More than just a building!

The mansion and furnishings catch a person's eye and curiosity, but there is a lot more.  The people that come in contact with the house seem to be special.  This  past week we had another Spring snow.  While having breakfast, I looked out the window at the bright white surface that coated everything and muffled sounds from traffic.  Eating breakfast toast with honey reminded me of where the honey originated.  Clayton Armstrong and his wife gave it to us from their harvest.  Clayton, a bee keeper among many things, is a really interesting fellow and has helped us learn about the bees that have long inhabited the mansion.  He and his family are the subject of another blog on catching bees!  Later that morning, Marilyn and I traveled to Shelbina to do a bit of work.  Can you imagine our surprise when we found the snow removed from our driveway.  Buddy Ratliff  is the culprit and does so many things to help people.  Memories and people are such an  important part of the home we call Shelbina Mansion.

Halloween 2014

Each year we look forward to seeing everyone (and eating a lot of candy).  Our friends, Dan & Rose Fitzhugh, help us have a good time each year and others join us when they can.  Rose & Dan have done so much for Shelbina's Mansion and this year was no exception.  They provided the pumpkins, delicious food, and some of their family to share the festivities.

Rose & Family

 As sometimes happens, my camera started to fail and we missed getting photos of so many of our great visitors.  Hope they return next year to give me another try!

Just the beginning!

Friends from High School

The Benjamin Mansion has had a long history of "SPIRITS", but few  people realize that the spirits only visit once a year!

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It's a long story....

Work on the mansion goes fast at times, but a lot of ideas are slower in developing.   A friend, Jack Klotz, is very interesting and has nice antiques in his home.  One day he was telling me that he had driven to the east coast for a large piece and safely brought it to his house.  Just getting it into his house looked daunting to me, but it opened my mind to the concept that travel over 1,000 miles is a "Possible" task!  This lesson did not prove fruitful immediately, but my search for a cook stove, refrigerator, and oven turned up my target appliances in south Texas!  Without Jack's spirit, I probably would not have considered the purchase.  After a lot of negotiation, the owner and I agreed upon a price.  Now, to make the trip, I rent a trailer, and move these items.  The stove weighed over 450 lbs by itself!  Upon meeting Ali and Mike we found many things in common.  They are a military family as was I with the name "Mike".  Their oldest was born in Germany as was Monika  and they have a son named Niklas, as do we!  More than just a stove in common.

Brother, Ali, and Mike proved strong, friendly, and nice

The trip down went well and I recruited the help of daughter Monika and her amigo Jeff in Dallas.  They were strong and resourceful in the packing.

Monika & Jeff were tremendous

The trip back started interestingly as the trailer is clearly marked at a 55 miles per hour limit and NO ONE in Texas goes 55.  It got even more crazy as we reached Dallas due to the fact that the Texas State Fair was in session on our approach to Dallas.   For a small town fellow, this was more than exciting.  We made it to their house in the North Dallas area and took a well deserved break.  At 2:15 AM I awoke and sensed a storm moving into the area and decided to depart for Shelbina early.  This early departure allowed me to miss most of the storm by fleeing to Oklahoma.  You know, they drive just like Texans and everyone was flying past me again. 

 The 900 mile journey home went well and the storm never caught me.  I constantly drove with one eye forward and the other eye on the rear view mirrors.

Now, the last few feet had to be solved and once again friends came to the rescue.  Asking Buddy Ratliff of Brown's Furniture got me a professional mover and his faithful sidekick Tonto from Brown's.  Then Shelbina Lumber sent help and the big guns came from Center Street Auto.

Here is all the help we needed

I had several good plans for getting the appliances into the house with rollers and plates, but these guys just picked up everything and carried it into the house!  So much for plans.  Moral of the story is "friends are the most important ingredient in success".  Thanks everyone.

Fall activity in the yard

The flowers are such a joy each Spring and Summer, but in the Fall we must do a little work.  Marilyn and I gathered seeds from the day lilies and spread them along the end of each row.  We hope to slowly extend the lines of flowers.  Next, we take the gas powered hedge trimmer and cut the foliage close to the ground and rake up the leaves.  It is really exhausting to bend so far over to cut the leaves.  Chase Moellering helped this year and he is a hard working 7 year old.  The Cali Lilies need to be dug up and the bulbs allowed to dry a bit before storing in the basement for the winter.  Finally, it is time to trim all the bushes and privet hedges.  I hate to look at straggly looking bushes all winter.  Hope not too many limbs fall out of the trees!  The old soft maples provide shade, but they are at an age to break easily and every high wind brings down something.  Better get to work now.

Judge Crist and the Gang of 64!

The Benjamin House has so many joys.  Judge Crist was able to join us and had a great time meeting people from his past.  It is always nice to share memories and stories, but Judge Crist was also the recipient of at least 50 hugs!  Hubba, hubba.....

Dorothy Poore says goodby to friends

Reflecting on a good day with friends.

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Shelbina Class of "1964"

What a fun group!  Dorothy Poore helped arrange a visit to the Benjamin House for  her class on their 50th anniversary.

The Class of 64 arrive

And Mary "the teacher" gets them organized

    WHAT A CLASS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Beginning of the Shelbina Mansion Restoration Fund

We were expecting the class of "64" at noon on a beautiful fall day.  Jo Kampschmidt had called and said that there were two men from Chicago who would like to visit the house if possible.  We agreed to meet in the morning before class arrival and the 27th of September became a very special day.  John Byrd was from Shelbina and had thought of purchasing the Benjamin House in 1994 when the Crists had it for sale.  It was great to talk and tour the home with John and Jack.  People who know the home and early owners are always a treat.  We spoke of the progress and future projects that included rebuilding the carriage house or  the" three hole" brick outhouse.  Imagine our surprise when John made a donation to start the funding for these projects! Like so many things, getting started is the hard part.    Thanks John!