Mukilteo Musings

http://www.bigskyfishing.com/Montana-Info/helena-pictures.shtm

Phooey, since my pictures don't work for anybody but me I thought I'd follow up on my entry below about Helena, Montana. The above link has some nice photos of the beautiful little city. Notice none of them are taken in the WINTER.

Also, I did some research on the haunted house that scared me as a child. This is from "Helena, Her Historic Homes" by Jean Baucus. Theodore H. Kleinschmidt, originally from Prussia, was the Assitant Cashier for the First National Bank in Helena and he built this home in 1892 for $112,000--a fortune at the time.

"The nineteen room 'gingerbread' house was built...[with] wood (cherry, oak, and birch)...imported from Germany....skillfully crafted the elaborate fireplace mantels, window frames, door frames, waiscoting and the lovely turned balustrade up the staircase. The third floor has a forty-two foot ballroom....

This home has the most elaborate roof line of any in Helena with its many gables, fancy balconies, and decorative windows."

See, my brother was right about the cherry wood (we knew what cherry wood was because our old piano was cherry) and the fancy staircase that impressed him as a child even if the place was falling apart. But try to imagine this house looming in the dark winter sky and being dilapidated and directly in the path of an 8 year old girl trying to get home home from her piano lesson. And this 8 year old girl was very close to her English Grandmother who told her ghost stories about London. Nope, I've never forgiven my Mom for making me walk those three long blocks.