Below are excerpts of an account of the history of 1302 by a previous occupant.
In 1914 Andrew Langlee and wife Johanna lived at 117 18th Ave West with their five children - Gerda (12), Edward (10), Jenny (8), Arnold (6), and Nancy (3). The house was a downstairs flat - next to an alley - no green grass - only the alley and a sawdust filled basement to play in. The location was behind a sizeable apartment house facing Piedmont Avenue.
One night father took the family for a long walk to 1302 West Fifth St. to see the home he proposed to buy from an eccentric Norwegian man named Chris Larson. The price was $1500; payments on mortgage were $15 a month.
The children were ecstatic when they saw a huge swing in the backyard and lots of green grass to romp in. A red barn stood at the end of the lot which was sectioned off in two parts. The upper part for storage of things and chicken feed for chickens occupying the lower half of the barn. An outhouse also occupied the back lot - with a special lower seat for youngsters and a higher seat for adults.
After school was out arrangements were made to move, and Jenny, of course, got so emotional that she was ill and got to ride in the one horse drawn aray bringing all the belongings. We lost no time in telling our left behind playmates to come and see us as we had lots of green grass to play in.
When we arrived we children were crestfallen to see the swing had been removed by the departing tenant who had recently lost his wife and he had two children to raise. And of course we were fascinated to discover an old well - very deep - that had not been filled in on the lot next door facing fifth street in the upper west corner adjacent to us. Of course, my father saw to it that the deep well was filled in to remove the hazard. The lot next door was owned by a Mr. Rustad of a grocery store Rustad and Johnson and was never built on and we had permission to use it for our potato planting.
Our father was employed at the Duluth Court House as a "stationery" fireman at the time and when the 1914 war broke out he went to work in the shipyards as a crane operator.
In 1918 father decided to upgrade the house. Every wall was torn down as I remember except the east wall and that was about 10 - 12 inches thick stuffed with sawdust for insulating.
After hours at the shipyard, father worked late at night pounding sawing and building (guess the neighbors didn't complain). He had some help from Norwegian friends and of course my two brothers were used whenever they could be of use. A cabinet maker friend helped with the kitchen cabinets and some carpenter friends.
During construction we cooked and ate in the basement and slept in the house as construction went on. It was finally finished some 3 years later, siding put on, and lots of rock and fill dug out of the basement to make it larger and more useful.
In 1935 our mother passed away and a short time after that brother Ed and his wife Elsie took over the house, finished paying the mortgage, and father turned the house and furnishings over to them. Elsie and Ed's son grew up in the house. Ed was very sentimental about the house, worked hard and kept it in A-1 shape, and passed away in 1983.
Every morning mother sat with each of us for breakfast before we ran down the hill (no busses) to work and Patricks's and Marshall Wells, etc. Mother would tell us when the first ship of the season came through the canal. And the sunrise was always a sight to behold!
Jenny L. Ford
July 21, 1991
The couple that we bought the house from purchased the house shortly after Ed passed away in 1983. They added on to the house in 1989 and earned a Duluth Preservation Alliance award for their work.
* * *
When we take a break from working here at 1302 and look out over the lift bridge, I often think about how those who lived here before us could stand in the same spot and watch it being built in the early 1900's. As the fourth family to live in this house since it was built 1881, we are grateful and excited to continue the legacy of the home and add our own stories to this place. I love that this home has been a place where children loved to play and roam throughout the decades, and look forward to welcoming more children and their families to join in this home's saga as it becomes Wind Ridge Schoolhouse.
In 1914 Andrew Langlee and wife Johanna lived at 117 18th Ave West with their five children - Gerda (12), Edward (10), Jenny (8), Arnold (6), and Nancy (3). The house was a downstairs flat - next to an alley - no green grass - only the alley and a sawdust filled basement to play in. The location was behind a sizeable apartment house facing Piedmont Avenue.
One night father took the family for a long walk to 1302 West Fifth St. to see the home he proposed to buy from an eccentric Norwegian man named Chris Larson. The price was $1500; payments on mortgage were $15 a month.
The children were ecstatic when they saw a huge swing in the backyard and lots of green grass to romp in. A red barn stood at the end of the lot which was sectioned off in two parts. The upper part for storage of things and chicken feed for chickens occupying the lower half of the barn. An outhouse also occupied the back lot - with a special lower seat for youngsters and a higher seat for adults.
After school was out arrangements were made to move, and Jenny, of course, got so emotional that she was ill and got to ride in the one horse drawn aray bringing all the belongings. We lost no time in telling our left behind playmates to come and see us as we had lots of green grass to play in.
When we arrived we children were crestfallen to see the swing had been removed by the departing tenant who had recently lost his wife and he had two children to raise. And of course we were fascinated to discover an old well - very deep - that had not been filled in on the lot next door facing fifth street in the upper west corner adjacent to us. Of course, my father saw to it that the deep well was filled in to remove the hazard. The lot next door was owned by a Mr. Rustad of a grocery store Rustad and Johnson and was never built on and we had permission to use it for our potato planting.
Our father was employed at the Duluth Court House as a "stationery" fireman at the time and when the 1914 war broke out he went to work in the shipyards as a crane operator.
In 1918 father decided to upgrade the house. Every wall was torn down as I remember except the east wall and that was about 10 - 12 inches thick stuffed with sawdust for insulating.
After hours at the shipyard, father worked late at night pounding sawing and building (guess the neighbors didn't complain). He had some help from Norwegian friends and of course my two brothers were used whenever they could be of use. A cabinet maker friend helped with the kitchen cabinets and some carpenter friends.
During construction we cooked and ate in the basement and slept in the house as construction went on. It was finally finished some 3 years later, siding put on, and lots of rock and fill dug out of the basement to make it larger and more useful.
In 1935 our mother passed away and a short time after that brother Ed and his wife Elsie took over the house, finished paying the mortgage, and father turned the house and furnishings over to them. Elsie and Ed's son grew up in the house. Ed was very sentimental about the house, worked hard and kept it in A-1 shape, and passed away in 1983.
Every morning mother sat with each of us for breakfast before we ran down the hill (no busses) to work and Patricks's and Marshall Wells, etc. Mother would tell us when the first ship of the season came through the canal. And the sunrise was always a sight to behold!
Jenny L. Ford
July 21, 1991
The couple that we bought the house from purchased the house shortly after Ed passed away in 1983. They added on to the house in 1989 and earned a Duluth Preservation Alliance award for their work.
* * *
When we take a break from working here at 1302 and look out over the lift bridge, I often think about how those who lived here before us could stand in the same spot and watch it being built in the early 1900's. As the fourth family to live in this house since it was built 1881, we are grateful and excited to continue the legacy of the home and add our own stories to this place. I love that this home has been a place where children loved to play and roam throughout the decades, and look forward to welcoming more children and their families to join in this home's saga as it becomes Wind Ridge Schoolhouse.