The War Days and Post 7403

We haven't found a lot of information on the house's history during WWII; those were lean times for many people. But we do have a lot of history on one of the daughter's of the house. Norma became a WAC and a war correspondent. They called her Ed or Eddie as short for Editor and Morgan being her married name. Here's a great photo from the "War Years."

It took three of us to translate the writing on the back, but I think we finally managed it:

Ed Morgan and Wade Jolly (Folly?)
-only WAC correspondent in
Transportation C(350,000 men)
-and only WAC doing Field Trips alone

Wade - an artist with the soul
and talent of one - the
sweet disposition of an angel

atop the Fort overlooking Cherbourg
Normandy, France
August, 1944

What a great little piece of history....

We also know that, at some point after the Terrill Family sold the Horner House, it served for a very brief time period as VFW Post 7403. There is little to no information about this time in the home's history, but we did get one tiny hint at the State Library. (Gotta Love the State Library!)

This lovely little gem ran in two separate papers in October of 1948. It ran first in The Woman's Angle in the evening edition on Monday the 4th and then on Wednesday the 6th in the Logansport Press. Back in the day it was not uncommon for pieces like this to be written by society matrons and submitted to one or more local papers for the "society column," and then just run as written.

So what's so very interesting about this little piece? It lists the names of Mrs L. Dickerson and Mrs. Navel Hallinin as co-chairmen of Post 7403 of Indianapolis, which is us! So now we have the names of two of the people who were part of the post! And an event that they attended! Which is more than we had before. It's not much to go on, but maybe we can track down something from it.

For us, this is such a fascinating time in our house's history, and yet, there is so little information out there.  But we'll keep digging!

-The H.H. Family

The Dangers of Owning Old Homes

There are many downsides to owning one (or more) old homes. The upkeep, the covenants, finding replacement items, bleeding time and money... The list goes on and on. But did you ever think your old house could have it in for you? Would be out for your blood? We're not talking about ghosts, poltergeists, or even the evil ivy. Just the house itself. Sad but true. Or more specifically, all of the things that have been living in that house since lonnng before you took up residence. So let's discuss this before another hospital visit occurs.

Currently Legionnaires' Disease has been making the evening news all across the country due to the outbreak in New York City. At this time there have been four deaths in that outbreak. It turns outs that this very deadly form of pneumonia is what landed Eric in the hospital last week. We are so blessed and grateful that he is now safely home with us and recovering. Unfortunately, we don't know where he picked it up, BUT it is complicated by the fact that we do own the old houses. And we WILL BE doing some special testing, cleaning, and construction to make extra certain that it did not come from any of our homes or gets spread. Paranoid much? YES!!! We have to be! With Amanda's compromised immune system, we can't take any chances.

Front Parlor of the Toad Hall. Looks perfectly clean to me!

The point here, is this is the second time in three years we have had a family member in the hospital, and the doctors were running a lot of extra tests because we live in, and own a second, old house. Looking for things like special fungus, bacteria, etc. And this time they found one. It just might not have been living in the house. 

So. Precautions. This is why all those masks, gloves, and other bothersome safety items are suggested for cleaning, painting, and repairing your old home. It's a matter of health! And the next time your significant other reminds you to clean the gutters, replace a furnace filter, clean an air conditioner, or set a good example for the kids and wash your hands, please think twice before arguing. They love you and want a happy, healthy home environment!

Keep safe, well, and stay blessed. We know we are, to have our Eric with us tonight.

- The Horner House Family.