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Show Pago 6 C North Edition Lakeside Review Wednesday , June 15, 19&3 Restoration of Rock Home By SUSAN TANNER scraper right in here, said Leo- HOLMES Review Correspondent We loved FARMINGTON the rock work and took it from there, said David Merrill of his home at 100 E. 192 N. When Merrill and wife Leola began the restoration June 11, 1948, they could envision todays real- ity through the crumbling adobe, dirt floors and weeds. We were renting a home just up the street and at the time the city owned the borne and was using it to house heavy equipment. The city drove their road vfflSS0T la Merrill, pointing to the living room area. It was really an eyesore, she said. But every time we would go by, wed stop and look and visualize our home. Merrill talked with the mayor about selling the property and after a great deal of talking, the City Council voted to sell but, according to law, they put it up for bid. We figured we wouldnt get it, said Mrs. Merrill. But when the bids were in, the high bidder There seemed to be a lot of repercussion, so we didnt do anything with the home for a year. We planted the whole lot in corn, said Merrill. The second strike was that in 1948, restoration was not in vo. a w m aSnmmmmrn.'. was a man in town who bid $1,025, but who wanted the property for commercial purposes. The Merrills bid was $1,000. Since the council wouldnt rezone the property, the Merrills got their home. The building, which once housed the second school in Farmington, was the old Scout hall and where the LDS Relief Society met, cost a grand total of about $15,000 those first years to finish. Other projects during the 30 years have hiked the price. But the Merrills had two strikes against them. First they were considered outsiders." We were school teachers at Davis and wed only lived here, two or three, years, said Mer-ri- home today is a beautiful example of restored pioneer home (below). Many years ago it appeared as shown in family photo above. MERRILL gue. At one point, the city attorney came and reminded them that there was a stipulation in the sales contract that they tear down and build a house. Merrill showed him the contract that stated they would beautify the corner. The Merrills still enjoy smil- - i P ing about friends who asked, Why dont you tear it down and get new rock?. Most people thought they were just a "little crazy, and at times, we thought the same thing, said Mrs. Merrill. But when the saw the Merrills werent going to tear down the original rock, they felt good about the project. The next step was finding an architect. They finally settled for a one arm draftsman and he made a drawing from my That was the only drawing. thing we had to work from, said ' Merrill. The roof beams are still intact, said Mrs. Merrill. All the rafters were mortared into the 14 log square. The native lumber was so hard that you couldnt drive a nail into it it was petrified, said Merrill. Merrill brought all the granite stone to match the original rock down from the mountain. The rock walls were first erected in 1875 and the wall is two feet thick. The Merrills continued the structures form throughout the house all outside walls are two feet thick. Utilizing the on the building helped when trying to work with the two foot thick walls. Only one opening for an upstairs window had to be made through the rock. Another opening became the fireplace and another the door. Dominique Putery was the Italian craftsman who worked on the Merrills rock work. The original stone was put together with lime and so Merrill had to dig out all the lime between the stones and put cement in between. I made over 10,000 batches of mud for Dominic and never got one right," said Merrill. He was a perfectionist. It is difficult to determine where the old rock ends and the patching begins. Merrill did the manual" labor. He would climb a 12 foot ladder to the top of the chimney with a rock and then Dominic would say it was the wrong one and kick it off the platform, he said. Five months after they began the project, the Merrills moved in. It was Halloween night, 1948. We had temporary beds, hardwood floors and this was the first time we had ever had cent-ra- l heating, said Mrs. Merrill. Merrill laid all the hardwood old-time- rs natural-opening- , v oak floors himself. It was quite a decision in later years when they carpeted the home. We worked really hard and fast. It was my job to hustle up contractors, painters and electricians, said Mrs. Merrill. Ita seemed like there was such shortage. The government had first priority and it was a struggle to get things. When historian, Margaret Hess, visited the home after the restoration, she sat and reminisced and told how her chair had been right next to where the chimney is located today. But moving in was just the beginning. The Merrills have had one project or another going for the past 20 years. It was a way that my husband could use his creativity, Mrs. Merrill said. Mrs. Merrill believes n band, now a well-know- artist, used his home as his artistic canvas during the years a they were trying to earn living and raise four children. Weve had a project going cork all the time. I look at the Mer-rilwall and think, said Mrs. The house is full of memories and full of us. The l. its their children feel like home. , It has brought us great enjoyment and been rewarding and satisfying, said the s LEOLA MERRILL looks out window of her restored rock home.'..- -; Rain or Shine To Fold or Not .Thats That's the Question By SHARON NAUTA STEELE To fold or not to fold? That is the question. If you fold your sons peanut butter and honey sandwich, hes going to scream bloody murder. If you dont fold it, hes going to have a stream of gooey sticky honey running down his hand and arm. If you fold the babys diapers, shes going to pull them all out of the drawers and toss them willy nilly first chance she gets. , If you dont fold them, youre not going to have an excuse to sit down and watch All My Children once a day. i If you fold all those credit cards that come unsolicited in the mail, youll never make Whos Who in Credit Ratings,, and your checkbook will always be overdrawn. If you dont fold them, youll end up with three pair of too tight Calvin Kleins just cause you found them at a sale. , If you fold your arms during your talk to the local garden ; - club, anything you say about organic composting is going to sound preachy If you dont fold them, your hands are going to feel like two bowling balls suspended by a pair of rubber bands. If you fold the pretty guest towels in your bathroom, visitors will dry their hands on the shower curtains, toilet paper, or the bathmat. If you dont fold them, your family will wear them out before the company arrives. 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