Haver documents from Canal North 60 years ago

[PixelPixie]

Here are a few documents from 1947 that I have scanned in from the collection we inherited from 3 previous owners. This is just the tip of the iceberg, and will be included in a longer feature this fall! I hope you enjoy this little trip back in time!




Dr. Doris Hopkins, allergist, with one of her beloved Persian cats in front of her newly acquired Haver Home circa 1947. Ralph Haver's family home is in the immediate background, as is third home he built on this street.




The front elevation, with flagstone stepping stones.




Trying the close the deal long distance with Alice and Harry, Ralph Haver's dad and finaciers. Boy do I wish my realtor's name was Merit W. Archibald! They just don't make names like that anymore!!

[JC]

He cut his $100 commission to make the deal work.

Isn't that your guys' home Alison?
(Missing a window)

[PixelPixie]

This is our home, you just can't see the front windows in these shots.

Crazy, huh?

[hectoracuna]

Alison, these are trully treasures. That second one is super, like magic really. Only that organic process of film, chemistry and time could create that image. Wow.

Would love to see this collection.

[PixelPixie]

The whole series of photos taken that day are all like that -- soft around the edges, slightly off-skew, little consideration for composition. It is like walking back in time through this dreamy landscape that is so familiar, but stark, naked and awkward in the way that newly-built homes tend to be.

We have one of one of Doris' cats creeping through the long grass of Canal North before there were lots of homes built on the land. She is literally having a field day! In fact we have LOTS of photos of the cats stalking around the house.

One of young teenage Doris with a wide satin bow at her waist (presumably in Chicago), cradling two kittens beneath her chin, and a woven basket of more kittens at her feet.

There is another shot from the late 60s of the chimney and a well-groomed cypress that accents its height. It was a windy day, because there is a girl just outside the frame with long strawberry blond hair whipping like daggers into the frame at a wild angle. Truly surreal.

Another, from the 80s, presumably after Doris passed away, of our back porch in dilapidated disrepair, autumn leaves pooling into messy drifts on the brick patio, white paint peeling from the porch posts. I can't believe what a mess this house was for all those years it was unoccupied!

I'm glad you like the photos. I get them out every once in a while and try to puzzle it all together.

[modernenthusiast]

Wow ALison- this is cool stuff. I recognized your home immediately- the cool thing is is that it hasn't changed and is in great shape. I appreciate your research and hope to see more.