Over 100 years after it was built, this old house is still referred to as the "Kurtz Home". We are only the third family to live here. Luzena Kurtz, the original owner of this old homestead, liked to call this place Front Porch Indiana because of the beautiful view from the front porch. Rocking back and forth, smelling the sweet scent of heirloom lilacs, from here you can see Indiana at its finest; corn and beans gently swaying, flocks of wild turkey wandering along the wooded stream, a chicken scratching in the dirt.
Mr. and Mrs. Kurtz moved here in a covered wagon from Kansas; bringing the lilac bushes in the front yard with them. At the time, there stood a small, brick Civil War era house on the property. During the years 1906-1908, they tore part of it down and rebuilt a whole new house around it. The modern home featured all the latest amenities of the day including central heat, acetylene generated gas lights, and a water system fed from two cisterns that would pump water upstairs to a bathtub; pretty remarkable for a house in the middle of nowhere at the time.
Visitors often ask about the metal "thing" in the back yard. That's the gas generator I was referring to. Actually, to be correct, it's the second generator. What happened to the first you ask? Well, now that's a story, why don't you pull up a seat?
After completing the house, that first winter was harsh. One particularly cold morning the gas lights stopped working. At that time, the generator was located in a small building, somewhat similar to the three-hole privy it was located near. Mr. Kurtz inspected the generator and determined that the pipes leading to and fro the house must have frozen. He decided to use some hot coals to thaw the pipes while he went to town to conduct some business. Upon returning home he found the lights to be in working order. Problem solved, or so he thought. Later that evening the lights started to flicker again. Mr. Kurtz bundled himself up, grabbed his lantern, and headed out to investigate. Notice I said lantern.
Yes, as you can imagine, once he opened the door to the generator building there was an explosion that was heard, the newspapers report, as far away as 20 miles. The newspapers also noted how far away his, um, parts and pieces were found in graphic detail; they didn't leave much out in those days. Fortunately, all family members inside the house were spared even though all the windows in the home had been shattered.
It is told that the widowed Mrs. Kurtz lived in the dark for quite a number of years before being convinced to finally install the second generator. Times were hard for the widow, without having her husband around to help, the house fell into disrepair. It passed from generation to generation in the Kurtz family and eventually only being used as an occasional summer retreat. The black walnuts and hawthorn trees tried to reclaim the land Mr. Kurtz labored to clear years before, pastures were overtaken by scrub and wild berries and rusted farm equipment was left abandoned under the bushes.
Another family purchased the house and seven acres in the 1980s. Over the 20-plus years they lived here they did some extensive restoration of the house, bringing the old place back to life. In 2006 they decided it was time to pass the torch to a new family. We gladly accepted the challenge and day-by-day, little-by-little try to restore this place back into a working homestead. I like to think that is just the way Luzena would have wanted it.
This place was Luzena’s dream; a century later, I’m just trying to keep that dream alive. I can't help but feel a kinship, and a certain closeness to Luzena in everything I do here. I write this blog to keep her updated as to what is going on, as if she and I are sitting out there on the porch, just snapping beans and shooting the breeze, so it seemed appropriate to name it after her. Thanks for stopping by and joining us. We love having you.
