Little Bit Needs Your Vote

Little Bit is Pet #11

Little Bit is Pet #11 in the Gleaner's 2013 Newspaper in Education Pet Calendar Contest. All the proceeds are donated to Newspaper In Education Program, which provides funds to area schools to purchase newspapers. This program makes newspaper curriculum materials available to assist teachers and to encourage reading of newspapers by students, especially those who do not have access to newspapers in their homes.

You can make your vote count today. 

There are three ways to vote.

1. Mail in, postage prepaid your completed official voting form, along with a money order, credit card information or check (payable to The Gleaner Newspaper In Education) for the total amount of the # of votes you cast multiplied by 25 cents* per vote, and send to The Gleaner, PO Box 4, Henderson, KY 42419.
2. Call in your vote to 270.831.8393 and pay the total amount of the # of votes you cast multiplied by 25 cents* per vote by credit card only.
3. In-person votes can be cast by bringing your completed official voting form, along with a money order, credit card, cash or check (payable to The Gleaner Newspaper In Education) for the total amount of the # of votes you cast multiplied by 25 cents* per vote to 455 Klutey Park Plaza, Henderson, KY.

Voting ends at Noon on Friday, October 12th. So vote today!!!

I know Little BIt has lots of friends out there and she would really appreciate your help.

Two Hendersonians Are Delegates to the 1864 Democratic Convention

Senator Lazarus Powell and John Y. Brown, both from Henderson were among the Kentucky delegation that attended the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August of 1864. They would nominate George McClellan of New Jersey  for President and George H. Pendleton for Vice President.

Kentucky's delegation had two opposing factions, Brown and Powell represented one faction and George Prentice and James Guthrie represented another. Both Guthrie and Powell appeared on the 1st Vice Presidential Ballot before the vote shifts. Guthrie actually received 65.5 votes, Powell received 32.5 and Pendleton received 55.5 and the remaining delegates were split between five other contenders. But after the 1st Ballot shifts Pendleton received all 226 votes.

Lincoln was not without ardent Kentucky supporters, Robert C. Breckinridge, Cassius M.Clay, and Joshua Speed were among them. But in the General Election in the fall Lincoln received 26,592 civilian votes to McClellan's 61,478. Lincoln received 1,205 Kentucky soldiers' votes and McClellan received 3,608.

McClellan - Pendleton Campaign of 1864

1864 Presidential Vote - McClellan carries one state 

Special thanks to Thomas D. Clark and his A History of Kentucky published in 1988.

Our first day on Honey Tours Wild West Tour

The latest news from 724 Center Street is I started my trip out west yesterday with Honey Tours. Honey Tours is owned by mother, Sandy Harmon. Normally my dad makes these trips but he had surgery last week and can’t travel for six weeks. So I am off with mom and forty-eight more folks. We’re headed to Montana and back in 10 days. Unfortunately, Little Bit, my faithful travel companion, was not allowed on the trip. It was very difficult to leave her behind. For those of you who know Little Bit and Horace you know that they don’t always get along. That’s a story for another day, but I am hoping since they are going to spend so much time together that maybe their relationship will improve. 

St. Charles, Missouri has been an outpost since 1769. It was the first permanent European Settlement on the Missouri River and on May 14, 1804 Lewis Clark arrived with 42 men. Six days later Meriweather Lewis arrived. On May 21, 1804 the Lewis & Clark Expedition made their final embarkation. After reaching the Pacific Ocean. Lewis and Clark retraced their journey and returned to St. Charles on September 26, 1806. 

Missouri First State Capitol Building

National Register of Historic Places Collection

In 1804 St. Charles had about 100 houses and 459 inhabitants, mostly french. The St. Charles Historic District included numerous 

19th century residential and commercial buildings and is the home of the first Missouri State Capitol Building (1821 - 1826). I took the color picture above yesterday and found this historic picture on the internet. Notice the old car parked in front of the building. I bet the guys that are sitting in front of me on the bus would know exactly what the make and model of that car is.

We had lunch at the Lewis & Clark’s American Restaurant and Public House. The food was good and the service was very accommodating. The street is lined with delightful shops, but many were closed on Monday. So if you are planning on visiting St. Charles I would do so later in the week. I think there would be plenty of shops to for a full afternoon of browsing if they were all open. The main street is just one block off of the river and there was a lovely walking and sitting area if you have some time. Unfortunately, we only had about an hour to eat and explore this wonderful little town.  I had never been there before and was delighted that I got to see and learn a little more about this little Missouri town.

We arrived in St. Joseph about 5:30 pm and had just enough time to get our bags to our room, relax for a few minutes and get down to dinner at 6:30 pm. We stayed at the Holiday Inn and it was very nice and the staff was very friendly. After dinner we had a lady from the community come in and give us a presentation on the local area. I bet you didn’t know that the Pony Express began in St. Joseph and I bet you didn’t know that Jesse James was killed in St. Joseph. St. Joseph also has a wonderful collection of beautiful old mansions and St. Joseph claims to have had more millionaires in 1870 than any town of its size in our country. 

I ended my day enjoying the swimming pool and hot tub. It was a great day. 

Closing Weekend Olympic Dinner Party

The Dinner Table Before the Guests Arrive

We celebrated the closing of the Olympics at our house this past weekend with an Olympic themed dinner party. Our 10 wonderful guests represented the various top medaled countries, including the United States, China, Australia, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Hungary, Russia, Italy, France, South Korea, Germany, and Uzbekistan. During the dinner each guests shared a little information about their country and their participation in the Olympics. It was not only fun but very interesting. We also played Olympic trivia. Again, we laughed a lot and even learned a little. 

Of course an Olympic Dinner Party is really a very good excuse for a dinner filed with international food and wine. And this dinner was just that! We served a seven course meal with complementary wines for each course.

OLYMPIC DINNER MENU

• Appetizer: Germany - Sauerkraut balls (2 per guests)
• Wine: Riesling (Greece)

• Soup: United Kingdom - Carrot and Ginger Soup (small bowl)
• Wine: Chardonnay (Australia)

• Salad: Italy (Capri) - Caprese Salad (two 1/4” slices of tomatoes and two 1/4” slices of mozzarella)
• Wine: Sauvignon Blanc (New Zealand)

• Sorbet: Turkey - Homemade Lemon Sorbet (one small sauce cup)
• Wine: Sparkling Wine (California)

• Main Course: United States - Fried Pork Tenderloin Medallions with rice and a wild game gravy, sautéed mushrooms and asparagus (three medallions & two mushrooms)
• Wine: Cabernet Sauvignon (Chile)

• Cheese Course: Greece - Sakanaki Cheese (a 1/4’ slice served in individual bowls)
• Wine: Retzina (Greece)

• Dessert: Russia - Strawberries Romanoff (approximately 5 - 8 berries plus topping)
• Wine: Sparkling Mascato Lounge (Italy)

I tried very hard to control the size of the portions so that everyone could get through seven courses and we limited each course to one bottle of wine to serve all twelve guests, except for the main course and we did manage to open two bottles of the red wine.

Scarlet represented the United Kingdom and Susan represented Uzbekistan

Paul represented Australia

Lacey represented the Netherlands

         

We introduced our countries between the soup and salad and played trivia during dessert. Overall, the party went very well and I can’t wait to do it again in 2014.

Olympic Trivia

When were the first ancient Olympic Games held?

Answer: 776 BC

Where was the first modern Olympic Games held?

Answer: Athens

What do the five rings represent?

Answer: The five continents: Americas, Africa, Europe, Asia, & Australia

Where are the headquarters of the International Olympic Committee?

Answer: Switzerland

Where are the 2008 Olympic games held?

Answer: Beijing

On This Date - Henderson History

On May 13, 1970 Henderson County School System was awarded a $181,122 grant for vocational education for 6th, 7th & 8th grades.

On May 13, 1975, Russell Below, a former Henderson County Superintendent of Schools and City High Principal, was named to head the Henderson City School System. Below said the possibility of a city-county school merger was not going to stop him from accepting the position.

Special thanks to Frieda Dannheiser and Donald Hazelwoood for their History of Henderson County, published 1980.

On This Date - Henderson History

On this date in 1930 - Henderson paid tribute to Mary Towles Sasseen as the founder of Mother's Day with an impressive ceremony at Fernwood Cemetery on Sunday May 11, 1930. Her grave was decorated with loads of flowers and a marker was unveiled. The principle address was delivered by S.O. Heilbronner, local attorney. To see more on Henderson's own Mother's Day Founder go to Netta Mullin's Mother's Day History from the Henderson County Historical & Genealogical Society.

Don't forget your Mother this Sunday!

On May 11, 1954, Leslie Reynolds, administrator of Methodist Hospital, was named by the city school board to fill the 2 1/2 year unexpired her, of C. Royden McCollom, who had recently dies.

On May 11, 1955, a twister-like storm hopscotched out of Union County hitting Morganfield with a "smashing blow". The storm made its way across the southern part of Henderson County leaving damage estimated unofficially at $125,000. The Dunbar School in Morganfield was unroofed causing injury to three children.

On May 11, 1975 it was announced that a  forum on collective bargaining for public employees sponsored by the Henderson Community College Chapter of the Kentucky Association of Community College Professors would be held in the Municipal Center the following Thursday. The forum was to provide everyone in the community an opportunity to express their opinion on collective bargaining. 

Special thanks to Frieda Dannheiser and Donald Hazelwoood for their History of Henderson County, published 1980.

More Henderson History - Mill Housing

The Mill Housing are significant historic structures. Located between 1200 and 1338 Washington Street in Henderson's Historic East End, the two story duplexes provided housing for the employees of Henderson's Cotton Mills. According to the History of Henderson County the Henderson Cotton Mills were built in 1883 and the apartment houses were built in 1885. The Cotton Mill also built a frame schoolhouse on Powell Street in 1885.

In 1922 Consolidated Textile Corporation bought the Cotton Mill and in 1931 they closed the mill. On April 24th, 1937 Bear Brand bought the cotton mill and resumed operations on June 14th of that same year. After 1937, Bear Brand gradually sold off the Mill Housing on Washington Street to private owners, but in 1941 - 1942 resumed the tradition of Mill owned homes and opened Pope Street with the construction of 14 new homes.

See the PDF scan on the Mill Housing from the Henderson Historical Homes Book published in 1985.
Mill Housing PDF

Special thanks to Frieda Dannheiser and Donald Hazelwoood for their History of Henderson County, published 1980.

On This Date - Henderson History

The History of Henderson County, Kentucky was still on my desk this morning. I decided to flip through the 1000+ pages and discovered there is a history section by date. Did you know on this date in in 1929 the city school board adopted a budget of $154,100 for the 1929 - 1930 school year, a figure slightly lower than the previous year's budget.

And on this date in 1954 the Henderson County Soil conservation District became official with the election of its first board of directors and approval of a work program. The following officers were elected:

• Frank Street - Chairman
• G.H. McMurtry - Secretary - Treasurer
• James McConathy - Vice Chairman
• George Crafton & Hugh Jones - Board Members

And on this date in 1974 the City-County Planning Commission approved a zoning change by the Henderson Golf & Country Club to allow a new clubhouse and golf course to be on their site on U.S. 60 East.

Special thanks to Frieda Dannheiser and Donald Hazelwoood for their History of Henderson County, published 1980.

More Audubon History

Frieda Dannheiser and Don Hazelwood's "History of Henderson County , KY" from 1888 to 1978 in 1980 provides additional history on the East End, including interesting information on the business climate. Please see the link below to download a PDF with more East End history.

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BwGWYup23ldYN01haFhpSHVrUXc

History of Henderson County, KY outlines Aududon History

Frieda Dannheiser and Don Hazelwood printed a lengthy "History of Henderson County , KY" from 1888 to 1978 in 1980.  Chapter XVII of the book outlines the history of the East End, a city within a city.

John James Audubon built a two story log cabin on a small hill which is now the site of Loeb and Shelby Streets in 1815. At the writing of this book in 1980 the editors report that Audubon had its own drugs stores, soda fountains, fire stations, barber shops, grocery stores, dry cleaning establishments and other places of businesses.  The population of Audubon in 1880 was estimated to be 60 people and 1889 the population had grown to 200. In 1913 the population of Audubon was estimated to be 3,200.

The industrial expansion began with the cotton mills which were built in 1883. The Henderson Cotton Mills remained in operation under that name until 1922.

The Audubon history in this book highlights the lives of several residents and important milestones for the community. The link below takes you to a PDF of just the sections relating to the Audubon area. It's a quick and easy read and probably has information that many long time residents don't even know.

Enjoy!

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BwGWYup23ldYeDBRc0w3U2VERE0

Great crowd at Easter

We had nearly 50 aunts, uncles and cousins for  lunch on Easter at our home this year. It was a wonderful day. The weather was perfect. Having so many of my family together at one time reminds me of going to my grandmother's for lunch on Sunday's after church. My mother was the baby of eight and as many of the kids that could would come nearly every Sunday for lunch. It was a wonderful treat to play in the yard or go exploring in the barn or just watch my uncles play horse shoes. Sometimes we would have watermelon or home made ice cream What a treat!

We didn't make home made ice cream on Easter but we did enjoy being together. Life is good!!

Easter 2012 at 724 Center Street

House Renovations Are Put On Hold For Now

We spent nearly a year planning the renovation and addition for the house. The plans that Tim did are amazing. The kitchen that Suzi designed it exactly what we wanted. Unfortunately, we have decided that we will have to wait at least another year before we build. Cie Le Vie! But the project is shovel ready!!!

We did finish painting the outside. The house is in great shape and ready for whatever comes next. I guess I'll just have to focus on the gardens for now.

Finished painting  Spring of 2012

Here it is! The Old Purple House

We bought the house, sight unseen, when we first moved back to Henderson in 1998. Even though my husband had never seen the house painted purple, if anyone asked where we lived, he always responded "the old purple house". He had never seen the house painted purple until I brought this picture home this week. I found the picture in the files at the Kentucky Historical Society. They included it in the filing for  the Alves Historical District Application. I actually think it looks pretty good purple. It may be a good thing I didn't have this picture when I was picking out paint last year for the house.

724 Center Street in the 1980's

The Final Architectural Drawings

The latest kitchen design

I think we finally have a kitchen design that both Horace and I are comfortable with. Suzi has been great about updating the drawings. the new design has only two upper cabinets on the back wall flanking he Aga cooker. The current drawing has the 63 inch 4 oven Aga cooker, however, we are still debating over the adding the companion oven that will take the Aga to 80 inches. The expanded Aga will most likely result in the upper cabinets being eliminated altogether. But the front side of the bar and one of the side sections of the bar is all hidden storage. According to the cabinet maker it should give me about the same amount of storage as 17 running feet of upper cabinets.

The kitchen features a built in steamer that can be used to steam vegetables, melt chocolate for a fun dessert or keep cider ready on the cabinet for serving. The steamer will be a great party addition. There is also a built-in wine captain, a two drawer refrigerator and freezer unit and a two drawer dishwasher. The refrigerator and freezer in this design are two separate 30 inch units located on each side of the Aga cooker.

The Aga Cooker - Simply the Best

This is the stove that we plan on putting in the new kitchen. It is simply amazing. After doing a considerable amount of research this may be the most amazing stove in the world. It is basically a cast iron skillet with its own furnace. Once its heated to the right temperatures the furnace keeps the cast iron hot. It cooks with radiant heat, but also has two electric convection ovens and four gas burners. There are four ovens that stay at constant temperatures, 150 degrees, 250 degrees, 350 degrees, and 450 degrees. 


According to the Aga website. 
It's a way of life. That is what you will hear from any of over 750,000 AGA owners worldwide. Go into any AGA owner’s home and you will find them in the kitchen. Probably comfortably leaning against their cooker with a glass of wine in hand. Why? Because for over eighty years, the AGA has been considered a member of the family. It has heated kettles and warmed hearts. It has gathered family and friends. It has become the heart of the home. This is why AGA owners all over the world say they couldn't imagine life without one.


http://www.aga-ranges.com/_store/scripts/catlist.asp?idcat=39


The AGA History
In 1709, the original Coalbrookdale Company was formed by the great iron master, Abraham Darby. Early products included items such as cooking pots and the foundry produced and laid cast iron rails in 1767 becoming the first company to make iron wheels and rails for the railroad industry. However, it is the casting and building of the iron bridge over the River Severn in 1779 which is recognized as the most prominent achievement of the Coalbrookdale Company. 

By the mid 1930s another dimension to iron casting was introduced by Francis Darby. Francis had a great love of art and under his guidance, the foundry started to produce ornamental castings including tables and garden furniture as well as larger projects such as the "Hyde Park" gates and railings.

In 1929, the Coalbrookdale Company became a subsidiary of Allied Ironfounders Limited and continued to produce the castings for a wide variety of products including domestic heating and cooking appliances such as the Aga. Today, the foundry continues to manufacture these quality, cast iron cooking instruments.

The Process

The foundry in Coalbrookdale is responsible for producing all the castings for Aga and every product reflects the heritage and traditional craftsmanship that sets Aga apart. The complete process of casting and enameling takes place at two sites - the Coalbrookdale foundry and the Aga factory in Ketley, six miles away.

Casting

The raw materials used at Coalbrookdale are scrap iron and pig iron which are melted down at temperatures of 3,272 DEG F. Before it has a chance to cool down, the molten metal is poured into moulds. The castings are then removed from the molds and left to cool. The castings are then shot blasted and moved to the dressing department where rough edges are removed. The castings are then transported to
the Aga-Rayburn site at Ketley where they are then annealed and blasted with iron shot at 72lb a square inch before being filed by hand. This prepares the castings for the enameling process.

Enameling

Aga cookers have a vitreous enamel surface because it is long-lasting, scratch resistant and the color doesn`t fade. Vitreous enamel is a mixture of molten glass, clay and pigment that is permanently bonded onto cast iron at very high temperatures to form a tough, gloss finish. All the colors are produced from metal oxides and the entire enameling process is done by hand. The whole procedure takes three days. At the start of the enameling process, an undercoat is sprayed onto the castings and the castings are then put into a large oven at 1,445 DEG F for 40 minutes. A further two layers of enamel are then sprayed onto the castings and then fired at 1,427 DEG F. The color is then analyzed by computer and the proportion of pigment for that batch is recorded as part of the serial number. The doors and front panels are then carefully color matched into perfectly matching sets.

The House Today

It's hard to imagine all the changes this old house has seen. Just in the 12 years we've owned it there has been a lot of updates. But this project will bring this old house into the new millennium.

The Appraisal

Mitch Hazelwood from Hazelwood's Appraisal Company came by to look at the house and the plans. He was extremely nice and very interested in the project.

This is the next step in the process. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Nearly Final Drawings

We met with Tim Townsend today. He had the drawings printed on large architect paper. The project is beginning to feel real. It's hard to believe that we've been working, off and on, on these drawings for over two years. Horace went to the meeting with me and I was very glad. Tim spent most of the time explaining how the foundation and the floor joists and roofing systems were going to work. The span in the kitchen area, the hearth room and the portico are pretty large and without posts they will need some substantial beams, footers, etc. I am posting the next to the last drawings. We should have the final drawings soon!!!!!

Planning & Zoning Approves the Variance

Horace and I were in Washington DC touring a post revolutionary war mansion when we got the word that Planning and Zoning had approved our variance. Dennie said they not only approved it, but were anxious to do so. Dennie felt strongly that a large investment and life extension to a home like ours would be right up the Commissions alley. And he was right!!! We only had to make one change; make the portico a little shorter. Tim Townsend says that easy.

All we have to do now is get the kitchen design finished and priced and probably make some changes after we see the costs. Get the final drawings done and get prices together for that. And then find a bank interested in financing the project. Not to much. :-)

Renderings - The project starts to feel real

I called Dennie Branson today and like him immediately. I learned that he used to own an Italianate house up the street next to the funeral home. Sadly, it has since been torn down. But he clearly understood old house issues. He was great. He knew exactly what to do.  I quickly realized that Horace & I would be out of town when Planning and Zoning met next, but Dennie was confident that he and Tim could handle it. And after talking to Dennie I was confident too.


Dennie said we needed actual pictures of the house and computer renderings of what the addition was going to look like. This is when the project really came alive. The renderings took the flat drawings and showed you what it might really look like. After three years of imagining the addition I got a real picture. Now I had to control my enthusiasm, after all, we didn't have the variance, we didn't have the financing and even if we had both it is getting awfully late in the year to start such a large project.

The portico and driveway really made the project. Those two elements to me pulled the project together. Without them I think the addition would feel incomplete. And the convenience of a driveway after 12 years of parking on the street would make me feel like we were living in a new house.

Tim tied the portico in to the house so that there were two permanent parking spaces plus a circular drive. You could park and walk into the new side entrance. The kitchen would only be steps away.



   

Suzi's Second Option

Suzi's second option reduces the number of cabinets by doing more drywall.  The cabinets go to 9'-9" and then a large crown treatment.  The ceiling crown goes around the room.  There is a drywall pantry with a niche above, to the right of the back door.  


She put shelves over the windows as an option to glass door cabinets.   This plan has a single, 2 level island.  A steamer unit in this plan, but the refrigeration was reduced to a 36" wide unit (2 freezer drawers).  The 60" Aga is surrounded by drywall with recessed shelves for spices, oils & vinegars on the inside and curved wood bookshelves facing the living area.  The bookcase option would probably be less expensive than a cabinet unit and the curved shelves was just to do something different.   The main sink along the back wall looks out into the side garden, with a standard DW & trash cans flanking it.  It's a large single bowl sink which is a great option for the clean-up sink - large pans will sit inside - no divider to get in the way.  The prep sink and a single dish drawer are in the island.  She included the drop down door microwave and the coffee system. She added the lamps to the island because I thought they were neat.

Suzi's first option

Suzi's first option takes the cabinets to the ceiling.  It has a 60" Aga range, separate refrigerator & freezer units, a wine captain, drop down door microwave, coffee system, a standard dishwasher and a single dishdrawer.  There are 2 islands and 2 levels for seating - stools with 24" high seats & stools with 30" high seats.  The round top could be glass or wood - making it a focal point and differentiating it from the other tops. 

 She lined up the Aga with the opening between the islands so it would be visible and she flanked it with windows.  She put the prep sink in the corner so you would go from the ref., to the prep sink, to the cooking surface - a natural progression in preparing a meal.  She has pot & pan drawers flanking the Aga and spice pull outs flanking them.  The double trash cans will hold garbage in one and recycles in the other.  Suzi thinks the pull out towel bar is a must. The tall bookcase faces out into the living area, giving a decorative end to the cabinets.  The single dishdrawer is near the prep sink.  There are bars over the windows for hanging pots.  The wine captain could go under the coffee system instead of the microwave, making for a true serving/entertaining zone. 

This option would be the most expensive as far as cabinetry is concerned.

The door to the back yard is a glass door and provides a straight-thru view from the front entry hall out to the back yard.

Our First Kitchen Drawings

Suzi has been on vacation. She told me up front she wouldn't be able to start until she got back, but I was so anxious for the first drawings.

She has sent me three designs. Suzi tells me that each design is trying to show different layouts, cabinet heights, window placements, appliance options, etc.  Each option will have a floor plan with the basic details and perspective views.  She couldn't get everything I wanted in each plan but as we move forward we can figure out what's most important and needs to stay and what can go.  She didn't include the fireplace/pizza oven as they take up a lot of room and require lots of clearance (not to mention the pizza ovens are rather pricey). 

She suggested we make a few copies and write all over them - what parts we liked, what parts we could do without, what appliances are a must and which may go, etc. The plan was to mingle her ideas together and over time to come up with the perfect plan. It was a starting point.  She cautioned me that if we tried to take to cabinets up to our 13 foot ceilings that we were going to be looking at a lot of money.   The most expensive part of a cabinet is the door, so the more doors, the higher the price.  And with 13' ceilings it would require 3 doors as you go up, even if you do a large crown treatment.  

So I took the plans everywhere with me. If I had a spare moment I was studying the plans. I did exactly what she suggested, looking at the parts I liked and didn't like and tried to mesh the plans together.

Working with Tim Townsend to modify the design

The final plan for P&Z

Tim instinctively knew that the simple expansion wasn't going to give us enough room for everything Horace and I wanted in our new area. But the plans that he drew took too much space out of my garden, something Horace and I agreed was unacceptable. So one afternoon in the fall of 2010 I went to Lowes and bought engineering flags and tape and staked out my idea of how we could use the more of the side yard and less of the garden. It was basically Tim's design turned around a bit.

Knowing this is the last house we'll probably live in during our lifetime,we've spent a little more time making sure we've thought of everything. We wanted a bar area, expansive prep area, a cozy seating for two for dinner, a working fireplace, a den area, and a powder room. At least that's where the list started. Then  I realized I had the idea to add a driveway and a portico. Twelve years of parking on the street and carrying the groceries in the rain was beginning to get old.

After I got everything taped off I brought Horace out to the yard. He agrees it could work and goes back inside. I think GREAT! I call Tim and have him draw up the new ideas. The first drawing was short of what I had in mind, but the second on was right on. So I took the drawings back to Horace and he claims he had never heard this idea before. Geez! Men! Then I took him back out in the yard showed him where the tape had been several months earlier and showed him where he was standing when we discussed the changes. His memory was slowly coming back.

After Horace finally remembered how the drawings originated I told him the bad news. Tim says we'll have to get a variance because the new design gets a little to close to the street. This is where I am reminded that I am married to a former Chairman of Planning & Zoning. And tells me he thinks I'm making the project to difficult. But Tim's advice was sound. He said design the house you want and take the time and trouble to get the variance.

So I  ask Tim what do we do next. And thank goodness he knows the answer. He says call Dennie Branson. He's your go to guy. So I did.

A look at an Italianate Design

American Italianate homes were loosely modeled after the villas of Italy. The design is defined more by the ornamentation than by the structure itself. Basically, it's a simple box with a lot of ornamentation with respect to cornices, windows, porches and doorways. The key elements include:

•    Rectangular - It is usually a plain shape with a tight symmetrical floor plan.

•    Sloping Roofs - They usually have a slightly sloping roof with deep overhanging eaves, supported by a row of decorative brackets. 

•    Building Materials - Generally the homes were brick, stone or stucco.

•    Tall Windows - The windows are always tall and slim and most often rounded on the top.

•    Columned Entryway - A single story column supported porch protects the entrance way.

Square tower or Cupola - Most homes have a centrally places square cupola just above the roof line. 

Our home is in the Center Street Historic District in Henderson, KY. It is a four block long neighborhood, which reflects the evolution of late 19^th century domestic architecture. It is a large two-story brick home and according to documents developed for the Kentucky Heritage Council it is the best vernacular Italianate house in the district.

The details at the top of our home.

The arch detail above the windows.

The Kentucky Heritage Council documentation continues: “It is simple in form and detail, it employs a side passage plan with setback addition. The window openings are capped by segmental arches and the main entrance element is topped by a flat lintel. This element is reminiscent of the Greek Revival movement with the opening topped by a large glass transom and flanked by sidelights.

“The Italianate influence can be seen in the deep cornice elements with its elaborate, paired brackets, and in the flat roof. The structures location and setting do much to give it a feeling of prominence. Standing at the southwest corner of Center and Alvasia, the Brown House was constructed on a raised lot which sets it physically above the surrounding homes.”

But our home is small and very plain in comparison to one of the most famous Italianate homes in America, The Breakers, in Newport RI. We visited the Breakers a couple of years ago and it is amazing. I have included a little history and a few pictures here just so you can see the romance of the era.

The Breakers is the grandest of Newport's summer "cottages" and a symbol of the Vanderbilt family's social and financial preeminence in turn of the century America.

Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794-1877) established the family fortune in steamships and later in the New York Central Railroad, which was a pivotal development in the industrial growth of the nation during the late 19th century. 

The Commodore's grandson, Cornelius Vanderbilt II, became Chairman and President of the New York Central Railroad system in 1885, and purchased a wooden house called The Breakers in Newport during that same year. In 1893, he commissioned architect Richard Morris Hunt to design a villa to replace the earlier wood-framed house which was destroyed by fire the previous year. Hunt directed an international team of craftsmen and artisans to create a 70 room Italian Renaissance- style palazzo inspired by the 16th century palaces of Genoa and Turin. Allard and Sons of Paris assisted Hunt with furnishings and fixtures, Austro-American sculptor Karl Bitter designed relief sculpture, and Boston architect Ogden Codman decorated the family quarters. 

The Vanderbilts had seven children. Their youngest daughter, Gladys, who married Count Laszlo Szechenyi of Hungary, inherited the house on her mother's death in 1934. An ardent supporter of The Preservation Society of Newport County, she opened The Breakers in 1948 to raise funds for the Society. In 1972, the Preservation Society purchased the house from her heirs. Today, the house is designated a National Historic Landmark.