HOME RENOVATED As the years passed by and our family grew, a major remodeling to the home took place. The front of the house (which faced west) contained two large rooms--which were side by side. To the north was the parlor (living room) and to the south, a dining room. In the remodeling, the partitions were taken out making a graceful arch that stretched from the east to west and gave the two rooms the appearance of one large room. People visiting often remarked on the beauty and spaciousness of the renovated area. The dining room consisted of a large dining table with matching chairs and a credenza. In the parlor, there was a piano, later a radio, sofa and matching chairs, and there still remained plenty of space. In 1952, a DuMont television was added to this room which gave much enjoyment to the viewers. To the left of the dining room was a hallway. As visitors turned to the hallway, they were impressed to see a full-length mirror about 4 1/2 feet wide and 6 feet tall which at one time had hung on the wall of my father's barber shop. It remained beautiful over many years. This hall lead to two bedrooms and a bath. The hallway had two closets, one at the west end with a single door. Above it was a separate small closet for storage. The other was a large, two-door closet on the south side in the middle of the hall. At the east of the dining room near the entrance to the hall, there was a swinging door which lead to a spacious kitchen. A door from the kitchen going east lead to a small bedroom and stairs to the half-basement which contained a fruit room, furnace, and a large coal storage bin. On the south side of the kitchen was a door leading to the back porch. My father had planted several starts of grapevine to begin an arbor. After a frame for the arbor was made, a large cement patio was poured under this frame, and the cement extended several feet on each side of the grape arbor. Near the east end of the patio was a hanging swing. A hammock was to the south, and a seated slider was on the west of the patio. This area was especially used from early spring to late fall. Many happy occasions were held under the grape arbor. Relatives and friends often gathered there. Homemade ice cream and cake were served under the arbor, and relatives often reminisced about the enjoyable times we had in this area. The grapes ripened in mid-summer. They were a dark, lavender color and were a delicious eating grape. Southeast of the patio was a large apricot tree which yielded delicious and bountiful amounts of fruit for over 60 years. We enjoyed a large swing which hung on this apricot tree.