If this old house could talk, what stories it would tell. It was built in 1927 for the Ambassador from Denmark. Originally it was in the country but now it is in the East San Diego area. It had about ten acres of land, which was later sold off for lot building sites.

Ruby and her husband Sumner bought the home in a property exchange deal during the 1930’s. First they added a little cottage next to the main house, for Sumner’s Mother.

Ruby loved to garden and before long she had the yard in show place shape. They always had a dog or two and lots of friends that enjoyed the yard.

As the years went by, Ruby’s Mother-in-law and Aunt- in- law became sick and passed away. Much later, Sumner had a stroke and after seven years he too passed away.

Now Ruby, over 90 years old, had the place to herself. She still loved to dance and while watching Lawrence Welk she would dance by herself. If her neighbor Irene came by she would invite her to join in by asking, “wanta dance?”

After work Irene, who was a realtor, would stop by and before long they would be laughing and telling each other stories and jokes.

The old house had many plumbing problems because of big tree roots. The plumber came by often and they had to use Drano too. Next there were electrical problems, as the wiring was so old. Some rooms would light up and some wouldn’t. The house was built on clay and was still settling, and caused the doors to stick. With all this maintenance, Irene suggested to Ruby it would be a good idea to look for a small cottage in a senior center where she would be more comfortable. They started looking but the church talked Ruby out of it because they didn’t want her to move away.

The big yard kept growing and looked like a jungle. It was too much for Ruby to care for, even though she got help sometimes. All the cats really loved it because they had many hiding places. Soon people were dropping off their extra cats. Skunks and possums moved and had many hiding places. Also there were termites and lots of ants, especially in the summer.

When the rains started, some of the animals climbed into the basement opening to stay dry. Then more and more rain came and the basement started filling with water. Next the furnace started to bring up the moisture throughout the house and it looked like a sauna. All the walls were wet and the beautiful pictures were getting ruined and had to be taken down. Still Ruby managed to stay there and if it were a sunny day, off to the park she would go to feed her bird and animal friends. She had pigeons that she named Brownie, Snowflake, and Cape and they came when she called. Also, she fed the squirrels out of her hand.

When things kept breaking, one day I said that maybe the house was haunted. Then I said I was sorry because the old house and Ruby had been together for 50 years. I wondered who would last longest.

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Miss Muriel