Today, the family got word that the Coffin House on Martin Road was no longer. A fire in the early morning ravaged the home that my grandparents lived for so many years. I haven’t driven by and refuse to look at the paper or news. I rather remember it in my mind. I feel so bad for the family who is now without their home. They reached out to me when they first moved in and shared with them some of what I knew of the house. With a heavy heart our prayers go out to them who have lost so much.
The house was a treasure box of beautiful warm memories for me. The house would have turned 200 years old in 2019. Our family only lived there for 40 years but I dare say that they were some of the best memories, I’ll ever have.
The front door had an antique door bell that you turned.
My cousins and I in the backroom where we played for hours.
My grandma lo… I actually almost fell straight through this ceiling from the second floor.
Nobody told me that the vent was missing in a duct in a room I was staying. I woke the whole house up with my leg dangling through the ceiling!
Many Many hours spent outside. The little porch behind the table we use to play house in.
Grandpa’s shrubs were always just right.
Almost every Sunday my mom and dad would take me over after breakfast. I remember it blowing and cold and we would sit in the living room. Grandpa would show us what he was working on in the studio off from the living room. Then we would chat and watch old movies or one of grandma’s cooking shows.
Grandma always had roses along the driveway.
The gallery out back…
The pool where we spent tons of hours. The story goes that my dad and Scott wanted a pool so they started to dig and dig… Once the hole got too big, my grandparents decided to put the pool in.
Easter time
My great grandma Lily would lure us out of the pool for story time under the apple tree.
I can close my eyes and see the big Christmas Tree in the backroom and hear my grandparents singing the Old Songs…
We are lucky… We had treasured memories…
Thank you for sharing these photos. My son and his family were the victims of the fire. Thank you for reaching out to them. May Jesus bless you abundantly!
I look at these pictures with a very heavy heart. My niece and nephew were so proud to live in a century home so rich in history. They poured their heart and soul into every living space. In fact, when me and my sisters came into town to visit, the highight was to go to the Petschers. The home was filled with love and laughter and I will miss those days tremendously. Nikki and Menash were generous hosts and always made sure that good times would be had by all. They were very sensitive to maintaining the legacy of their home’s past while updating the space for their growing family. You would have been very proud of what they did to maintain your family’s treasure. Thank you for sharing these photos – it is amazing how this home provided such great memories for generations of families.
Wow these pictures really say it all. I feel like we had such great memories in that house. Nikki and I used to talk often about how great it would be to have our grandkids come home to this house. Anyone who knows me knows how much I loved that house. We were so proud to have that amazing spot to call home. We knew how much the Coffin’s loved the house, and it almost felt like we were continuing the legacy with our family. We will miss it so much. I would like to thank the Coffin and Gleason family for sending us a generous donation along with some paintings by Mr Coffin for our new house. A Coffin painting hung in our family room as a tribute to the family that loved the house as much as we did. Thank you all so much for your support.
So sad to read this bad news.
I visited the Coffin House only once in my life in the 80’s. I actually remember the big spinning wheel that I see in one of these photos. I remember the antiques that made their way into Mr. Coffin’s paintings, such as duck decoys, fishing memorabilia and other primitives. Our lives crossed in a very interesting way that I will ALWAYS treasure! I mean that!