Home Sweet Home Second Verse

In the first verse, we left off with the move to Thousand Oaks addition on the "Seven Mile Line" between Newcastle and Tuttle.  These photos should give some of the flavor of our surroundings. 

Just moved in - looking south

View from the west

Back of house looking north

Typical late 1970's kitchen

BIG garden!

The kids went to Bridgecreek school which had almost as many separate buildings as it did grades.  It was heavily damaged in the May, 1999 tornado that later destroyed lives and homes in Moore and elsewhere but we had moved to Edmond by then.  In the early to mid-eighties, circumstances began indicating that we needed to think about relocating to Edmond.  I was completing an MBA at Central State University (now UCO) at night, we mostly were attending Faith Bible Church in Edmond until the drive wore us down, and I was doing most of my work in Edmond at the home of a contractor for whom I was writing computer programs.  It was forty miles one way to church so when the drive became too much, we tried Snow Hill Baptist Church (1.5 miles from our house), Ridgecrest Baptist Church (about 3 miles from our house), Grace Bible Church in Del City (about 20 miles from our house), and Grace Chapel which was meeting in the Ramada Inn at NW 39th and May in OKC (about 25 miles from our house. ).

We were also attending a Friday night Bible study on  Romans led by Russ McKnight at the home of Ken Stone in Nichols Hills.  Gas was less than $1.50 per gallon but we wearing out cars quickly with excessive mileage.  We decided to list our house with a realtor who was also the builder of the house and leased a house at 13 Pueblo in the Fairfield South addition off of 15th and Santa Fe in Edmond and moved in the summer of 1985.  Obviously, our financial burden was less at the gas pump but we now were paying a lease payment as well as a house payment.  We lasted a year financially and were forced to move back to the house in the country.  Significant events while living in Edmond included the May, 1986 tornado that missed us by about two blocks and the Post Office massacre by Patrick Sherril at the Edmond post office on N Broadway in which thirteen people were killed.  This occurred in August, 1986 and we had just completed our move back to the acreage.  Here is what the house at 13 Pueblo looks like today.  By the way, our son, Mike, purchased a house a few years ago just across the street from here and still lives there.  Also included are some pictures from the May 8, 1986 tornado.  One is of KFOR news anchor Linda Cavanaugh broadcasting live from the scene.

13 Pueblo, Edmond

May 8, 1986 Tornado

Amazingly, no one was killed or severely injured

KFOR news anchor Linda Cavanaugh broadcasting live

We listed the country home ourselves and after about six months, a man and his wife showed up wanting to see the house.  After the tour, he pulled out a roll of $100 bills and asked how much money we needed for a down payment and asaked if we would we do a "contract for deed".  We were so anxious to return to Edmond that we agreed.  He assured us that he would file the necessary papers to complete the sale and our naivete led us to believe that everything was hunky-dory.  We quickly searched for a house to lease in Edmond and moved to 2700 Morrison Trail in the Trails South addition in February, 1987.  Some normalcy seemed to be returning to our household but it was the calm before the storm.  Here is the Morrison Trail house today.

2700 Morrison Trail, Edmond

Since we had done a contract for deed, the purchasers of our house were to make the payments directly to the mortgage company on the same loan that we originated.  Later, I realized this was just a sneaky but legal way to buy a house without paying any closing costs.  As long as the payments were made, the mortgage company didn't seem to care.  However, the payments were being made late and I would call the purchasers and they would assure me that the "check was in the mail".  This went on for several months and finally I could get no response to my phone calls and then the phone was disconnected.  The events are a bit hazy but I remember that we drove out to the house in the country and it appeared to be abandoned.  We went though the tasks of trying to find the people and then posting notices and sending certified mail to their relatives advising that we were taking the property back since they had not made the payments.

Upon gaining access to the property, we discovered that it had been trashed and we hauled three flat-bed trailer loads of junk from the house and garage to the Newcastle dump.  We managed to salvage one ceiling fan which we used at our next house.  By this time, we had purchased a house at 301 Timber Ridge Rd in the Timber Ridge addition at Danforth and Boulevard just across the street from Graceland cemetery.  To close the case on the country property, the mortgage company agreed to a "friendly foreclosure" which means we lost all of our almost eight years of equity, but, the mortgage company did not pursue us for any remaining balance after the property sold at a sheriff's sale.  No credit blemish would occur so it seemed the best of both worlds at the time because we surely could not afford two house payments at the time.

Best memories from the country living part of our lives must include the above ground pool (self-installed which was a big mistake), fresh produce from our Troybilt tilled 10,000 sq ft garden, the kids' (especially Mike) trips in the fields and forests behind the house, and ability to see the stars at night without having to look beyond the glow of the city lights.  In the twenty-plus years since then, we have driven by the house on many occasions and relived the good memories while trying to forget the bad ones.  It was our first new house but not our last as you will discover if you continue to the third verse to be presented in a future post.  It was a period of spiritual growth for both Joyce and I and both of our kids were baptised by me in two different churches.