The Pro House Tours are Friday, December 6, from 5-9 p.m. and visit these wonderful residences who all have their own stories to tell. Tickets can be purchased at City Hall, from a PRO Board Member or at Shop n Save.
This week’s featured home is celebrating its 125 anniversary, and it certainly has a rich and interesting history. The Lake House is owned by Sandra Hockman and is the fourth house featured that will be visited during the Pro Annual Christmas House Tour.
The original owners were W. N. & Florence Doolittle who lived in the house from Jan. 1894 – March 1897. It was then sold to the Minear family for $400 in March 1897, and then sold to Mr. Amer Lake for $450 the next April.
It’s referred to as “The Lake House” as the family retained ownership of the home from 1898 – 1980 before it was sold to Ruth Quadrio. She and her family (daughter Laura and her husband, Larry Ingham and granddaughter Melissa and her husband Joe Gibson) owned the house for the next 20 years.
During this time, extensive renovations were done to the home. New windows, vinyl siding, drywall, remodeled the kitchen and bathrooms, installation of a new gas furnace and blown-in insulation. The house was sold to Deborah Chapman in 2005.
The present owner, Sandra Hockman purchased the Lake House in 2009. Hockman has continued to make significant improvements. She told us, “hard wood floors were installed, extensive electrical improvements were made, foundation issues were addressed, a metal roof was installed, and the sea serpent visible on the roof was redone. Unfortunately. the sea serpent has fallen victim to harsh winds and needs repaired once again. The most recent improvement has been the replacement of the 20 windows to help offset the draftiness an older home generally experiences.”
In addition to the home improvements, the landscaping was expanded to include many perennial beds that bloom abundantly each summer. Hockman shares her home with her children and grandchildren. “Sometimes my grandchildren can be seen around Parsons riding bikes, walking the trails and exploring our community,” shared Hockman.
Opening her home to the Pro On-Trac House Tours is a way for others to be able to explore the beauty of a well-constructed turn-of-the-century home. Great granddaughters of Mr. and Mrs. Amer Lake recently visited the home and shared many interesting details of their time spent in the home and remember putting on plays and musicals for their grandparents and neighbors in the residence. Mrs. Quadrio’s grandchildren and great-grandchildren also continue to visit and share their love of the Lake House and reminisce on the time they spent lovingly here with family.
Recently a great-granddaughter revealed her age growth chart on the back of a bedroom door that had remained undetected for many years.
Hockman shared a few interesting facts about her home and the Lakes. Mr. Lake, at one time, worked in the Mackeyville Sawmill. Logs were transported to the mill on a wooden plank tramway using horse drawn trucks. Then the lumber was transported to Hambleton for further shipment by rail.
During the week, he stayed in a boarding house until it burned down, but on the weekends, he would walk to and from his home to visit his family.
In August 7, 1905, Lake was granted a permit to move his house from Lot 69 to Lot 215.
Lot 69 is the current site of the home. During this time, ordinances were passed by the City of Parsons to address issues of saloons and obscuring windows, among other concerns such as smells associated with outhouses and hog pens. Lake did not relocate his home to Lot 215, and it has remained on Lot 69 after these ordinances were enacted.
The textile industry came to Parsons in 1922, at first, as the Acworth Woolen Mill. After changing hands, it became the Dorman Mills in 1927. Due to a family death in 1956, the mill was sold to a New York based company, and Hubert Lake became president. The mill continued to produce more than 50,000 square yards of material per week. In 1960, it was Tucker County’s largest employer.
Hubert Lake also was a banker with the Tucker County Bank and served as its president beginning in 1959 and later as chairman of the bank. In 1961, the bank’s assets were over $2 million dollars.
