Back in the 1970's, my dad owned a couple of construction companies, and was Production Manager for a company named Huber Homes.

My daughter bought a home in Huber Heights, a city filled with Huber Homes. Last weekend, while I was in town for Thanksgiving, I went to visit her at her new home. When I came into the plat, things looked very familiar to me...because I used to live in the plat when I was in 2nd grade. I recognized the park, the school, everything. As I pulled into the drive, 2 blocks from the house we lived in, which was one of the model homes, I got really excited. I used to know the family that lived here, and was childhood friends with a kid that lived there. I walked into the house, and knew without a doubt, after looking at the pattern stomped into the ceiling, that my dad built this one. His signature star stop pattern was clear as day, once you laid down in the middle of the floor and looked at the ceiling. Other touches to the home that only my dad did at the time were still there, such as the cabinets. Nobody had ever updated the hardware on them, and I remember seeing boxes of this style hardware on dad's job sites.

I called my brother, who was in the area emptying the house he just sold a few miles away, to come and have a look. He remembered playing around the houses as a kid, picking up pop bottles from the workers to exchange for change. He confirmed that this is one of the many that dad had built back in the 70's.

When I went back to my mom's house and told her about it, she went into the office and pulled out a book of addresses of homes that dad built...literally hundreds through the 1970's, and confirmed that he finalized the build in 1976. Mom kept impeccable records for dad's businesses. This house was built under contract by his company instead of Huber Homes.

Now that dad is gone, knowing that a piece of him was purchased by my daughter, brought a tear to my eye.

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1987 560SL
85,000 miles

That is a great story Jon! I can imagine it will continue to bring you joy whenever you visit to look at the work your dad did.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

Knowing bits of the old man live on, well...it makes me proud to have been able to call that man my Dad.

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1987 560SL
85,000 miles

Yes, great story.

Great story!

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You're a daisy if you do.
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84 Euro 240D 4spd. 220.5k sold
04 Honda Element AWD
1985 F150 XLT 4x4, 351W with 270k miles, hay hauler
1997 Suzuki Sidekick 4x4
1993 Toyota 4wd Pickup 226K and counting

That is a nice story. In a way, it makes your daughter a curator of a part of your father's legacy.

Whats a plat?

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1984 300SD Orient Red/ Palomino
1989 560SEC
2016 Mazda 6 6 speed manual
1995 Ford F-150 reg cab 4.9 5speed manual

A plat is a survey plan I believe. Like a floor plan but locating buildings on land.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

Great story Jon. Thanks for posting!

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2001 SLK 320 six speed manual
2014 Porsche Cayenne six speed manual

Annoy a Liberal, Read the Constitution

Correct! Survey of the land with building locations. I expect they now use GPS technology now days to knock them out in no time.

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2001 SLK 320 six speed manual
2014 Porsche Cayenne six speed manual

Annoy a Liberal, Read the Constitution

Every ten years or so I drift back to see the house I grew up in when in the Toronto area. I would like to knock on the door but resist the urge.


All the houses in that area are very old now but have both been kept up and updated extensively. It is really hard to mentally absorb what they sell for now.


Especially considering that about a month of our current income amounts to what our parents paid for it in 1946.

Perfectly understandable.

Awesome story. Thanks for sharing.

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1961 220b: first project car - sold.
2000 CLK 430: first modern Benz - sold.
2001 CLK 55: OMG the torque!!! - sold
1972 280SE 4.5: Baby Gustav
1991 300TE 4Matic: Gretel the Snow Bunny - sold
1978 300SD: Katz the Free Man - given away
1980 Redhead: Darling Wife

I wanted to add that I did a fair amount of work on my parents house starting at about age 14. My mother thought it was both well executed and durable as it stood the test of time until they eventually sold the place.

Perhaps that is one factor that draws me back. My older much more experienced eyes would like to see the inside again. The house also looks smaller each time I stop to look at it. Just nostalgia perhaps? I seem to have outlived the huge chestnut tree on the front lawn as well.

Great reminiscences!

All but one of the homes or apartment buildings I grew up in as a child in Omaha, Nebraska were designed, general contracted, and built from raw land to completion, by my Dad. So, I know the feeling!

The one home he didn't build from scratch was my Mom and Dad's 1st newlywed home - cookie cutter, mass produced, 2/1/1 in the Benson section of Omaha.

Any Of them, even 65 years later, I'd be proud to call "home!!"

Mom and Dad built a house when I was a small child. I played in the mason's sand with wood scraps. They both did nearly everything. Mom carried hod for Dad. She was 5'-1 but very strong even though a fine looking woman. Dad always made it clear that the plans had been drawn by an Architect.

Although I've never done it I believe if I had all the tools I could pour a lead joint in a cast iron drain pipe after watching dad do it 60 years ago.

I'm sure it influenced my career choice.

Now after this thread I have the urge to knock on the door and ask to look at it one of these days.

The house was built mainly while Dad was working full time at the Studebaker factory and mom was raising four kids. (How the heck did they do all that?)

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.