Dusty boxes of junk are, now and then, one part of this job of mine that others might not care for but I don’t seem to mind. I have trouble remembering how many interesting discoveries I have made in the piles some of these boxes have contained.
Most memorable to me are probably the Rannells family papers some dating as far back as the 1830’s that were stored underneath a bed in an old carpenter’s tool chest when I first saw them. This was at the very nice home of a direct descendant of Charles and Mary Rannells who lived in Richardson, Texas. The descendant lived in Richardson, Charles and Mary lived in Maplewood in Woodside as followers of this space should know. If you don’t, it’s probably time to post about them again.
Early this year, Jim Fischer contacted Luke Havel who contacted me. We all met at the Stone Spiral Cafe. Jim’s family once operated a meat market in Maplewood. If I remember right Jim was cleaning out his parent’s home when he came upon some items he thought might be of interest to us.
He was right. There are many interesting items in this fairly large box that he gifted to us. I’ve been photographing them as I work my way towards the bottom. Always a dilemma is what should stay and what should go.
One item, of which there are two, that definitely will stay is the newspaper, the “Suburban Home Journal, Christmas Number”, published on Dec. 24, 1904. Almost the entire issue is devoted to Maplewood. (That first sentence in this paragraph is awkward but it doesn’t really matter as this is just filler anyhow. I’m fairly certain no one reads this far anyway. They just skip to the pictures).
So from the aforementioned newspaper comes this article about one of Maplewood’s two wedges. Enjoy.
Thank you, as always, Doug. …and I didn’t only look at the pictures! We have great architecture here in Maplewood. I love learning some of the history of the homes and former inhabitants.
You are welcome. Thanks for your comment.
Am I missing the address? Would love to drive past
You are. Second paragraph of the newspaper article.
Great Stories, I had a house on Moller Ave built in 1895, although my stay was short i love the history, keep up the good work
Thank you. I will try to do so.
Would love to see the interior pics of the house now and see what remains of the original home.
I am sorry I don’t have any.
And are there more things — from the “fairly large box” — now on their way to publicity?
Definitely.
This is one of my favorite homes in Maplewood. It reminds me of Tara in Gone with the Wind.
Great find and fun read. Where is the second wedge?
Ralph, the second wedge is the corner of Southwest and Manchester, the current location of Robata.
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