Heater House was center for hard work and good fun
“Clarence and been farming north of town on rented land. He wanted a place of his own, so he bought what is now known as the Heater House and 80 acres. Then it was known as the Sam Wilson place. Sam had purchased it from his father, Lawn (Lloyd) Wilson. [I believe this was Alonzo (or Lon) Wilson, son of Carroll County pioneers Samuel and Emily Wilson.] Part of the deal was another 80 acres, one and one half miles northeast. . . . They moved onto the place in 1926.
“The Wilsons left many out buildings, including pig pens, chicken sheds, the barn, the outhouse, and an ice house. The screened porch wrapped the first floor of the frame house on a stone and cement foundation. The house didn’t have many windows. The stairs were enclosed, and the basement unfinished. A spring northeast of the house had been channeled to pass under the first floor kitchen. A dumb waiter ferried butter, milk and, occasionally, jello to the waters of the cool, running spring. Clarice said it wasn’t handy. Fighting the crank and the weight of the platform and food, it was hard not to spill the jello. Merle Shirbroun remembers exploring the spring by dumb waiter with his brother, Darrell. A tamer route was through a basement crawl door.
“The Wilsons had planted a large orchard north of the house. The varieties aren’t common today – bit Wolf Rivers and Greening apples, which tasted like a banana. There were also pears and plums. The road of that day ran parallel to, but west of today’s road. It cut much closer to the house, bending sharply to find the bridge. The river also divided the farm.”
Coon Rapids Enterprise, September 3, 1987
