Chance Encounters

I had just happened to go outside around mid-morning to re-attach the tarp over the trailer full of hay. I heard someone say hello. I turned towards the voice coming from the road and say a lady. I said hello and waved, then realized as she started up the driveway, she had a camera in her hand. She told me her grandfather used to own this house. What a chance encounter. Had I not gone back outside at that time, I may not have been able to talk with her. Marie and a friend were driving by when they recognized the street name and after calling her Dad to confirm the location of the house, she stopped across the road to take pictures. I'm so glad we met. She was able to tell me stories of this place as she remembered it from the 60's. In the early 60's they had still used the outhouse, as there was not yet plumbing in the house. Her grandfather was a forrester and had bought about 192 acres including this parcel. This house was used as a summer house (too cold in the winter). Friends and family were invited to celebrate the summer with them. An old Victrola as well as an old piano provided the music. An old wringer washing machine sat on the front porch for laundry. The living room and kitchen both had working fireplaces. A mill stone sat out in the front ditch (eventually sold off to a museum). The house was considered pre-civil war, and the land next to us which now is home to a milling operation, was full of trenches. Her grandmother had planted daffodils all over the property and adjoining land. They still pop up all over in the spring. Her grandfather had called the place "Gracewood" after his beloved sister. We of course, now call it Tacketts Mill Farm. When her Grandfather died in 1954, Marie's father and his mother also bought the old Duffy place which included the mill. He had inherited it from his uncle, "Bud" Skinner. Mr Skinner was the local mailman and the operator of the mill which had been renamed Skinner's Mill. Unfortunately the old mill had already deteriorated. Even though Marie's father had lumber cut to repair the mill, no one was interested in taking on the project, including all the historical societies within 50 miles. He sold the property to a German couple (Ermert) with the agreement they would restore the mill, but before anything was done, the mill finally collapsed. After that, the land was divided up and sold. Marie took several pictures to show her Mother and Father what the place now looks like. I gave her my business card so we can keep in touch. She will be sending me pictures and stories about this place. I am so excited to finally learn about our wonderful home.