My visits to Rock Hill (Score: 1) by jbd (jbdnospamatcodmetanospam.com) on Dec 10, 2009 - 11:08 PM (User info | Send a message) http://www.codemeta.com/jbd/

As a little girl I remember visiting Rock Hill, the family homestead, several times; who knows with whom, probably Grandmother. There was Aunt Lorena, who I remember as sort of a flibbertigibbet, flitting from one thing to another, and Mamie, not an aunt. To me, they seemed about the same age – old – and both dressed in a very out-moded style, long smelly dresses, black, with lots of frills. The dresses rustled as they moved. At one point I sat on Aunt Lorena’s lap, at her instance. She didn’t seem very pleased though. She had a strange aroma and when asked what the smell was explained that it was a very expensive eau de cologne. I think it must have been worn to cover up body odor. Mamie stayed in the room, but didn’t talk to us at all. I got the definite impression that she was afraid of us, didn’t want us there. Perhaps she thought we would steal something, or break something. My overwhelming impression was of clutter, every place, all sorts of things. We were in a huge room that didn’t seem like a living room to me at the time, but it was where they spent most of their time. It had stairs to the second floor. Today, I would say the room was probably the entry hall. It went all the way through the house to a back porch. There was a refrigerator on the back porch, and an old-fashioned stove. Directly behind the house, at that time, was another small building I was told was the kitchen but it had no electricity, so they used the back porch as a kitchen. Now, this porch was not enclosed, and I saw no table where they would fix food or eat out there. There was furniture that probably held cooking utensils and dishes, and there were things stacked all over the place, boxes and unidentified other stuff. Back inside, they showed me three tables, standing free in the room, each one round, and completely covered with small things. Aunt Lorena seemed quite proud of many of these items and would pick one up and tell me about where it came from or who had given it to her, or how and where it was made, and by whom. The things in the centers of the tables were tallest, and the things near the edges were smaller. My impressions were that two, but not the third must have had stacking rounds, similar to turntables in the center. Those tables fascinated me but not especially the things on them. There were several sitting chairs in the room, all beside small tables that were also covered with clutter. I remember the lace doilies that covered the tables and backs and arms of some of the chairs. I do not remember a sofa or couch, but there may have been one or more that were so covered with things it wasn’t usable for social visits. Aunt Lorena was drinking from a glass cup. I had never seen anything like it before. If we were offered anything to eat or drink, I suspect that it was refused. If the contents of that cup were hot, I don’t know where it had been heated. The room was so warm it was stuffy and smelled musty. We were told there were bedrooms upstairs, but that Aunt Lorena and Mamie slept downstairs. I don’t know where. I never saw any bedrooms. It was easy to see why they didn’t sleep upstairs, as we could barely get up  the steps. The stairway was impressive and large and my metal picture is that it curved gently. There were things, notably florist boxes – the type long stemmed roses came in, lining the steps. You had to pick your way through them and there was no way to reach the banister to balance yourself. I opened one, and the aromatic but dried flowers were still nestled in a thin waxy green paper. Perhaps they ordered flowers to overcome the smells. Once we got upstairs the hall was stacked, literally to the ceiling on both sides with magazines and books and boxes of who-knows-what. I remember doors to bedrooms, but not that we entered any. They told us that the other end of the house had burned on the second Read the rest of this comment...

Aunt Lorena Callahan’s trousseau (Score: 1) by jbd (jbdnospamatcodmetanospam.com) on Dec 10, 2009 - 11:13 PM (User info | Send a message) http://www.codemeta.com/jbd/

Sometime during WWII, Cousin Amy Margaret McCarty was going to be married. Aunt Lorena wrote that she wanted to give Amy Margaret her wedding trousseau but Amy Margaret had to come to Louisville from her home in Texas to get it. So arrangements were made and Amy Margaret came to Louisville, perhaps entertaining visions of a shopping expedition with a wealthy eccentric old aunt. They were to meet in the lobby of The Brown Hotel at Fourth and Broadway. The lobby was floor was up one flight of wide steps from the entrance on Fourth Street. The story goes like this. The hotel was full of service men, mainly army men from near-by Ft. Knox, but including airmen stationed at Bowman Field and navy men from the Submarine Works across the river. They were coming and going, and passing the time of their furloughs in the lobby. Rooms were at capacity and overflowing. The restaurants in the hotel were always packed. Even the Brown Tea Room served service men, and women. The Brown grill was a favorite watering hole for the service men, and the Coffee shop was usually overflowing too. The hotel was in the midst of the business district. The fact that the hotel was only three blocks from the train station and four blocks from the bus station contributed to its crowded state. Amy Margaret, being an attractive young lady, and patriotic was chatting with some service men while waiting for Aunt Lorena. Suddenly there was excitement around the steps, and she got up to see what was causing it. From the top of the steps she could see the curb outside the Fourth Street entrance. A funny looking electric machine (automobile) was pulling up to the curb. A very elderly and properly attired chauffeur emerged and proceeded to help his passenger out of the car. Being assisted from the back seat was a small elderly lady dressed all in black, gloves, hat, and even button top shoes. She could be seen struggling with the clasp and chain straps of her black reticule (purse, if you please). Suddenly, the clasp let go and out came a lacy long white something, now presumed to have been a wrapper, or what then was worn in a fashion resembling a brassiere. Aunt Lorena proceeded up the steps. Her chauffeur followed, attempting to balance several long black boxes of considerable width that he had retrieved from the automobile. The hotel staff rushed to help him, as did some of the service men. Once in the lobby, Aunt Lorena imperiously awoke some soldiers sleeping on the sofas and had them vacate the furniture. After greeting Amy Margaret he boxes were promptly opened, and Aunt Lorena proceeded to remove her own very out-dated trousseau, and display it proudly for all to see. She then related her story: she had been engaged to a young man who went off to fight in the War Between the States. (Aunt Lorena called it the Civil War). He was killed while fighting the Damn Yankees, and she had never loved another man. She said she always regretted that they didn’t have time enough for a wedding before he left. After presenting Amy Margaret with “her” trousseau, Aunt Lorena led them off for wartime dinner in the Grand Dining Room, leaving her chauffeur to clean up the displayed clothes while the astounded young service men were watching. Imagine Amy Margaret’s surprise! Perhaps she was able to find some suitable war-time clothing for her wedding and travels. By the way, family lore has it that Aunt Lorena Callahan played golf three days before her death at the age of 97. She still had a very sharp mind and reputedly was a prolific author. Terry Bowman Benton Andrews December 9, 2009

Re: Old Family Home Slated for Destruction! (Score: 1) by jbd (jbdnospamatcodmetanospam.com) on Apr 20, 2010 - 08:00 AM (User info | Send a message) http://www.codemeta.com/jbd/

Just got this message dated in the evening of 19 Apr 2010... "Here are two pictures taken of Jo, the girls, their spouses and kids in front at Rock Hill. The current owner called Jo saying Rock Hill would be demolished this month and gave her permission to take the family up there to watch Thunder Over Louisville. Rock Hill looks down over River Road to the water and they had the perfect seats to watch the festivities. I wish I had been there. Good memories are attached to the old place!"

Re: Old Family Home Slated for Destruction! (Score: 1) by jbd (jbdnospamatcodmetanospam.com) on Jun 10, 2010 - 08:50 PM (User info | Send a message) http://www.codemeta.com/jbd/

[Minor changes to preserve privacy, but to keep the story intact.] From: Jack Miles Subject: rock hill update To: <Addresses deleted to preserve privacy> Date: Wednesday, June 9, 2010, 8:48 PM There is good/bad news about Rock Hill. A friend of mine, [...] went up there today to see the house. He likes historical stuff and has already walked the length of the old interurban railway that James Callahan built. There were two men with a backhoe doing work. He talked to them for a while. If you are looking at the front of the house, the whole wing on the right side is gone. The columns and that main part of the house and the left side are still there and will not be torn down. There is a "do-gooders" group in Louisville named the River Fields. They are the ones who try to save anything old. Well apparently they got wind of Rock Hill being torn down and they got it stopped. They said it was too historic to tear down. It is too bad that the inside of it was gutted and the mantels taken out etc. before they found out about it. I have only met the lady who owns it one time and I am not about to call and ask her what happened because I bet she is fit to be tied as they say. Tommy said that he has been to most of the very large houses in Louisville and he has never seen one with columns that large. The people who own it have plenty of money. They could do a lot with what is left and have a great house. They could put back the grand staircase easily. The last time I saw it the stairs were still there. Angie and I agree that the wing that they tore down was in the worst shape of any part of the house and they could build on an addition cheaper than fixing the old one. I will let you know if I hear of anything further