1029 South Street
Many of my favorite memories are tied to 1029 South Street in Roslindale, Massachusetts. This is the house my father grew up in. It's also the house my grandmother grew up in—and lived in until she passed away in 1997. We spent the majority of our holidays with my family there—with the adults in the dining room and the cousins at the children's table(s) in the hallway. While Christmas was a great holiday (hello, presents), Easter was even more fun because my grandparents engineered the best Easter egg hunts outside, or inside depending on the weather. We had the best hide-and-seek games in this house—it had the best hiding spots! My favorite spot was a hidden door inside a closet. And with so many floor-length drapes, there was always a quick hiding place to be found. We were allowed to wander and explore all throughout the house, nothing was off limits and we never got reprimanded for running around, fueled by homemade frosting and Brigham’s ice cream.
I remember each room in this house from the pink master bathroom to the additional kitchen in the basement. The living room couch was like a big gold marshmallow that was long enough to fit all nine grandchildren at once. After my grandmother passed away, I begged my family not to sell, hoping that somehow we could keep it in the family. I imagined me living there with a few of my cousins when we got old enough. Once I realized my dream would not come true, I took photographs of my grandparents’ house in order to document this magical place that my grandmother called home for nearly 79 years and brought her grandchildren so much joy. Below are the photos I took over 20 years ago, well before I owned a digital camera!
The infamous couch. I loved this couch, it was so comfortable. We have a group family photo taken on/in front of this couch. During holidays, my grandmother had all the appetizers on the table in front of this couch. I would love to time travel back there right this minute and take a nap on it.
This is a view of the hallway from the living room, looking into the dining room. It was in this entranceway where the kid’s tables were set up during holidays. The love seat on the left was another piece of furniture I really liked as a kid. Do other children pay attention to furniture and decor like I did when I was younger?
This area of the living room is where the Christmas tree always was, in the left corner. My grandmother would string red holiday lights all around the mirror above the fireplace. It's difficult to see, but in the lower right corner is a glimpse of an hourglass. I really enjoyed flipping that over and over again and watch the sand.
These little seats in front on the window in my grandparents’ bedroom were the cutest. I still have one of these red velvet pillows.
The front enclosed porch was where my grandmother would sit and talk on the phone. Random and funny that there’s a yellow pages in the photo. Loved those two chairs.
The back stairwell that went from the pantry to the second floor, was definitely something the grandchildren loved! It was a major bonus when playing hide-and-seek.
Another stairwell that I loved was the one leading from the hallway to upstairs. It was the only house I knew that had the wrap around railing at the top. As a kid, I thought that was so fancy! Truth be told, I still think it’s fancy.
We loved hanging out in the attic at my grandparents’ house. It was like stepping into a time machine, since the bedrooms were not changed from when my uncles were living there. It was so cool getting a sense of what they were like when they were younger.
This was one of my favorite rooms. It was a cozy little den that was once a nursery. I really loved those chairs.
The finished basement gave us a lot of fun memories. This is where we played with toys, pretended to know how to play the piano, danced, and searched for candy during the Easter egg hunts.
This was their kitchen. I thought the wallpaper was really cool. To the left was a small television set and it was here they I would watch Days of our Lives with my grandmother.
An old real estate listing described the house: “One of Boston’s finest homes. Exquisite 1920’s era shingle style. Filled with detail and quality finishes. Gracious reception hall with grand staircase. Very large living room with oversize diamond pane bay window and fireplace. Dramatic formal dining room, large kitchen, Sub-zero fridge. Master bedroom with built-in benches and private bath, 4 additional bedrooms, plus study. Very large, well landscaped yard with garage. This home is in excellent condition.” That is not entirely accurate, since my grandmother’s father bought the home in 1917, but close enough.
Mary M. Klemm sold the house to Edward and Emma Marie Ramseyer (my grandmother's parents) on May 4, 1917. Then in 1946, Edward C. Ramseyer sold it to Marie Joyce (my grandmother). My grandmother's father continued to live with her and my grandfather in the house. After 81 years, the house left our family in 1998 when it was sold after my grandmother passed away.
I am so thankful that my cousins and I had so many holidays together at my grandparents’ house in Roslindale.