Week of November 06, 2005

Week of November 06, 2005 - Hand Hewn Beams

The beams in our basement are tree trunks with the bark still on them. The main beams are hand hewn.

"A home built for the ages recalls the hallmarks of old time craftsmanship expressed in durable materials shaped by caring hands."

Week of October 20, 2005

Week of October 20, 2005 - Our Stove

The original owner of the stove was Julia Eichermuller. She purchased the stove in 1925-1926. She used it up to the time her grandson, Bill Z (owner of J.Y.D. Antiques in Wilmot, WI) inherited it and then sold it to me for my "New" house. It has four gas burners, gas over, gas boiler and storage space. The "retro" stove has dual enamel color, and the standard luster of nickel and chrome.

The kitchen and its stove fueled the home and family of the 1920's and were central to all home activities.

"An old house has a soul nurtured by the passage of time."

Week of October 08, 2005

Week of October 08, 2005 - Camper Down Elm's

Gary cut the Camper Down Elm trees. We are sad to see them go. We contacted both a local nursery and the UW Extension Services and after much discussion it was determined that the trees had to come down. They most likely were infected and would not have survived grafting.

September 23, 2005

History of "The Hubcap House"

September 23, 2005 Gary & Chris Johnson purchase "The Hubcap House" from August Matejzel.

History of our home . . .

We only have pieces and we will continue to work towards finding the facts. To date we have land abstracts dated from March 9, 1839 and a title for the house from 1900.

History of "The Hubcap House" . . .

The "Hubcap" House business was started by August Matejzel and his father August Sr. in February of 1980. It became known for its collection of over 10,000 hubcaps. It was easily recognized by the hub caps on the house and the two camper down Elm Trees that graced the front lawn of either side of the sidewalk leading to the entrance of the "shop." These two 100 plus year old peculiar looking trees are unique in the way that the branches twist and turn as they head skyward. The two camper down Elms are also listed as the two largest of their kind in Wisconsin. Only a few of the extremely rare trees were brought to America over 100 years ago from Scotland. The lower portions of each trunk are regularly straight, normal Elms but about four feet up the camper down Elm was grafted onto an American Elm giving the trees a gnarled and fascinating appearance like something of a fairytale.