I love history.  I knew that my house in Newport, Ohio,  was old but I didn't consider how old.  It's called the Alford House and was built in the very early 1900's.  I didn't know it was called the Alford House -- which we moved into in 1994 --  until this past Tuesday. Alford - now we have a name for the ghost that haunts us in the attic. My parents still live there today and they say it's hard to give up a house that so much work has gone into over the past 20 years.

The picture above is more than likely from the 30's or 40's.  There is corn growing in my yard.  As I said we moved in mid 1994 when I was three years old and I can remember it like it was yesterday.  I remember leaving our old house and looking up into the U-haul and seeing my beloved Little Tikes red and yellow 2-door car stuffed in the top.  I told my dad, "That'd better be the first thing out of this truck when we get home".  Over my tenure of living here, there have been bats in the house, mice, my cat suffocated in the attic during the hot summer months, my sister fell down the steps and then broke her elbow on the trampoline outside.  Fun stuff. (editor's note: sounds like the ghost's activity to me)

The next picture below is the real gem piece.

Newport History, Facebook.com
Newport History, Facebook.com
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So many memories from this house. 1917.  It's the house on the right, the sort of brown looking one.  Toward the back of the house there are 2 additions built on.  These weren't there when the house was first built (whenever that was) meaning that the house was built much before 1917 and the additions were probably put on just before this picture was snapped.  As I came across this picture, the goosebumps began to rise off of my arm. It was kind of eerie thinking about how there was someone living there 97 years ago. That just creeps me out.

Brett Wharff, Instagram.com
Brett Wharff, Instagram.com
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Here it is now-a-days.  That's my mother standing in the yard about 95 years after that 1917 picture was taken. Same house, same place.  Look at the picture above this one and you can see where my mom is standing exactly.  It's so crazy.   The house was painted a few years ago and a bunch of trees have grown.  And the use of digital, color photography has been developed. But it many ways it is the same.

Brett Wharff, Facebook.com
Brett Wharff, Facebook.com
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Here's another photo of my sisters and myself sitting on the front porch.  You can see exactly where we are sitting in the older picture above. It looks like this maybe the day Ashley fell down the steps, she doesn't look very happy.  And Lindsy forgot her sunglasses.  Me, on the other hand, I must have won my slingers basketball game, because I am very happy.  You can see that the corn is completely gone from the yard and it appears this was before our unruly neighbors moved in on the account that there is no privacy fence.

These pictures, to me, are a great find.  I'll be keeping all of them for a long time.  I'm sure my mother already has them in an e-mail to get them professionally touched up and framed and ordering wallet sizes for everyone. Want one?

 

 

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