You’d Never Recognize Grandma Leora’s Small White House

Leora Goff Wilson lived at 505 North 4th Street in Guthrie Center for nearly forty years. It was a small two-bedroom home with one bathroom. Her big dining room table, which originally belonged to her folks when they lived in the Victorian house during the 1920s, barely fit in the dining room, so it was hard to get everyone seated. 

Leora, 58, and her mother, Laura Goff, moved into the new house February 10, 1948. Laura, age 79, had been living in Omaha near several sons since the Great Depression. The widows made a home together in that little house for four fourteen years, until Laura died in late 1962 (my freshman year of college). Leora, by then 72 years old, had never lived alone before.

The house had a full basement, with very steep open stairs. The furnace and the washing machine were down there, along with an extra bed and the buffet that matched the big dining room table. Every autumn, Leora lugged potted plants (including a really nice rubber plant) down those steep steps to store until spring. She’d find pots for plants still in the ground so they could also overwinter in the basement. 

When the little house was sold in 1988, the new owners bought the even smaller house to the north and had it taken down. Using both lots, they remodeled Leora’s house, building the new part to the north. The front entrance is north of where the old one was. You’d never guess this handsome home started out as a tiny white frame house.

Here’s a response from the current owner of “Grandma’s House”: Joy,
Thank you so much for sharing this story! It was my husband, Steve, and I who were so fortunate to buy your Grandma Wilson’s home back in 1988. This was during the time of high interest rates (14-16%?) but this home was perfect for us! We had a 9-month-old son and we were starting a new business in town, which was 2 hours away from our family. To say we were a bit nervous, is an understatement, but we were never worried about this home! Steve’s uncle, Theron (Pud) Barnett from Linden, went through the home and said it was in excellent condition! There was only 1 small sag in a floor joist and a floor jack took care of that. We always loved knowing the house had been loved and well cared for! You mentioned the steep stairs, they are in the same exact location, but they are enclosed so they don’t seem steep.

Over the last 36 years, the home has seen many friends and family come and go, and several remodels and additions, to make room for the friends and family, but the heart of the home and the good bones, are all still here.