and millions of other servicemen) to purchase their own homes in newly built suburban neighborhoods all over the United States. His VA loan was in the amount of $15,300. The interest rate was 5.25% making the monthly payments $91.69. 

I’m not sure exactly what his position was at that time, but I imagine it was probably Assistant Professor, making his annual salary somewhere between $4,000 and $8,750[1]. Like most women of that era, my mother didn’t work, so Dad’s salary had to cover the expenses of our family of five. 

Even if he was at the lowest end of the scale, Dad’s salary would qualify him for the VA loan program; “The minimum for a veteran would be a $300 down payment and a weekly salary of $75.”[2]

Mom was so proud of her new home. Having lived her entire life in apartments, this was the first single-family home she ever lived in. It was a house to be proud of. Touted as being “situated in a picturesque country atmosphere,”[3] the design won an award for “the Best Home for the Money.”[4] 

Description of the ranch model.
Source: Hamden Chronicle, Special Supplement, March 12, 1959, p.4

Dad made several improvements to the basic home. He hired Bud Starno, our across-the-street neighbor to finish the first third of the basement. The newly renovated space provided a nice family room with built-in bookcases and an under-stairs closet. Dad used a sledge hammer to open a space for a large window to let in the light. True to his impulsive nature, he didn’t measure first, so replacement windows now come at a custom-made cost!

Dad also terraced the backyard, dragging wheelbarrows full of rocks from the pond down the road. To complete the serene backyard, he dug a semi-circular trench allowing the brook that ran behind our yards to flow through our property. The neighbors were not happy about the water being diverted!

Dad really did a beautiful job with this. All the other homes
on our side of street left their steep backyard hills intact.
You can see Dad's window work in this photo.

Digging the "brook!"
This lower level is now owned by the State of Connecticut.
The State purchased the lowest level of everyone's home on our side of the street in an
effort to combat frequent flooding caused by the brook. (Not my father's fault!) 

Just four years after moving into their new home, my parents divorced. The refinished basement space was repurposed to serve as two bedrooms. Space was sorely needed - in 1961 another sister was born. Then my mother met and married Al Falcone, who had three children of his own. In 1964 my brother was born to my mother and stepdad. Now there were five children under the age of 9 living in the house – 8 on Sundays, when Alfie's kids came over! I eventually moved into the unfinished section of the basement, creating a "little apartment" for myself. One positive was the door leading directly out to the backyard (that's a story for another time.) One negative was NO heat other than what escaped from the gas furnace next to my bed. (How I didn't die down there, I'll never know...)

Grilling in the carport - circa 1968 or 1969?
Watching from the steps is my mom. Manning the grill is my stepdad, Al Falcone.
The "little chef" in front of the station wagon in my brother Dean.

In the 70s, the carport was transformed into a real family room, with a fireplace and a bar! Along with the kitchen, this space formed the nucleus of the home. 61 Goebel Road had become our “homestead.”  Holidays became “events” with food, laughter, and more food. 

Christmas Eve was the most important of all holidays. (We became Italian “by osmosis” when Mom married Alfie!) The holiday is so important to us, that we still held a small Christmas Eve gathering at the house in 2011, just weeks after our mother’s passing.

When our mom died, we really didn't know what would happen with the home. We were thrilled that we, as a family, were able to keep Mom in her beloved home until the last few months of her life, but none of us could afford to purchase the house. Getting the house ready for sale was a daunting task - it needed quite a bit of repair and updating. It looked like our cherished homestead would become someone else's property. Well, we had a good run - 52 years.

On December 2, 2011, after refusing several times, our youngest daughter, Meghan finally agreed to go on a date with Andrew Jefts, a guy she met while attending school in New Hampshire. Why do I remember the date? Because the phone conversation occured while Meghan and I were on a train. We were returning from a trip into New York City where we met older daughter, Caitlin to pick out her wedding dress. When we arrived back in New Haven, we found my mother had just passed away. I like to think Mom had something to do with Meghan finally accepting that date. 

A few weeks later, Andy and Meg went on their first date. My siblings and I were stressing out over what to do with the house.  In order to remain in her home, my mother used an equity line to pay taxes and meet daily expenses, so there was very little equity available to use for repairs. If we wanted to sell the home at a decent price, we would need to spend money to make repairs. No one had extra money for that. We were resigned to selling the house and hoped to realize enough cash to pay whatever expenses Mom had incurred.

Despite having only dated for a few weeks, Andy suggested he and Meghan rent the house, with an option to buy. It was a great solution. Probably Mom had "something" to do with that happening as well! I was more than a little skeptical. Is this guy for real? I actually "googled" him to make sure he wasn't some sort of scammer. Nope - no scammer! Just a super nice guy who knew what he wanted (Meghan!) Andy quickly understood how much the house meant to our family, and to Meghan, who probably spent more of her childhood at her grandmother's house than at ours.  VERY long story short, they worked tirelessly to update every square inch of the property - inside and out! 

Before - May 2012

After - June 2013

Meg and Andy moved into the house in the fall of 2012. In 2014, they married. In 2015, their  daughter, Paisley May was born. Within the next few weeks, a little brother for Paisley is expected. The Christmas Eve tradition has continued at our homestead. We all realize the Jefts probably won't live there forever, but that's okay. We have a backup plan for keeping the house in the family. Start saving your pennies,  Alex Falcone!!!

Note: My mother saved the March 1959 supplement to the local paper, the Hamden Chronicle which detailed the construction of the Casey homes. Here are a few relevant screenshots:

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[1] " Academic Salaries, 1958-1959: Report of Committee Z On The Economic Status Of The Profession On JSTOR ". 2018. Jstor.Org. Accessed March 31 2018. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40222414?seq=6#page_scan_tab_contents. 

[2] Hamden Chronicle, Special Supplement, Section III, March 12, 1959, p. 12.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Ibid.