The House that Pop Built

OK, I know its been two years since my last post on this blog. Would you believe I've been busy? Oh, well, I won't try to make excuses. But I was going through some old photos the other day and I thought it would be a good idea to share some of these before they deteriorate any further. It's also a great opportunity to get this blog back where I originally intended it - Cork!

This is Pop and Grandma's (Sherman and Flora Acree's) house in Cork. I don't remember all the details, but I know that my dad (Edward Acree) travelled frm Baltimore to spend some time helping his father and brothers build the house. I don't know exactly what year that was, but I'm guessing in the neighborhood of 1956 - 1957. This first view shows the house almost complete (just the front porch posts need to be finished) looking toward the southeast. Here's another view looking east.

Of course, I don't remember when the house was built, but I do remember spending vacation time there with Pop and Grandma. It was always a wonderful place to visit in the summer. I remember sleeping in the attic, where there were many fascinating things. First, there was that incredibly steep (to me at least) staircase. Along the wall of the staircase Grandma displayed pictures of her military men - Pop (Sherman) from World War I, Dad (Edward), and uncle Buddy from World War II, and uncles Jimmy and Preston from the Korean War (I think). Despite the hot, humid Kentucky summers, I never remember the attic being hot unless we went up there during the day. In the attic were curious treasures - old books and magazines, curious machines (like a fluting iron), and the ornate iron crib that had been my Dad's as a baby (and presumably his younger siblings' as well). Most importantly, there was in the attic a ventilation grate leading into the kitchen. If we put our ears right to the grate and held our breath, we could just hear what the adults were saying in the kitchen. Even more importantly, in the morning we could smell Grandma's breakfast! I'm sure Grandma was a wonderful cook for all meals, but for some reason the only thing I remember is breakfast. Grandma got up impossibly early to make breakfast for everyone. But I never remember her yelling at us to come down to eat (Mom, maybe, but not Grandma). When everyone had eaten, Grandma would throw a kitchen towel over the ham, eggs, biscuits and gravy and let it sit there all morning. We would sneak a piece of country ham (still one of my favorites) as we went by - Grandma would keep a close eye out to be sure there was going to be enough for dinner (aka, lunch). If we tried that today, we would all die of a combination of salmonella and botulism - but back then we were ignorant of such things, and thus I suppose, safe from them. This is the only picture I have of the interior of Grandma and Pop's house. Of course, we spent most of our summers outdoors anyway. It was a common thing to eat supper in the front yard, or at least to eat watermelon there. Is it just me, or was watermelon bigger, sweeter and just all around better back then? Eventually, a banjo or two would come out and there would be music. Uncle Joe spent most of his time either trying to get his nephews to say "calf-rope" or paying a nickel to get his back "tickled." Here's a picture of some of our gang on the lawn during one of those times in the early '60s. From left to right, that's Joe, Ted (Glenn) (I think), Shep the dog (I think), Bob, me, Grandma (Flora), Pop (Sherman), Bonnie, Tom (Serman T.) and Mel. Speaking of Shep the dog, I remember he had what I thought was the coolest doghouse in the world, built by Pop as a miniature log cabin, complete with a closing door with a little window. It sat out behind the wellhouse. Directly across the road to the west was another house that Pop owned. In the late 60s, uncle Jimmy and his family lived there, later it would be my Dad's TV repair shop. There were also garages and woodsheds and smoke houses, and in my earliest memories Pop had pigs in a pen over there. I remember an old sow the size of a hippo (at least it seemed that way to me then) - Pop would have us kids scratch her back with an old dry corncob.

But the most mysterious and fascinating of all (at least to me) was "the store." Grandma and Pop had run a little country store for some time. In my earliest memories it had been closed for some time. But at the time the house was built, it must have been a going enterprise. Here is a picture of the store from that time. I believe that's Joe with his foot on the cinderblock step; that's definitely Grandma and Pop on the right. I have no idea who the other two people are. The caption handwritten by my Dad on the back of the snapshot reads, "The business man and woman." By the time I remember, the store was locked up and we were rarely let in to explore it's mysterious treasures. I remember curved-front glass display cases and a big, brass NCR cash register that would probably be worth $1000 today. I want to include one more picture for this post that you all might enjoy. The caption on the back (written by my Dad - Edward) reads, "Mom and Dad gathering corn with Elaine's baby Lucy. Look at Dad's cigarette (Bull Durham)."

If you can correct or add to any of my memories of the House that Pop Built in Cork, please write and let me know. In the meantime, enjoy the pictures and my distant memories, and God bless you!

Chuck