Here is the Upstairs Hallway. Some before and after photos. The photos on the walls are portraits of the second owner Thomas Quien Family who purchased the house in December 1917. Living in the house was Thomas and his wife Maren, and their son Peter, his wife Ruth and their two little girls Mary Jo and Donna. The house remained in the Quien family for 90 years until we bought it in April 2007. We first drove by the house in 2001 and were so smitten by it that we contacted its owner 80 year old Donna who lived in another city. We found out the house had been vacant since her brother Peter passed in the 1970s. We asked if we could buy the house and she replied, "Absolutely Not." I phoned and wrote to Donna over the next 6 years. Her answer was always the same. The last time I talked to Donna was June 2006, she said, "Look--if I decide to sell the house, you will be the first to be called, OK? With my tail between my legs, I said Yes Ma'm. In November 2006 Donna passed away, but we didn't know that. A few months later we got a call from a realtor friend. She said she'd just got off the phone with a man who wanted to sell his mother's home. OMG--it was the house we'd pined for. Just like Donna said, "You'll Be The First To Be Called, OK? And we were. After six years of waiting--we finally got to walk inside the house with the realtor, and 7 minutes into the walk-through I looked at my husband and nodded. And he looked at the realtor and said, "We'll Take It".
