Story by Jon Stalnaker AKA The Studebaker Dude
I bought my first house in 1974. I had just been released from active duty in the military and was home to begin my civilian life. I had decided that I wanted to work for the post office and was going through the hiring process for a career appointment. I was already working there as a temporary employee and knew I would soon be reached for a full time job. I had every confidence that it would happen, so I went out and bought my first house. I asked the realtor to hold up the job verification until my career appointment came through, which they did. I got the job and the house. Things were much cheaper back in the 70s. I remember my coworkers thinking I was crazy to buy a house when I hadn’t even completed my probation period. I was not concerned about that, as I had every confidence that I would be working for the Postal Service for a good long time. As it turned out, I would retire 32 years in the future. I remember one guy asking me how much the house was and the payment. I told him it was $32,000 with a $305 per month payment. He thought I was nuts because you could rent a house back then for $100 a month in California. Pretty funny to look at those numbers now.
Everything was cheaper back then. I used to buy a new car every couple of years and could get a real nice brand new car for $5,000. My house was nice, but it was brand new. That meant I was on my own to landscape it. I had no experience in that but enjoyed the challenge. I had some creative ideas, not all of which would work out, but I learned and got better each time. And there were many opportunities. I learned about sweat equity before there were television shows about flipping houses. In my lifetime, I bought 4 new houses that required landscaping and got better at it each time. I also put my creative juices toward sprucing up existing landscapes in the other houses I’ve owned. From fencing to sprinkler systems, to lawns and mow strips and decorative plants, I did most everything and learned a lot about a lot. By the time I moved to Oklahoma, I had the knowledge but no longer had the physical stamina to do it myself, being in my seventies and all.
I’ve had some crazy ideas over the years, and I still do. It’s been fun this last year getting a chance to change a few things around this house. We love the house, but still enjoy making changes that make us feel like the home is really ours. I’ve written other stories about what we have done around here, and we’ve almost completed most of the big stuff. There was a small area in the backyard that has just been an eyesore to me. Carlene and I have figured out a rough idea as to what to do with it. We bought a birdcage garden arch arbor and finally got it attached to the ground. I had to hire that part of it for reasons expressed at the end of the previous paragraph. It still doesn’t look like much, but I have a vision in my head that I should be able to execute myself. It’s a fuzzy vision and still subject to change as I continue, and that is why I need to do this myself. Once it is complete, we can use it to display the flowering plants we want in the backyard. Being from California, we still are not sure what kind of plants we need. We are still learning. (Cynthia, if you are reading this, stop by some day, and I’ll show it to you. I’m sure there would be significant value in picking your brain.)
We will get back to this in springtime when it’s time to buy and plant, so I have a little time and a bit of good weather left to finish up the main structure in this small corner of our half acre. I’m kinda anxious to see how this will play out because as issues come up during the construction, my plans can easily change significantly. I don’t think the guys that set up the foundation of the arbor even know what this crazy California guy has in mind. (They may be on to something with that idea.)
I’m sure I will write a story about it when it gets finished, but that’s gonna be a while. Right now, I lay awake at night trying to lock down the finished structure. I love landscaping…
