Doncha Wish......?

It was the beginning of the 1940's. My dad had left the army to become involved with real estate with banks. I wondered at times why he chose that field since it sometimes involved working with people who were losing their homes through bank foreclosure. Eventually he decided to open his own real estate business in the eastern hills of New York State. The picture above is where our family settled and is typical of the countryside we lived in.

I still look back in memories of good thoughts of that area of  special time in my life.. It was a special treat when, going through old letters and papers, I ran across  a proof copy of one of his real estate catalogs. It showed a lot of familiar and beautiful homes and reminders of places and very special memories of good times experienced during my younger years.

Typical of Dad's listings was the house
at the right. It was in our village and
I walked past it every day as I went back
 and forth to the two-room school I attended
each day. It's typical of the homes in our neighborhood and was across the street from the house we eventually bought. It was purchased by a young attorney and his wife and they became good neighbors over the  years. It was typical of many homes of the time and if the timbers could talk they would provide a unique 180 year history of a early American way of life. So, what did the old 1940 catalog have to say about this house?

Well, my immediate question would be: How did the family handle life without a bathroom? Like where we lived, they used an outhouse in the back yard and chamber pots at night. Summer baths were taken at the stream up the road a bit, or in a trusty wash tub in winter with hot water right off the  wood stove. Be sure to check the listed price. Not 480 thousand, nor 48 thousand but 48 hundred dollars. AND it includes 3 acres of land.

When I checked the internet today for available properties I was surprised to see the same house.

It had a new coat of paint,

and I presume it had newer and more practical

bathroom facilities.

BUT

the up to date 2014 price is

799 thousand dollars

What a difference a few years make

Doncha wish there were house prices now like my father's catalog offered?