| Ok, so Wanda shamed me into showing my hobby on our web site since everyone loves her gardens..... Having grown up in New Jersey, I am very interested in small town Iowa life. Several years ago I bought a house with a friend in a beautiful river valley in Northeastern Iowa in the small town of Elgin. Elgin is 3 blocks wide and a mile long. Population 700. The whole county (Fayette) is only 14,000. You can stand in the middle of Center Street and see farm fields on both sides of the town. The town is full of nice people and is picturesque in a very Midwestern way. My friend and I are renovating this old place and use it as a weekend house. It may become a retirement home, who knows! But it is only 80 miles from my home in Cedar Rapids.... and in Iowa that means only 75 minutes away! There is VERY little traffic between both places and it is a lovely drive. Some of the towns along the way are Coggon, Masonville ( home of the BEST fried fish), Lamont, Arlington, Wadena and then down the valley into Elgin. In 2004, Elgin had its five year reunion called "Homecoming." People from all over the country that have family and friends in the area came for a three day festival. We had a great parade, lots of fun food and activites. My parents even drove up all the way from North Carolina to attend. It is amazing to me that in this day and age there are still simple, clean, nice places to live and a simple inexpensive lifestyle. Elgin to me is what is best about living in the USA. When I bought the house, I found out that there was no key for the front door. The previous owner had lived there since 1968 and accidentally locked herself out the first day she owned the house. She was so mad, she hammered a nail in the front door so you couldn't turn the lock and lock the door. Of course it was never a problem in a small town like this.... amazing! So here are my pictures of this odd place. The house was built in 1908 we think. It did not have an indoor bathroom until 1957. There even used to be a barn in the backyard. The first owner had a cow that he walked from the house across town (3 blocks) to a neighbor's farm field every day. If you'd like to know more about Elgin, click on this link. www.elginiowa.org I do the web site for the town (note the similiarities!) and there are some fun pictures. Who knows... you may want to visit.! John Cairns |
First Animation Art
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
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| John's Project |
| Right - Front of house before the work began! Note the classy picture window Below: Winter 2001 with some serious labor done. |
| Stripping Wallpaper in the PINK bedroom. 5 layers and two coats of paint on top. I am REALLY good at stripping wallpaper now. I have had LOTS of experience! |
| Same corner of the back of the house. Before door and window removal and new siding repair,. |
| Summer 2007 (Guess who gets me plants for my garden?!) |
| View from the bank of the river in the backyard. This is the Turkey River which flows 30 miles southeast to the Mississippi. |
| Fall view from the upper back yard. Turkey River in the background....... all this for the price of a Minivan!! |
| House interior.... believe me, this is AFTER the renovation. I made the woodwork to match the original. New crown mouldings too. Did you know that small towns have very relaxed building codes?! I was able to do the wiring with only a little family supervision! |
| My new pocket doors (left and above) ....that I just installed fall of 07. I'm going to finish the wood to a dark walnut color like the new door to the kitchen in the picture above..... now I just have to find the time to finish the drywall! |
| Dec 2007 - 18 inches of snow on the deck and looking down to the river. It's COLD up here.. but then it's cheap too! |