Homes of Crayne Citizens III

Here are some more familiar homes you can see as you drive through Crayne.

Not too way from the  Allie and Vera Kirk home was the home of Allie's brother, Vernon "Bud" and Irene Kirk.

I believe this home must have been built around the same time as Allie's home, for Bud and Irene lived in Detroit, Michigan for a while.  Their children Kenneth and Linda were born in Michigan.  By 1942 they had moved back to Crayne, and their third child, Jim was born.  

After Bud died in 1989, Irene moved to Marion, and the house and farm were sold soon after.  This is the way the house looks today.  I don't know who owns it or lives there now.

Right in the heart of Crayne is my home.  My dad started building this home about 1947.  It was going to be for my grandmother, Ethel Brantley, Mom's mother.  She lived right next door and her home was the larger house, plenty big for our family of four.  When this house was started it had only 3 rooms, only the necessary rooms, kitchen, bedroom and a living room.

Somehow along the way, the plans were changed and Mom and Dad decided to keep the new house and over the years Daddy kept adding on the it, with large bathroom, family room, utility room, until in finally ended up with nine rooms.  It was a wonderful home to grow up in, as there was always room for our friends to visit.  This picture was made in 2004, and it looks the same all but the ice storm damaged the sugar maples in the yard and now  they are only tree trunks with some stubby limbs.  It's still my home.

Friend share memories

My childhood friend, Nancy Ellen Sutton Lynch, is a follower of my Crayne Blog.  She grew up on the Lilly Dale School Road.   She has a memory that is unbelievable about the people, places and things that took place while she was a child.  She shared some of these memories after she read the last two postings about the old homes.

From Nancy:

  "When I saw Mr. Allie and Mrs. Vera's house, I could hear her voice in the choir at church.  She sure was a singer and enjoyed it so much.  I think that she played the piano, too.  Mrs. Wilma Keeling was the regular one, but I'm sure Mrs. Vera was the back up player.

Miss Ida Ordway's home didn't look much different in the picture and when she lived in it.  One Halloween, some of the boys thought how funny it would be to scare Miss Ida.  Well, they were the ones that got the surprise.  She fired a rifle right over their heads.  When they took off running, they ended up running into a barbed wire fence.  So I'd say that Miss Ida got the last laugh."