Miss Edith and waterbury, part two

Later in 1933, Miss Lucy and Miss Mary invited Miss Edith to live with them at 33 Church St. which was across the street from 42. Miss Lucy’s and Miss Mary’s brother, John Milton Burrall, and his family lived next door to them at 41 Church St. In late 1933 or early in 1934, Miss Edith decided to make the change to live with Lucy and Mary. In order to make that happen, 33 Church St. would have to be renovated to accommodate the change. Miss Edith hired Fred Webster to design the new interior. Meanwhile, Mr. Webster was working on the design of a summer house for the Orintas family which would be added to the three car garage at the farm complex as well as the dovecote, in conjunction with Miss Shipman to be added to the main house at Topsmead.  1934 was going to be a very busy year. 42 Church St. was put up for sale, but it was several years until it was sold to Dr. Charles Audet for his medical practice.
 
33 Church St. would have to undergo a major renovation.  Contents would have to be removed as the new layout would require the changing of the interior on both floors.  During the renovations, Miss Lucy and Miss Mary would have to relocate to 42 Church St. for the duration of the construction. Furniture had to be moved and stored as well as personal possessions. I don’t know how the housekeeping staff was handled, but there had to be some changes there as all the staff would no longer be needed. I know that Miss Edith had reduced some of the staff at 42 after her mother died. Meanwhile there was always the usual move to Topsmead for the summer months. Thankfully, 33 would be ready in the Fall, so that there would be a smoother transition from Topsmead to there.  
 
A DESCRIPTION OF THE INTERIOR LAYOUT OF 33 CHURCH ST. AS I REMEMBER IT.
 
THE FIRST FLOOR:
We always entered through the back door, so that is how I will begin: first, the kitchen area which occupied the whole width of the house. To the left was a small dining area with a table and four chairs for the staff to use. Beyond that was the butler’s pantry. To the right were two stacked ovens followed by an electric range with at least 6 burners. Next was the sink which had a window above it with a view of the tiny back yard which had a clothes reel and just enough room for the dogs to play in. To the left of that and following to the rear were cabinets, with a door leading to the pantry.  Along the rear wall was an old, large, refrigerator which had its cooling element in the basement.  To the left of that was a doorway which lead to the rear stairs and a small office space for Miss Edith. There was probably a small bathroom in this area. The kitchen was totally remodeled in the late 1950’s or early 1960’s. The floor was a pattern of alternating black and white tiles.

To the left of the doorway for the rear stairs; was a doorway to the cellar stairs. At the bottom right of the stairway was the laundry room where Mrs. Anderson came every Monday to wash, iron and fold all the laundry.  It included a sink, washer, drier, ironing board and folding tables.
 
Towards the front of the house, on the left side, beyond the butler’s pantry was the dining room, followed by a sitting room. At the rear of the sitting room was a door leading to the library. There was also a door in the library which led to Miss Edith’s tiny office by the kitchen. Beyond the sitting room; along the left wall, was the front hallway, the front door, and the staircase to the second floor. Across the hall and to the right was the formal living room at the front of the house.
 
THE SECOND FLOOR
I am not as familiar with the second floor as I was only there two times, to help my father rotate rugs, and was not allowed to wander around the premises.

Dad told me that in the rear of the house, above the kitchen, there were two bedrooms for the cook and the maid. There was probably also a bathroom for them.

Miss Edith’s bedroom was located toward the middle of the second floor on the driveway side. Opposite her bedroom was a stairway to the widow’s walk on top of the house.  On the opposite side of the house were Miss Mary’s and Miss Lucy’s bedrooms.  Miss Lucy’s at the front of the house and then Miss Mary’s.  I believe that there was also a guest bedroom. There also were several bathrooms.
 
My main association with 33 Church St. was when I had to help on Saturday afternoons to bring the laundry from Topsmead to Church St.  The laundry basket would be left on the second floor open area at Topsmead, where the chaise lounge is. It would be ready at 1:00 pm to be brought down to the 33 Church St. laundry room for Mrs. Anderson.  While we were at Church St., I would also mow the lawn and dad would check out the house to make sure everything was ok. Dad would return on Tuesday to bring the laundry back to Topsmead.
 
In 1950, the 42 Church St. property was sold by Dr. Audet as he was retiring. The garages which Miss Edith used to park her cars; and dad’s workplace would no longer be available. She purchased about a 6 or 10 foot length of property from Inez Burrall at 41 Church St. so that she could build a two car garage and workspace for dad at 33 Church St.  Fred Webster was again requested to design the garage addition.