Letter: My old house worth preserving

My boyhood neighbors, Mark and Bryant Wyman, sent me the Journal’s fine Aug. 25 article, “Cape Cod beauty catches historic acclaim” about my old home at 811 Oak Knoll Ave. It correctly underlines the work of master stonemason Harry Luberg.

As a boy, I watched him with admiration as he selected and crafted limestone rocks bearing ancient fossils for the ground level masonry. His dedication and skill made the house an archaeological library and a work of art.

My father, Justin Williams Sr., contracted construction with a FHA loan. His colleague at the then River Falls State Teachers College, Professor Spriggs, was the architect.

The design included two novel innovations for that 1930s era: A downstairs powder room and an oil furnace (no more coal shoveling on cold winter nights).

I thank my old friend, Kirby Symes, and the other members of the Historic Preservation Commission for honoring the architectural significance of my cherished boyhood home.

I’m glad its present owners, Mike Kahlow and Diane Odeen, are giving it the care it truly merits.

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