When the new school opened on February 2, 1953, we had two residential houses on campus. Many thought we had only one, but, in truth, we had two. Of course, House One on Horace Street was reserved for site superintendents and their families. Only three families lived there for 45 years from 1953 to 1998: Brills, Lennans and Randalls.
House Two on Maude Street was reserved for the chief of plant operations (CPO) (maintenance department heads) and their families. Hence, House Two is alternatively known as CPO House. The line of thinking in the 1950s was that we saw a necessity for the CPO to be on campus at all times so he could be on hand for emergency repairs at any hour of the day 7/24. Water leak. Power outage. A fire breaks out. No hot water. Anything can happen. The CPO was supposed to respond quickly and get the situation under control as quickly as possible for the comfort and safety of the students and staff.
The House Two still stands on Maude Street. It is adjacent to Gate 14 where staff members drive to enter or exit the campus day and night.
The House Two has approximately 1,000 square feet for two bedrooms and one bathroom. House One was larger with 1,400 square feet for three bedrooms and two bathrooms.
Like House One, House Two has discontinued being a residential unit for the CPO since 1989. It is believed that three CPO families lived in the house for the first 36 years. Like the site superintendents, the CPO families lived in the house for free of rent.
The first family to move into the brand-new house was Alvin Stevenson who was the first school CPO. His family resided in the house for 11 years until 1964.
The second family to move into the house was the Cross family. The next CPO was Wilbur Cross. Janet Mertz, ‘74, lived across from the CPO house. Her mother and Mrs Cross were good friends and visited with each other at their houses within a stone’s throw. The Cross family lived in the campus house for 15 years from 1964 to 1979.
The third and last family was the Joe Stoiber and his family. After 10 years of campus residence, the family vacated the house in 1989.
With the Stoibers moving out, the Randall Cabinet redesignated the former CPO house as the Family Counseling Center (FSC) for students, their families and staff. The FSC head was Dr Paul Wheatley with a team of counselors like Don Massey, Dr Pam Rich, Lorna Rutherford and Mark Dorsey, ‘86, to mention a few.
With the Randalls moving to Arizona in 1998, the FSC moved to House One for more office space. The next and last department to occupy House Two was the Information Technology (IT), but they stayed there for only a short time due to a big need for a large space to store computers for testing and repair. And one IT employee became sick from the interior smell that was not considered healthy. The IT department found a new home in one of the cottages.
The CPO house is now basically a storage building. The house is currently condemned for either residential or office use. There is no plan to raze, however. The long-term outlook is unknown.
Below shows the other side of the house. At right is one-car garage.
Below is the backyard with the covered patio. The house may look good outside. The inside, however, is another story that would require a serious renovation effort for an attractive office setting.
In the summer of 2021, Pat Davis, ‘63, and I took a tour of House Two inside and out for a possible future home for the school museum. Mike Anderson with construction trade experience joined us for ideas and advice. After the house tour, we came to the same conclusion that the floor plan didn't make an ideal fit for the museum with an open space concept. The other drawback was its inherent small square foot of floor space.
At this point in time, the museum remains housed in Rooms 309 and 310 in the former homemaking and subsequent FEAST classrooms.
Hence, House Two still stands as a storage unit and waits for a new purpose for the future.
Kevin Struxness, ‘76, MA
Editor, CSDR Old Times
22 December 2024
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