Welcome to the lebel house!! this is the house that i grew up in and am currently residing in. My parents purchased this house when they were pregnant with my second oldest sister claudette.. they had been living in a small two bedroom apartment in lewiston.. this was in 1970.. while they have done quite a few updates and remodeling, the outside still remains the same as when it was built.. i have been told by older folk in town that it was originally sitting in the other direction and was raised and spun to sit where it is today... i unfortunately do not know the exact date when this house was built however mom says it was over 150 when they bought it... it has 3 floors with 13 rooms including the hallways as well as a full basement (which is used for storage)... all while growing up our friends always remarked on the size of the house... i never really noticed since it is the only home i 
have ever known.. of course now as an adult i realize it is massive... it sits on about 3/4 of an acre or land with the sabattus river flowing through the back yard... the hill made for great sliding in the winter and the river was always a challenge to avoid... we lost many a sled in that river.. luckily a small damn down the road always let us retrieve them with a little work... of course in the summer we made great use of the slip and slide on that same hill.. we just made one ourselves out of a 100 foot tarp covering the entire hill basically.... grass burns at the end were always an added bonus... the large tower on the back of the house was kept there after dad removed his large cb and HAMM radio antennas... the window towards the top is now my parents large master bedroom however - it used to hold all four of us girls as kids... therefore it made for a great fire escape... as we got older and they split us up, it then became a great tool to sneak back into the house through the third floor window access.. of course walking across mom and dads roof was not very easy to do quietly... that
third floor window is now my room.. giving a view of sabattus lake and the damn... across the river we received neighbors about 15 years ago.. but we really dont hear from them nor they from us... although i am sure we have had more commotion in our back yard than they care to watch... large picnics, bocce ball, croquet, Frisbee, rolly polly, and all of dad's gardening are a few of those activities that have occurred here... of course as kids the backyard had more greenery to play in.. including a huge pine with a rope swing and very gnarly bushes we used as forts along with snake berry bushes that made for great blood during cops and robbers... my mom used to babysit kids while staying home with the five of us... so the backyard was our sanctuary of imagination... my front bottom teeth got ripped out of my mouth by my sister while swinging on the rope swing.. i got hit in the eye by a softball thrown a little too high... my sister accidentally swallowed the end of a badminton racket while retrieving the birdie (still not quite sure how that happened) and it seemed a daily occurrence to bathe in butter to remove all the pine sap from our bodies... since then my parents have removed most of the shrubbery from around the house and have opted for dad's passion of flowers... with the house completely surrounded with planters as well as the entire perimeter of the deck and driveway, it really is quite beautiful in the summer season... but sadly our flat lawn has become a barren blanket of brown "grass" while the hill seems to come in greener every year... only about 5 years ago dad finally invested in a riding lawnmower.. as kids it was all push mower and usually a punishment... in the winter dad would pile up the snow for us and we would build snow tunnels and forts.. which we would play in until they became death traps from melting.. but that was when kids played outside and as long as they were still breathing it really didnt matter what you did...
have ever known.. of course now as an adult i realize it is massive... it sits on about 3/4 of an acre or land with the sabattus river flowing through the back yard... the hill made for great sliding in the winter and the river was always a challenge to avoid... we lost many a sled in that river.. luckily a small damn down the road always let us retrieve them with a little work... of course in the summer we made great use of the slip and slide on that same hill.. we just made one ourselves out of a 100 foot tarp covering the entire hill basically.... grass burns at the end were always an added bonus... the large tower on the back of the house was kept there after dad removed his large cb and HAMM radio antennas... the window towards the top is now my parents large master bedroom however - it used to hold all four of us girls as kids... therefore it made for a great fire escape... as we got older and they split us up, it then became a great tool to sneak back into the house through the third floor window access.. of course walking across mom and dads roof was not very easy to do quietly... that
third floor window is now my room.. giving a view of sabattus lake and the damn... across the river we received neighbors about 15 years ago.. but we really dont hear from them nor they from us... although i am sure we have had more commotion in our back yard than they care to watch... large picnics, bocce ball, croquet, Frisbee, rolly polly, and all of dad's gardening are a few of those activities that have occurred here... of course as kids the backyard had more greenery to play in.. including a huge pine with a rope swing and very gnarly bushes we used as forts along with snake berry bushes that made for great blood during cops and robbers... my mom used to babysit kids while staying home with the five of us... so the backyard was our sanctuary of imagination... my front bottom teeth got ripped out of my mouth by my sister while swinging on the rope swing.. i got hit in the eye by a softball thrown a little too high... my sister accidentally swallowed the end of a badminton racket while retrieving the birdie (still not quite sure how that happened) and it seemed a daily occurrence to bathe in butter to remove all the pine sap from our bodies... since then my parents have removed most of the shrubbery from around the house and have opted for dad's passion of flowers... with the house completely surrounded with planters as well as the entire perimeter of the deck and driveway, it really is quite beautiful in the summer season... but sadly our flat lawn has become a barren blanket of brown "grass" while the hill seems to come in greener every year... only about 5 years ago dad finally invested in a riding lawnmower.. as kids it was all push mower and usually a punishment... in the winter dad would pile up the snow for us and we would build snow tunnels and forts.. which we would play in until they became death traps from melting.. but that was when kids played outside and as long as they were still breathing it really didnt matter what you did...as for the inside.. my parents have kept the decor true to the period of the house... bold wallpaper and hard wood floors.. definitely not my idea of interior decorati
ng... however the rooms are huge and with the large picture windows, very bright and sunny... mom and dad used to let me paint on the large windows in the front for the holidays... of course with all the antiques and collectibles my parents have, the decor makes sense i guess... that table belonged to my father's father and expands to over 15 feet long... they have had it refinished to its original mahogany and still use it at family get togethers... they bought the chairs to match later but they are antiques as well.. a lot of the other old furniture originally belonged to my mother's grandparents... when they moved in with us when i was in high school we obtained all the furniture and have since had most of it refinished as well... the look of the house has really changed a lot since we were kids... it really is more of a museum now... meme-ish... the upstairs is quite the same as i have always known it.. lovely shag carpeting throughout... of course the rooms have been reassigned over the years.. the computer room i sit in right now used to be my bedroom i shared with my oldest sister... prior to that it was my parents' bedroom before they split us girls up... it is on the front corner of the house so it has the most windows and has always been the hottest room in the house... and being at the top of the stairs made me keep my door closed most of the time... unless of course i didnt clean it and dad decided to take the door off the hinges until i did... he did that once to the upstairs bathroom when we wouldnt stop fighting over whose turn it was.. fortunately that one was short lived since mom and dad had to use it too and the shower is located there... dennis' room was always his and is still a spare bedroom... one of the smallest rooms in the house actually- excluding the hallways... guess being the only boy in the family did get him the raw end of the deal...
ng... however the rooms are huge and with the large picture windows, very bright and sunny... mom and dad used to let me paint on the large windows in the front for the holidays... of course with all the antiques and collectibles my parents have, the decor makes sense i guess... that table belonged to my father's father and expands to over 15 feet long... they have had it refinished to its original mahogany and still use it at family get togethers... they bought the chairs to match later but they are antiques as well.. a lot of the other old furniture originally belonged to my mother's grandparents... when they moved in with us when i was in high school we obtained all the furniture and have since had most of it refinished as well... the look of the house has really changed a lot since we were kids... it really is more of a museum now... meme-ish... the upstairs is quite the same as i have always known it.. lovely shag carpeting throughout... of course the rooms have been reassigned over the years.. the computer room i sit in right now used to be my bedroom i shared with my oldest sister... prior to that it was my parents' bedroom before they split us girls up... it is on the front corner of the house so it has the most windows and has always been the hottest room in the house... and being at the top of the stairs made me keep my door closed most of the time... unless of course i didnt clean it and dad decided to take the door off the hinges until i did... he did that once to the upstairs bathroom when we wouldnt stop fighting over whose turn it was.. fortunately that one was short lived since mom and dad had to use it too and the shower is located there... dennis' room was always his and is still a spare bedroom... one of the smallest rooms in the house actually- excluding the hallways... guess being the only boy in the family did get him the raw end of the deal...of course as mom and dad get older the question arises as to who gets the house when they pass on... four of the five of us kids have returned here more than once in our lives to reside momentarily.. although i take the cake with this being my 6th time back now since i was 18... pathetic- i know.. but then again... this is HOME!!! it has always been home.. a safe secure environment filled with love and comfort... even now my 15 year old nephew comes here every day after school and has the area kids over to hang out.. he claims he is getting the house but i believe i have seniority over him... but with five kids - who refuse to get along- it is difficult to pick just one heir... so we have recently seen mom and dad sign their new revised will to include selling the house and splitting the profit... it has been paid in full for years now including a second mortgage to remodel the kitchen... costing more than the original house did... in 1970 they only paid $47,000.00 for this huge place and the kitchen cost them $69,000.00.... however now this house could easily sell for over $250,000.00.... which would be a nice chunk of change to split between us... but that would me handing over OUR house full of OUR memories to a complete and total stranger with no control as to what will happen to it in the future... i so desperately want this home myself... my nephew and i joke that we will buy it together from my siblings as long as we are both welcome here for as long as we like... but seriously i doubt i could ever afford this house... not to mention the grief i would get from my brother when he finally decides he wants it... which is bound to happen- i know him... it just really pains me to live here now and be able to appreciate the house for what it has been and still is to me... HOME!! and yet know that someday i may not be able to just let myself in whenever i want to... i have discussed this with both my parents as my nephew has too... of course i doubt they will change their mind... i would like to think i might get it.... it would definitely be heartbreaking to lose not only my parents but my entire past as well... not many people can still go to their childhood homes and continue to live their lives.. creating new memories with the same family... i realize this exceptional opportunity and would hate to relinquish that to a total stranger... of course it is ultimately not my decision- especially being the youngest in the family... but hopefully this will not come up as an issue for many years to come... maybe i could change their minds... or just live here forever and refuse to move... sell it if you want but i come with it!! :)
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You cherish your childhood home much like I cherish my own. My parents purchased the 1872 farmhouse in 1969 when my mom was pregnant with my sister. The house, a large barn, 2-car detached garage, shed all on 10 acres cost them $8,000. Today the house is worth well over $300,000 thanks to the outdoor tourism that has built up around them. Still, it's a very secluded and wonderful place. I've not lived there since I finished college, but we're in the same boat: supposedly I get the house, but what will likely happen is that we'll sell it and split the earnings. I am not sure I could part with the house, though.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE THAT HOUSE!!! I WANT IT, TOO! It looks plenty big enough for you to live there. :)
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