Big news for our little corner of suburbia.
You have to understand that at this point, the county was still 80% rural. There was a ‘farming/agriculture’ section in the weekly paper as well as special features on Sunday. Market prices for Produce and meat were posted daily. These generations of farmers/rural dwellers were now senior citizens and they preferred things as they were. New inventions and technologies were interesting, as long as they stayed away from their backyard. There was nothing wrong with the old ways!
So it was no surprise that the newspaper showed up on moving day with photographers and reporters.
The house was a huge rhinoceros, three stories high. At least 20 feet off the ground, the roof line higher than any house in our development. Watching the move was fascinating, every creak and groan subject to gasps. Men on (what is now primitive) walkie-talkies strolled beside trucks and the house, occasionally shouting commands or updates. Dogs barked in wonderment, even birds seemed to say WTF??
Closing the main thoroughfare to traffic was a revelation to us kids–we could ride our bikes all over; normally cars would be whizzing by, blowing through the red light, tossing empty bottles and cigarette Butts. Wish someone would have taken OUR picture, sheesh.
Cops kept us from getting too close behind the house; a cop car up front cleared the way of children and photographers. Electrical crews raised hanging wires.
Mom went with me. The old man pretended he was too jaded to be seen gawking at something he’d never see again, but at some point, I guess he decided that he’d look cool ambling down the street.
I will always remember the sight of the house going past the old 1940’s gas station (“Steffy’s”) that would soon close and be razed with the passing of the owner. Time goes by, or do we……..
The show took around 5-6 hours. They got the house off the main road into the development, finishing the next day by plopping it on the foundation.
One beautiful footnote: the new development was no longer in our school district, so the young asshole was now going to vanish into the populous ocean of the neighboring district. How sweet it is! (I nod to Gleason).