PLUMMER HOUSE HAPPENINGS

Many of you have commented on the big mansion we live in. Just so you know...we don't OWN the mansion.  If we did, I wouldn't be "bragging" about it. Hah! ; )  We're simply blessed to have a "job" where we "have to" live in this beautiful home. It is really only a "part time" responsibility, my husband being the Resident Director. But living on site creates a job that keeps us "on call" pretty much 24/7. Still we are enjoying every minute of it!

There are 10 bedrooms and 9 bathrooms in the entire home. We live in the West Wing of the house that previously were servants quarters as well as Dr Plummer's workshop where he made surgical tools.

We are surrounded by 11 acres of gardens and woods. The woods bring with it every kind of wildlife. We have deer and turkey often roaming the grounds. We have a resident owl that sits in a nearby tree where we can see him and hear him hooting away. At night we hear the raccoons climbing into the dumpsters. We've had opossum ( one finding it's way into the house), fox, and many different varieties of birds. Eagles hover overhead and live nearby. One of them got entangled in a fence and was taken to an eagle recovery hospital. After a time of healing they brought him back to the same spot where he was found and let him go.

To see more about the house and Dr Plummer see the page listed as " Plummer House", just under the header. In the near future I will be sharing more indoor photos of the house.

Recently we received more of the original furniture from the house from two grandsons after Gertrude, Dr. Plummer's daughter, passed away.

TEA CART FROM WHICH MRS ( DAISY ) PLUMMER SERVED

The daughter of Dr Plummer, Gertrude, passed away a while ago ( she was in her 90's  ) and her sons donated or sold back the furnishings. We have always had the original living room and dining room pieces but some bedroom furniture and small personal pieces have now been moved back into the house. Through old photos that we have and with the help of the grandsons of Dr Plummer, we are working to restore the house decor back to its heyday in the Roaring 20's. We have a couple of people helping us who have expertise in historical buildings and history. Then we hire the work necessary to be done. It is a fun process and we are learning so much more about history and restoration.  My husband, Les, even joined a group who meet for breakfast weekly and discuss the history of our town while trying to find new information about the past. They call their group, The Fossils. One of the men has written several books about the history of Rochester and historical buildings. We are learning so much and are gaining a greater appreciation for the history of our community as well as the preservation of historical buildings.

I never liked history as a subject when I was in school.  But now we give tours of the house and share it's history with local school groups and Scouting groups. I enjoy trying to make this little piece of local history more interesting than the history I remember as a student.

 We hire "docents"  to give the adult tours but my husband and I choose to do the kids tours ourselves. We want to share this homes local story with kids in a captivating way to help them learn to enjoy at least some local history. We both have worked with kids throughout our lives, so this is just something we enjoy doing.

Another interesting aspect of this is that the people who are also interested in historical homes in our community are also the people we know from local antique auctions and Estate Sales, where we often buy our vintage decor for our occasional Hob Nobber sales.  They all come to OUR sales as well so there is a big community here with whom we share lots of interest.

It has been an interesting adventure albeit one which I would not have anticipated. I'll continue to keep you posted about Plummer House Happenings!