Building a Legacy
Picture shows the Butterfly House before the left and right sides of the house were extended and the trellis were added.
How It Begins
I’ve debated with myself how to start this second blog. Do I start with the legacy of William Lightfoot Price, who envisioned a utopian society, or do I start with how this blog even started?
I decided to start with how this blog started because if it weren’t for Marti Keegan and Harrison Brietling, I wouldn’t have come this far in documenting our legacy. Marti and I have been attending the same acting class for three years along with Harrison’s mom Shelly. Shelly lives in Florida but Marti and I live close to each other so about 2 years into classes, when people were starting to meet in person again, Marti, Staci, and some other women asked me to come to lunch after class (I wish Shelly could have joined us). I needed some girlfriend time since most of my friends live farther away and most of my free time was spent traveling for Hockey Tournaments with our youngest, Keenan, and Dan. I enjoy my afternoons on Wednesday just being able to be myself, talk without judgment, laugh, and hear about the creative activities everyone was pursuing in their more mature years.
When I told my friends Dan and I were staying in the area after buying the Butterfly House, Marti said “You should blog about it!” I have heard of blogs, but I had to google what a blog was and the purpose of a blog. I’m embarrassed to say this but I never understood the whole blog trend and didn’t know people still wrote them. Marti’s suggestion was a way for us to document the renovation for our family and this new chapter. I had no idea how to begin so of course… I googled. Well, about ankle-deep into developing a website to house the blog, I ran into technical difficulties. I almost gave up. Again, Marti came to the rescue and introduced me to Harrison, who kindly met me via Zoom to establish what you read today. Marti and Harrison, thank you for your inspiration, support, and contribution to this endeavor!
You Can’t Do It Alone
Building a legacy and renovating this home won’t happen without a lot of people who know what they are doing. In my initial post, I mentioned meeting our architect, Fred. He is a true gentleman and artist, and he cracks me up. When he and Brian, “the master measurer”, came to take the measurements so he could develop the drawings and computerized plans, he went outside to take a phone call. Brian was done and when we opened the door Fred was lying on the bricks in the sunshine under the Wisteria arch. We had a good chuckle once I knew he wasn’t dead. I discovered he likes to be outside and lie down when he gets the chance. Even though he could have considered retiring many years ago, he is confident and passionate about his work and we have loved working with him because he inspires us when we are unsure.
Finding a craftsman to bring an architect’s plans to fruition can be difficult and stressful. It is incredibly important to find people you can work with and who can work with each other. Dan and I are going to live in Florida while the house is being renovated, and we absolutely need someone we can trust. We asked Fred for a recommendation, and we asked our previous friend and contractor for a recommendation as well. I found a third contractor through my research. It’s my rule of three… I always get three recommendations and/or estimates for any service I am hiring. More if I don’t feel comfortable in my gut. I also prepped a spreadsheet with the questions I needed to ask, their names, etc. so I could see it all on paper and share it with Dan. Although he is very involved in the process, organizing it is up to me.
Fred’s recommendation had great reviews online but when we met in person I wasn’t impressed. He walked through the house, asked a few questions, and let us know what he charged which was cost plus 15%. I don’t doubt for a second that he could have done the work and that it would have looked great, but he seemed to not care. We need someone who cares about this work and this home like we do. I did check references and they were positive, but I also found out that he would send a project manager. He would check on the work but not do the work. We need someone invested.
The contractor I reached out to from my research also used a project manager who came to the house to meet with us. He was very positive and passionate about the history of the home, asked a lot of questions, and answered mine openly. I requested references. I never received them. I haven’t heard from either the contractor or the project manager since.
As frustrating and stressful as this process sounds, there is a shining light in this story and his name is Ken Dart of Dart Advantage. You will not find him online… anywhere. I tried. If our friend Pete didn’t recommend him, we wouldn’t have found him. He is our new contractor, and I will tell you why. Ken came to meet with us at our current residence even before we could get him in the house. Just to talk, answer our questions, and inform us of his process and how he likes to work. He gave us references to previous customers and scheduled time to go into their homes and show us his work!! Four of them. It was great. His references repeatedly praised his work and differentiated him from all other contractors they have used. They trust him. One reference said, “I won’t let anyone else but Ken touch my house”.
So, we have Fred the artist and Ken the craftsman. Fortunately for us, Ken also knows and works with Mimi Boston Johnson who has been a designer along the mainline for many years. They work as a team and after seeing them work through our plans for the home, we saw the value in having both. Dan and I may have a vision and know what we want but our artistic ability is limited. When we walked through the house together, they had ideas and solutions that appealed to us. Fred, Ken, and Mimi are my new favorite people. We are early in our planning but whenever we talk with them or they talk with each other we feel more confident that we have found a team that will care for this home in the way that we do.
Who the heck is William Lightfoot Price?
William Lightfoot Price in dress-up. The neighborhood still has a yearly “costume party”
There is a huge learning curve with buying any home, but the Butterfly House challenged us. We were hooked on the history after our first viewing of the Butterfly House. Even though we had no idea we would own the home, we were fascinated by the community WLP built and why. I won’t go into details about him but I’ll include the link to his Wikipedia page here so you can read more on your own if you like.
Although Dan and I appreciate art and history and many of our first dates were spent at museums and shows, we have little to no artistic talent. After reading the book Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari, we appreciated and learned from the generations before us that history repeats itself and that industrialization has changed us quicker than our bodies and minds can keep up. William Lightfoot Price had a distaste for that rapid progress.
In the early 1900s, travels to Europe influenced WLP and his passion for architecture as well as art and craftsmanship, and his backlash to convenience and mass production of goods emerged. To support the artists of his time he wanted to build a society/community that was self-sustaining and connected. So, he built it. It wasn’t easy, and most of it wasn’t very successful. And yet, the community we are now a part of still survives. It is that close community he had hoped for that celebrates history, community, the arts, and people.
As soon as we knew we would be the new owners and had settlement, Dan ordered several books so we could research everything about Rose Valley. We planned a day walking through the trails of the nearby communities (they were all connected by paths because WLP wanted everyone to get to each other) and went to the Rose Valley Museum. Our new neighbor Peter was there to give us the tour which made it special. He showed us the original paintings and furnishings made by local artists and craftsmen from the early 20th century.
As we were touring, we met Megan who lives in the Stephen’s house, Ryan the curator of the museum, and Paula the Rose Valley borough manager. Peter introduces us as the new owners of the Harrison House. The official name on the historic registry is the Butterfly House but the neighbors use the family name and the Harrisons were the most recent owners of our home. Although we enjoyed the tour and everyone was very welcoming and happy that the home would be occupied, Dan and I felt the immense pressure and scrutiny that comes with people who are emotionally and wholeheartedly in love with their community. There is a tremendous sense of pride.
They asked us innocuous questions like “What are you doing with the windows?” “Are you keeping the yellow tiles?” “ Who is your architect?” “Is he or she aware of the history and legacy of WLP and Rose Valley?” And silently in my head, my imagination ran wild, and I thought I heard … “DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING??” “ARE YOU GOING TO RUIN IT?”
This is the pressure to live up to someone else’s legacy.
Random Marital Questions
A few years ago, before we knew where we would live, Dan asked what I wanted our legacy to be. If I remember correctly, he asked while we watched something on Netflix. We were learning about the Roman Empire. Or watching Better Call Saul… anyway, he asked this random question, and I was taken aback. I didn’t know how to answer. He clarified and asked, who do WE want to be as a couple? Who do we want to be for our family? At first, I didn’t know what to say, so we formed our thoughts together. We wanted to be loving, loyal, adventurous, brave, compassionate, supportive but not enabling. No excuses. Most importantly, we want to show our family that understanding, hard work, and taking chances require all the above and more. Respect is earned and not given. And always keep a sense of humor about yourself.
So, when thinking about the legacy we just bought, it isn’t about the tile or the windows or plans for the kitchen. It’s about maintaining the character… our character, the character of the home, and the initial intention of WLP… supporting and being a part of a community.
Let’s go!