Touring 305 Oak Street…Again!

 I found more pictures taken inside the Weaver family home place at 305 Oak Street, Talladega, Alabama. To see the first tour , click
"       Let's Start at the Very Beginning…" to see the parlor.) The white "box" to the right of the fireplace is an electrical panel.
 This mantle in the above photo is in the room that my grandmother, Ivera, used as her dining room. This is the wall that had a door to the right of the fireplace to enter the parlor. In the renovation of the house by the AIDB, the door was removed and a wall was inserted. (See past post for details on this.)

 I wish I could remember which room I took this picture in. Isn't the fire screen beautiful!

 Now we are back downstairs…again…this time in the bathroom! I included this picture to show how well the bathrooms were improved. This one on the first floor is handicap-accesible…note the flat walk-in shower!

 And this is the first floor bedroom, also called Grandfather's bedroom, but my family called it our Grandmother's room. The door is open into the foyer.

 Here is a picture of my mother walking up the stairwell. The landing on this stairwell is very special to the Harper-DeWine family. My grandparents, Ella Ivera Weaver and Walter Lee Harper were married on this landing, on June 19, 1924!
OOPS! I just found a note in my mother's handwriting that says that Ivera and Walter were married in the parlor! I'll do some searching on this fact and get back to Family Trails with this detail!

We do not have a wedding picture of our grandparents, but I am fond of this photo. A very sweet picture of very proud, (and I can imagine, misty-eyed parents) as the three of them await Nancy's orders from the U.S. Army to fly to France to meet her newlywed husband!

 These pictures are hanging in the stairwell. They are photographs depicting two of the various opportunities provided by the Industries for the Blind. I still have some of their brooms.

 Upstairs again! This is a very interesting picture showing how a kitchenette was added into the upstairs suite.

 More quilts!

 Spectacular light fixtures! Original to the house!

 More stairwell details

 How many little faces must have peered through these circles carved into the front porch!

If you are a regular Family Trails reader or just joining us on this journey, are you thinking by now, "How can there be enough topics to make this blog interesting?"  So I will leave you with a little hint of what is to come….
Food! Food! Food!
Family,
 Holidays, and
 Love of Country!

Our family is filled with all of the above!

Let's start at the very beginning....

 A very good place to start.... Let's begin with the beginning of present day. Would you like a tour of the family home place as it looks today? You will be so happy to see these pictures. Thankfully,
305 Oak Street is now a very important part of The Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind, serving as a host home for visitors. The AIDB has brought life back into the home with lots of care and preservation.

 I love mantels, so I took a picture of every mantel in the house.

Below is a picture of the upstairs bedroom. When you go up the stairs, this is the room on the left. Today it is used as a small dining area that connects to a back bedroom.

Details of mantel in the house

 Every room has beautiful beds. I think I am correct in saying that one of these beds is Nina's.

The next three pictures are taken in the turret bedroom and one picture taken of the turret from outside.

Did you know that one of the turret windows appears in this book? 

Alabama Memories by Chip Cooper

published in 1989

Here is the window when it wore a pink dress! 

See page 184 B

A big thank you to sister, Rebecca, for photos and information regarding 

Alabama Memories.

Each bedroom has been given a name on the door. The downstairs bedroom is perfectly named The Weaver Room.







More mantels and
details.

I think this is a front upstairs room, once called the sleeping porch?

The bedrooms are all very well decorated. They stay true to the time that the house was built. Each bed has a hand-made quilt. 

The picture below is taken in the foyer. There are some changes in the way most of us remember this area.
 The door on the right is the parlor door, but the door on the left is new. A few changes were made for better kitchen access and to make the house handicap accessible.

The picture below is taken inside the front parlor. The door that connected the parlor to the dining room  has been removed. The sofa is against this new wall.

Here is a close-up of the beautiful mantle in the parlor. 

What intricate carving!

A detail of the cherub tiles that surround this parlor mantel. Did you know this? Each tile is different!

Great-granddaughter, Mariellan and great-great grandson, Patrick in front of the mantel.

 The picture below is one of my favorite pictures.... the front door to 305 Oak Street.

 The original glass in the doors was RED. Yes, red, hence, a nod to that fact by painting the doors red. In light of the fact that several generations of children played in and around this house, it is important to note that the red glass was never broken and remained in the door for many years, into the 1990's.

Great-great-greatgrandson, Raughley.

 Many thanks to The Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind for preserving our family home. The AIDB is continuing the Weaver family tradition of open doors and loving hospitality to anyone who may enter.

I hope you enjoyed the first journey on our Family Trail. Let's leave the family home place now and begin our journey on our Family Trail.

So long, but not farewell.