♫♫♫...And Happy Birthday to You, Mary Ann!!!

At our house, after 12:00 noon on Christmas day, Jesus takes a back seat to Mary Ann, birthday-wise.

♫♫♫...On Christmas Day in the Morning!

Merry Christmas to all!!!

The House I Grew Up In

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The Devenpeck House as it appears today in Google Maps' street view.  There used to be a large porte-cochère on the right side that was severely damaged in an ice and snow storm in the 1960's and had to be removed.

My father, Harold Richard Mead, was a dentist.  As was a common practice in the first half of the 20th century, his offices were in our house.  In fact our neighborhood, commonly called "upper Union Street" in Schenectady, was full of residences in which doctors and dentists maintained their practices.  The house in which I was raised has an interesting history.  And the way in which my parents became the owners is also worth telling.

Our home was built by Lucas Devenpeck at what was then 901 Union Street.  Mr. Devenpeck was a prominent citizen who owned a coal merchandising company.  The home, completed in 1904, was built by the Hanrahan Brothers' construction firm.  I met one of the Hanrahan brothers in the 1950's and he told me that the firm built the Devenpeck house to be a shining example of what their firm could achieve.  It was built of rare, glazed "Roman brick" and was the first private residence in Schenectady to incorporate steel support beams in its construction.  It had five operational fireplaces, each of which was spectacular in its own right.  The one in my parents' bedroom was surrounded by hand painted Dutch Delft tiles.  The fireplace in the entryway (which served as my father's waiting room) was flanked by two sculpted plaster lions' heads.  The woodwork in the house was equally stunning, with beamed ceilings of oak and cherry and matching wainscot, all hand made and finished like fine furniture.

Mr. Devenpeck left the home to Union College when he passed away.  In 1936, the college auctioned the home.  My father's practice was located at 619 Union Street.  My mother was expecting her first child and this house looked like the perfect candidate for locating a dental practice and raising a family.  My parents submitted an offer in the sealed-bid auction.  They were soon notified that their bid was the second highest and that the high bidder was a local physician.  Soon, however, they were told that the high bidder had withdrawn his offer because he had decided to move to Europe.  My parents were thus the highest bidders.

The Schenectady Gazette described the transaction on February 4, 1937: “Dr. Harold R. Mead, dentist, of 619 Union Street, has purchased the Devenpeck property at Unlon and Gillespie streets from the trustees of Union College. The sale was made through the office of E. J. Ryon and Son, local realtors. Dr. Mead and family will move into their new home within the next 10 days. A. H. Ryon is authority for the statement that this is one of the finest built homes in Schenectady. The dwelling was constructed about 33 years ago under particular-specifications and only the finest of materials were used. Dr. Mead will continue his practice of dentistry at his present location, 619 Union Street.”

My father had his practice in our home until he sold the building in 1960. Since that time it has served as a business location, first for a realty company, then as an orthopedic center, and then as a child care consultancy.  Our family was the last to use the building as a private residence.

I have identified the Devenpeck house in the Wikimapia site.

The Dog House has Heat!

With the addition of the ceiling, we're able to heat the Tajmadog

Last week we had several days during which the morning low was around 15 degrees.  I felt sorry for Sheila and Goldie because I didn't yet have a ceiling in the Tajmadog so the wind howled through it even with the doors closed.  Well, that situation has ended.  Yesterday, Monty Love came up again and we installed R-19 insulation above the ceiling and then put up 1/2" plywood.  This closes in the building, even though I haven't quite finished insulating the walls and installing the wallboard.  I can do most of that myself, but I definitely needed help to get the ceiling up.  Goldie and Sheila approve.  And last night, I ran a small "dairy heater" and kept the dog house at about 60 degrees.  This is major progress...

Goldie is nearly as large as Sheila!

Great Moments in Automotive History

The same 1932 Plymouth about 40 years later!

In August 1965, I drove my 1932 Plymouth coupe from New London, Connecticut, to Norman, Oklahoma, to report to my new duty station.  I had been given orders to report to the Naval ROTC unit at the University of Oklahoma.  To make the trip even more interesting, I had to go by way of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where I attended a two-week-long training session at Marquette University.

I decided to stay on secondary roads as much as possible, partly because the little Plymouth could only sustain about 55 miles per hour comfortably, and partly because I wanted to experience the old Route 66 as it would have been experienced in the 1930's.  Some people accuse me of being a nostalgia buff.

On a hot August afternoon, I cruised into Claremore, Oklahoma, in need of gas.  After passing a sign that informed me that I had arrived in Claremore, the birthplace of Will Rogers, I pulled into a Gulf station.  An elderly gentleman came out into the hot sun and asked if I wanted a fill-up.  I told him I did and asked him to check the oil and water as well.  This was, after all, a time of full-service filling stations. 

As the man was filling the gas tank, he noticed the New York license plates on my car.  "Did you drive this car all the way from New York?" he asked.  I told him that I had actually started in Connecticut, driven to New York, then to Milwaukee, and was now on my way to Norman.  He looked at me in disbelief.

"This is your day to get a free tank of gas," he said.  I looked at him curiously.  "Any damn fool that would drive a car this old on a trip that long gets a free tank of gas!" was his response.  Then he proceeded to check the oil and water.  And he really wouldn't take payment for the gas!