Sussman-Laabs

...My grandparents ... home on the lumber mill's property where grandpa 1st met grandma.

According to them (Samuel Robert & Harriette McComb), those buildings were long torn down after the mill closed as they were property of the mill and not individual's owned property. They were simple 2 floor, box structures for the mill workers with little amenities, outhouses out back and electricity was only through the ceiling light. What I was told was upstairs, her parents had one bedroom, the girls shared one bedroom and that they converted part of the attic to one bedroom for the boys who shared a bed and once the eldest got married and moved out, my grandfather (Samuel Robert) just happened to be on the waiting list for a sponsor family... so, he was interviewed by grandma's father (Edward Fitzpatrick) and was accepted since he would be contributing to the household income. That is how they met.

The picture I have included here is one grandma gave me when she gave my brother and I ring binders of photos for us of family many, many years ago. She told me it was of her in front of the house and she (Harriette) was about 15 yrs old... several years before she met grandpa... It had the porch and wooden siding, a simple wooden 2 floor box with an attic space that was used as a spare room and he shared a bed with grandma's youngest brother (Leonard) although grandma was the baby of the family... I could be wrong but I distinctly recall the story they both shared with me and that those "rows of mill house's" were long gone because they didn't have indoor plumbing, electricity was one circuit for the entire house nor did they have the amenities people were looking for and the mill, once closed... didn't maintain the structures and being they had such minimal insulation for that climate? they were torn down or so I was told.

(Recollection of Bob/Harriette's granddaughter, Sep/2019)