52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History: Home

The prompt for Week Four of 52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy and History, from Amy Coffin at We Tree, and hosted by Geneabloggers, is Home:

Describe the house in which you grew up. Was it big or small? What made it unique? Is it still there today?













The first house that I recall my parents owning was a small house in Bay View, Ohio in the mid 1950's. We lived in a small rental house nearby, while the house was being constructed. My dad, grandfather, and most of Dad's siblings helped in the construction of that house. Aunt Bertie applied the textured ceiling, and those ceilings lasted a very long time. The extended family helped in painting, putting up woodwork, cabinets, and pouring concrete sidewalks. The men folk would work at the their full time job all day, and work on "the house" in the evenings and on weekends. When our family moved in the house, we were a family of two young parents,Paul and Joyce, and three children, ranging in age from 1 to 5. Some of the time, my aunt lived with us too. As the number of children increased, we built on the front of the house, enlarging the living room area, and adding a big coat closet.
















Later, we put an addition on the back, adding on a bedroom, and a family room. I can recall having lots of fun playing with our cousins who lived next door. At Christmas time, Mom put Christmas decorations in the big picture window. Easter Sunday would find us standing on the front porch in our Sunday best, often with the sun in our eyes. Confirmation, graduation, and prom dates called for photos in the front room, or the sidewalk outside. Pictured below are the three oldest Orshoski children on Easter Sunday about 1957.























In the late sixties, for a time my three brothers all shared one bedroom. They had bunk beds, and under the bottom bunk, a trundle bed could be pulled out for the third child. They would often dive from the top bunk down to the trundle bed. The boys played basketball in that tiny room, and broke more than one light fixture during their rowdy horseplay. Below are some of the children in the doorway of one of the bedrooms. We used to do chin ups on a tension bar in the doorway.




















My youngest siblings loved Sam the dog.

















The house in Bay View stayed in our family for over forty years, but it now has new owners. The house in marvelous condition, with new siding and lovely landscaping. I have occasion to go by my childhood home quite often, and the fond memories of that house will stay with me for many years to come.