Days Gone By: Oak Knoll
Pauly Cudd, everyone’s favorite glassblower, business owner, and former champion on the gridiron and wrestling mat, is now wrestling with renovating old houses. He’s well into a total renovation of the former Ames house at 615 Oak Knoll Ave.By: Pat Hunter, archivist, River Falls Journal
Pauly Cudd, everyone’s favorite glassblower, business owner, and former champion on the gridiron and wrestling mat, is now wrestling with renovating old houses. He’s well into a total renovation of the former Ames house at 615 Oak Knoll Ave.
It was built by River Falls Normal School president J.H. Ames around 1920. Ames served as president of the school from 1917-1946. Tax roll in 1916 lists the value of land as $350 and improvements $2,550.
According to Dan Geister of the Pierce County Historical Association, it was the first house built in what would become known as Residence Park.
By 1920 some of his neighbors included J.A. Grimm, D. Smith, J.L. Wasson and M. Halverson.
Later known as the Shepard house, Maurice Archibald Shepard and wife (Edna Bertha Zinn) purchased it and raised their family there. Maurice was a well-known photographer in River Falls. Their son, Maurice Charles Shepard, was a gifted amateur photographer himself, with a focus on southern United States slave quarters.
Maurice Charles’ daughter, Evelyn R. Shepard of New York, remembers visiting the beautiful home of her grandparents and provided the older photos.
The Allen family owned the home before it was sold to the McCanns and provided a photo from the 1930s.
In 1962 it was sold to Patrick and Dorothy McCann and was used as rental until Bill and Marvel Allen purchased in 1986 for their residence.
If interested in seeing the house give Pauly a call — 715-760-5058(cell) or home, 715-425-2128.
See more photos of the house being restored online at RFJ under lifestyles.
Tags: river falls, lifestyle, history
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