History in My Hand

Posted by Les

History in My Hand

            I almost forgot to mention in my last post that when I was tearing out the first window, and I reached to take hold of the first counterweight, I had what you might call an epiphany . . . you know, one of those “Ah Ha” moments.  I noticed how the ropes were tied to the weights by using a special knot that resembled a fisherman’s knot.  Then it hit me.  The last time a person touched these weights and tied these knots was 104 years ago (1909).

 

            If the installer was 60 years or older, he could have fought in the Civil War.  He certainly would have been a teenager at the very least, meaning his father or uncles would have/could have fought.  If he was in his 30’s or 40’s, he would have grown up during the Reconstruction era.  I don’t know about the population of blacks in Erath County back then, but it’s possible that this worker was a free man who had lived decades earlier as a slave.  

            I have no historical frame of reference on this, for it’s only a fleeting thought.  But for a moment, I felt respectfully connected to someone so long ago.

Git ‘er Done

            It has taken a full 3 weeks to complete the task of replacing all 17 of those 104 year old rope and counterweight windows with the nice energy efficient windows that were delivered back in mid January.  It feels like we’ve cleared a big hurdle getting this part of the project done, especially since the living room is no a longer window storage facility.  Now we can zero in on the much anticipated task of sanding and refinishing the original hardwood floors.  Once they are ready, we’ll be able to start moving in our living room furniture and start making this place look like a home.

Sort of Like Returning to Ellis Island

            We’ve been living on this site since the last week of December and haven’t been able to have any guests over, and if you know us at all for any length of time, you’re aware that we like to do that very thing . . . . . . . a lot.  So in the next couple of weeks, we’re going to reopen our doors and once again welcome people from all walks of life to come and dine at our table, and find love, acceptance and understanding.  As the words inscribed at the base of the Statue of Liberty say . . . “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses.  Send these, the homeless, the tempest tossed to me.”