Cliff and I went down to the Farmhouse to begin getting the old kitchen cabinets ready for re-painting. We will be using them in the new mudroom. They need to be sanded, primed and finally painted. We removed the hardware and I used a screw gun for the first time! It is a heck of a lot faster than a manual screw driver. Who new? Probably most people:) We are setting up in the Carriage House for this job. While wiping down the cabinets I came across the name Ponselle written on one of the cabinets. It got me thinking about my new neighborhood. There is a lot of history in my new little corner of the world.
Our neighborhood was once part of the Pre-Civil War estate called New Stoneton. A great mansion along with many outbuildings, farm land and that famous barn, named Nacerima (American backwards) made up the estate. Rumor has it that our Farmhouse belonged to a caretaker of the estate. In fact the previous owner of The Farmhouse had a great print of the estate with all of the buildings and gardens. She strongly felt that the piece should stay with the house and offered it to us for a small sum. Ahem...$5500.00 to be exact! Sadly we had to turn her down, we have an old house that needs to be fixed up!
Our neighborhood was also home to the world renown opera star, Rosa Ponselle. She was a star Soprano with the Metropolitan Opera. Rosa owned Villa Pace, an Italian style mansion built in 1940 in the shape of a cross. Red tiled roof and stucco walls like those in Italy. History states that many grand parties were held at Villa Pace and many famous musicians and actors visited Rosa. May I call her Rosa? It is said that the two brick houses that are down the lane from us used to house her personal doctor and psychiatrist. Rosa Ponselle past away in 1981. Why was her name on one of my cabinets? Inquiring minds want to know!
Rosa Ponselle
My Neighbor
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