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On a cold rainy day in December of
2007 I was helping a realtor friend organize her end
of the year paperwork. As we were working she noticed
a new property listing on the computer. The address
showed it to be just around the corner. We decided to
take a break and go look at it.
We turned down a small lane, drove past an abandoned
house with boarded up windows and pulled into the driveway.
We stepped up onto the porch and opened the door with
an old skeleton key. Upon entering the long abandoned
house we found room after room full of bags and boxes
filled with years of days gone by. There was also a
basement and garage filled to the ceilings with intriguing
crates and I was most definitely intrigued. I raced
home to tell my husband of this fascinating find.
Due to illness my husband and I had
lost our jobs three years prior. With extreme medical
expenses we also lost our home of 20 years and depleted
our entire savings. We had been living in poverty after
a lifetime of working in the auto sales business. Three
weeks prior to entering the old house my husband had
received a small settlement from a lawsuit that he had
been fighting for three years. We had been agonizing
over how to invest this money to our greatest advantage
in order to secure our future. I felt this old house
might just be our ticket out of our situation. After
a little genealogy research we found that the house
had been built and occupied by the Conlon family since
1872.
My husband and I went back to the old house the following
day with our contractor friend. While he deemed the
house structural sound, he looked at me as if I was
crazy. Knowing me and my husband's disabilities he couldn't
believe we would be able to empty "the trash"
that filled this five bedroom house. Secure in the knowledge
that the house was sound I made an offer of half the
asking price with the stipulation that everything in
the house stayed. Also deeming me crazy, the attorney
handling the sale jumped at my offer. We closed in three
weeks.
Keys in hand we began our adventure back in time. My
first task was to clear a space and set up a small table
and chairs and a single bed for what would be our much
needed breaks. My husband and I spent every waking hour
rummaging and sorting through 128 years of a family's
lives. In a short time we began to know each and every
member of the household. John and Mary Conlon came to
our little town from Ireland in 1872 and built a solid
home to begin their lives in America. The house was
next to a small train depot and watering tower. John
took a job with the Erie Railroad and eventually became
an engineer. Mary set up a laundry service for the railroad
in their basement. They had five children in this house
. The house was not ornate but it was built with solid
family values and filled with love, learning, music,
and laughter.
John was a well read man and was fascinated
with machines of all types, telegraphs, typewriters,
tools, bicycles, and household gadgets. When the time
came to purchase the family's first automobile, John
really did his research. He wrote to every company that
even thought about manufacturing an automobile before
he chose his new Hudson. There are many letters from
cousins and other family members to the Conlons about
their joyful long rides. The car was a pleasure vehicle
initially. The two older Conlon boys were about to enter
college, one at Colgate University, the other at Cornell.
The car brought them home on weekends to savor mom's
cooking, get their laundry done, and check on their
younger sister's suitors.
Over the years the auto held a special
place with the Conlons. After 53 years with the railroad
John Conlon bought a small service station in town and
continued his love of the automobile to the end of his
days.
To each of you who chooses to purchase this literature,
know that these were the treasures lovingly preserved
for 100 years by a man who came to this country with
a dream and was proud to be an American and to be a
part of its growth.
This is the story of just one of the crates we found
in this old house. The rest of what we have uncovered
is an entire book. The old house is empty now and we
are beginning the process of updating it and plan to
move in by June of this year. John Conlon did not just
build a house, he built a home, one that we want to
be a part of. Thanks to John Conlon's hard work and
family values my husband and I will once again have
a home of our own that we are proud to share with the
Conlon legacy.
The next time you drive by an old boarded up house and
utter to yourself " That old eyesore should be
torn down", try to envision the house when it was
a home. It will warm your heart. You never know what
treasures a family's love can leave behind for you to
find and carry on.
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When Monica
and her husband Frank Maus contacted us we weren't
quite sure what we were going to find in the collection.
But the Conlons had carefully preserved the literature
with Borax powder, which Robert recognized as
a popular means for the period of preserving papers
and protecting them against damage. It did a great
job other than rusty staples. And when Monica
told us that she intended to write a book we also
wondered what we were getting into. With the above
as an example of her writing skills, I cannot
wait until the book comes out. I suspect that
I will not be able to put it down. If she will
keep us posted we will let our readers know when
it is available for sale. — Sharon McLellan
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Are early automobiles increasing in
value? A look at the October 2007 Hershey's auction
results tells the story — very old cars are desirable,
valuable, expensive and great investments...
1911
Oldsmobile sold for $1,650,000
1912
Locomobile sold for $660,000
As the cars go up in price, so does the value of literature.
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We would like
to hear the story behind your literature
collection — and so would our readers! |
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