In Memory
Mary Louise Swingendorf (Akins) - Class Of 1951
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Home's swift feeling of belonging
I always wanted to live here (on Hillcrest Road). In 1961, we saw a house advertised on Hillcrest but knew we couldn't afford it. We thought we'd at least go look. The owners (the poet John Frederick Nims and his wife, Bonnie) traveled abroad a lot and were never home, so they rented it. We went to see them in their apartment on Lakeshore Drive in Chicago, and when we left we were thousands of dollars apart. Four days later, she called and said, 'We'd like to sell our house to you.'
"After we moved in, we found out just about everybody else in town had keys to this house.
"It was built in 1910 for a Wilber Meyers. ... It was owned by J. Albert Stephenson, secretary of Stephenson Woolen Mills. He's the one who built the playhouse. ... It had three rooms and running water. Our (six) kids had a
wonderful time playing in it, too.
-- Mary Akins
07/28/2021 DEC
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