Half a double

A white wood frame, two story double house stood on Pleasant Street.  It was a one block long, one way street.  The double was at the bottom of the hill with an alley beside and behind it.  Two young trees stood in the little front yard that (one in front of each side).  The trees would grow along with us.  The back yard was long and narrow with a sidewalk dividing the two sides.  Number eight's side had a porch on the back with a door exiting the kitchen.  At one time I can remember a wringer washer sitting out there.  On the backside of the house was a cellar.  A cellar with a door at ground level to enter.  A scary dark dirty place with cement steps leading into it.

A small patio made of bricks lay on the ground below the back porch.  The yard had two gates, one on the side of number eight's backyard.  Another was at the end of the sidewalk at the back of the yard.  I remember well swinging on the gate and getting in trouble from grandma.  The other side of the double I would assume would be number ten Pleasant Street (I don't remember the house number on the adjoining double) had a broken down wire fence on it.  Broken down because us kids climbed over it all the time.  The broken down part was under a great big tree.  The boys next door often sat up in that tree aggravating us.

The front of number eight and number ten had one long continuous connecting the two sides as one.  Inside number eight three rooms and a pantry made up the downstairs.  The living room with  a green linoleum floor lead into a very basic kitchen.  A gas stove which many hot dogs were cooked over an open flame on the end of a fork.  Eventually, a washer and dryer appeared in the kitchen.  The telephone hung on the wall next to the pantry which came in handy to hold private conversations or eavesdrop on the neighbors talking on the party-line.  The telephone number began with TE7-whatever, whatever.

Up the stairs from the living room (the steps where between the living room and bedroom) at the top to the right two bedrooms that was connected by a doorway-no hall.  That meant walking through the first bedroom to enter the second bedroom.  To the left at the top of the stairs set the only bathroom with a tub and no shower.  The linen closet set on the diagonal in one corner.  Past the bathroom was a bedroom.

The front connecting bedroom on the right had a unique feature a square floor vent that lead down to the bedroom below.  Meant for heat circulation, no air conditioning while occupying the double at number eight Pleasant.  One could look down the vent and see into the bedroom below or flip a lever and the vent could be closed.

The clothes hamper sat outside the bathroom door in the hall way.  Push button light switches controlled the hallway light.  A wooden banister lined the hallway at the top of the wooden steps.  Bunk beds graced the back bedroom of the two connecting bedrooms.  No closet for that bedroom.  The connecting front bedroom had a single closet with a square vent inside it backing up to the bedroom across the hall.  The furniture was modest through out number eight.