Today, even the words "New Haven Street" tug at my heart and memories jump into the forefront of my thoughts. But there was a time when the street did not exist, nor the house we grew up in.
Our family in spring 1961, consisted of my parents, myself and my sisters, Viki and infant, Lynn. At that time, we lived in a small 2-bedroom house on Hale Street and Dad and Mom decided we needed more room. Mom drew up what she wanted for the floor plan, Dad created the blueprints and my grandfather, Maurice Bush, a retired carpenter, became the contractor in charge of building the house.
We had a large garage right next to the house on Hale Street, it was as big as the house itself. A lot of activity started happening in that garage that little girls found fascinating. Mom, as well as Dad, Grandpa and a few strangers popped in and out throughout the days to work in there. The saws would make loud noises and Viki and I would cover our ears but stood there watching everything that was going on. This went on for some time and Grandpa, who we saw most of the time anyway, came and went more frequently, sometimes multiple times a day. Two curious little girls finally had enough wondering about what was going on and decided to find out for themselves. While Grandpa was in the house having a cup of coffee or a chat with Mom, Viki and I crawled into the back floorboards of his car. Grandpa hopped in a few minutes later and we were off.
We must have been terrified of being found out because we were silent during the car ride and my grandfather had no idea, we were right behind him. A short time later Grandpa pulled the car to a stop and got out. Viki and I slowly raised our heads and looked around us. We saw Grandpa up on the hill talking to men in front of something that looked like big pieces of wood put together in the shape of a house but that we could have walked right through. We turned our heads around. There were a few houses here or there, piles of dirt some places, big holes other places and a few more of those stick houses. All very interesting. The door to the car opened suddenly and we both jumped. We had been discovered. Grandpa just laughed at us, got in the car, and drove us back home. The big secret was out! We were going to have a new house.
The dirt covered property that we had just seen was on Lot 11 in Block 12 in Steger Heights Subdivision. At the time that New Haven Street was put in, it was literally the western edge of Dubuque. If you walked just to the crest of the hill all you could see was farmland and countryside in the distance to the west. Center Grove Church, about a mile away, was the only distinctive feature in the landscape and at that time Highway 20 ran a block behind our house rather than several blocks away to the south where it was moved during the mid-1960's.
The house went up quickly. I started kindergarten that fall and while I was at school, and Viki and Lynn were with Grandma, Mom and Dad moved us from one house to the other on Sept 15, 1961. Walking into the house that first afternoon was so exciting. We had beautiful hardwood floors throughout the living area and bedrooms that Dad had finished, and a kitchen table that was built into the wall of the kitchen, something I had never seen before. Walking down the hall we saw the bedroom that was going to be Lynn's, then further back was Mom and Dad's room at the front corner and Viki and my room at the back corner of the house. Our bedroom even had a toy closet built into the wall that had our dolls and games waiting for us.
Although I did not realize it then, the house was of a very modern design inside with a lot of built-in features that other homes did not have. We had a linen closet that spanned the back of the hallway with shelves enclosed by cabinet doors on top and drawers below it. Dad built in false floors in our closet, and in theirs, that had a drop lid shoe chest and drawers along the front for extra storage underneath. Eventually the front bedroom had a chest of drawers built in as well. We had a large closet built over the stairwell to the basement which allowed for storage of larger things that sat on 2-foot-high tiered shelves that also allowed us to get into the attic.
Most 3-bedroom houses of that time did not have more than a single bathroom. Dad and Mom had designed a longer narrow space divided by a door with entrances from both the back foyer and from the hallway. Walking in from the hallway was our tub and a large vanity that ran the length of the space with a sink to one side and storage underneath, then through to a smaller area with a toilet, sink and the washer and dryer. It was designed for a bigger family, and eventually there were eight of us in all and that bathroom allowed for us to get showers, dressed, hair fixed, and laundry done with surprising grace; most of the time.
Mom's kitchen, was a galley shape and had floor to ceiling cabinets, long spacious countertops, and a large utility closet that sat behind our kitchen table. If there was a spot to build in storage, there was something there; giving Arts and Crafts features to the ranch style house. The basement became our favorite play space, especially in the winter, and we had room to ride our tricycles, play with our toy kitchen and other large toys to our hearts' content. Later as Mark, Lisa and Jill arrived, two bedrooms were created in the basement for Viki and I and a work room for Dad. The play space became smaller but then had a TV and comfortable furniture for the kids to congregate.
Our family owned the house over 40 years until July 2002 when Mom sold it to downsize to a smaller apartment. We all drive past the house whenever we are back in Dubuque; looking at what's changed and what is still the same. So many memories lie within those walls.
A look at the plans for the new house:
Double click on images to enlarge
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