McKinley was president when our
house was built from plans drawn
in the 19th century.  An automobile
may have come through town,
but mostly the horses ruled, pulling
wagons on Barstow, delivering
to shops.  A horse lived on our
property, an animal with hooves and
withers, flaring nostrils and swishing
tail, lived in our garage which was
called a stable, stood there in the
extraordinary cold that only the frozen
north can provide.  Electricity was
talked about, but the house wasn't wired—
the sconces on the wall, still here past a
decade into the 21st century, were lit
with flame.  The house had running water
from its beginning, and a tub on feet which
we still use today.  Our house had three
owners before us, none of them with
children.  We've changed that.
A daughter sleeps here now: loft bed,
piano, drum kit, a djembe, an array of
hair bands.  Basketballs stacked in a corner
tumbling willfully into the hallway.

Karen Loeb moved to Eau Claire in 1988. She is the author of Jump Rope Queen and Other Stories. Learn more about Karen here.

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