A normal person would have turned down their noses at this old place, but Ken and I and the boys were thrilled. In 1972, in Bethesda, Maryland, we purchased our first home. Soon after, we started looking to buy a place in the country. Every other weekend, we four went exploring. We looked at Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania. The first decision we made had to do with distance of being no further than a two hour drive from home. Next we checked the taxes and decided to focus our search on Pennsylvania as the taxes were low. Finally, we wanted land and if possible a cabin. We spent one day with a Realtor, Dan Kimble, and he showed us property.
He showed us a 55 acre piece of land with a house and an old cabin. The house had not been lived in for twenty years so it had been taken over by the birds. We wanted to buy it but couldn't. It was too expensive, so I did what I have always done, which was to call my brother and sister in law to see if they would like to buy it together, which they did. We settled on the old place and quickly made it livable...kind of. No indoor plumbing, only one cold water tap in the kitchen, no heat for the first year. But we loved it. We hiked and made fires, and visited with the neighbors. We swam in the creek. And we did no housekeeping. When we got back home after a weekend at the old farm we all headed to the showers. We loved that old place.
Today we sold it. It has settled and the money is in the bank. Son David commented that he hoped the purchasers have children who will love it as much as he did when he was a kid. He speaks for us all. It started us on a path that enhanced our lives. It is just a mile or so from our new farm which is definitely not primitive, but our decision to buy the old farm started us down that path.
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