Bio: Laabs Family and House

Transcriber: stan@wiclarkcountyhistory.org

Surnames: Laabs, Kraut, Phillips, House, Johnson, Thompson

----Source: Family Scrapbook

After living in this house and walking through its large rooms, I can't help but think about what a house full of activity it must have been when the Laabs children were growing up. We have had so many people stop and relate memories of their childhood visits to this old house. If you walk out into our front yard with Donnie Kraut any spring¬ like day, he'll never fail to point out to you where first base was when the neighborhood kids gathered for a ball game.

It's great fun to take members of the Laabs family and friends through the house, going from room to room, having them relate memories of fun-filled days spent here.

We have tried to bring back the original look to the house with white pine wainscoting on the dining room and living room ceilings. We have used reproductions of wallpaper, from the late 1800's, on the walls.

The parlor had been turned into a downstairs’ bedroom years ago and part of the large porch which encircled the house was enclosed into a bathroom, with the remaining porch being torn off.

We have added some stained glass windows. One window with a matching mirror is our favorite, done by a local artist. Tana House Phillips, daughter of Lorraine and Harold House.

The front door has been replaced with an oval glass door, from the Dr. Johnson house which was located at the south end of Abbotsford's main street. An Amish family purchased and moved the house and we bought the door from them.

If I could have two wishes to reconstruct two originals which once stood; one would be the grand old porch and the other would be the chicken house out back. The mention of either, sends Dale off muttering to himself: I sometimes wonder if after having lived here many years, will we still refer to our home affectionately as "the old Laabs' House"?

Submitted by: Aria Thompson